Rowan & Martin's "Laugh-In" was regular viewing in my home, and I grew up watching the ebullient personality and quick wit of comedienne Ruth Buzzi. One of her main characters on the show was Gladys Ormphby, the spinster who used her handbag with effective accuracy. 

As an adult, I followed both her Facebook and X accounts for gems like this.

Doctor said to consume more eggs pic.twitter.com/WCyvGMxJ3d

— RUTH BUZZI (@Ruth_A_Buzzi) November 29, 2024

Buzzi had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease in 2012, and for many years, both accounts were managed by her husband and others, sharing memories of Buzzi on stage and screen, and her funniest jokes and notable quotes. In 2022, her husband revealed that Buzzi had been incapacitated and bedridden by a series of strokes.

From Kent Perkins, Ruthie's husband:

This photo was from nearly a year ago on Ruthie's birthday.  She wants you to know she is not in pain and is aware you are sending your best wishes her way as she battles the results of devastating strokes that have left her bedridden and incapacitated.  She can still speak and understand, she still recognizes all her friends and loved ones.   I am reading to her your wonderful comments and she smiles.   

I might add that I am living with an attitude of gratitude for 43 years of marriage to my best friend, the greatest person I ever met, the one and only Ruth Buzzi.  Her love for others knows no bounds, and she has spent a lifetime making people smile.  

She is dealing with this situation bravely, and still with humor, believe it or not... and with the love of God in her heart and soul, she thanks you for being her friend.  And for the love you've shown her continuously for the past six decades or more...

Whatever happens, please know you have always been loved right back in return.

On Thursday, Perkins posted this cryptic message.

On Friday, Buzzi's death was announced. After her long battle with Alzheimer's, the complications from the disease finally took their toll. Buzzi was 88 years old.

Buzzi died Thursday of complications from Alzheimer’s at her home near Fort Worth, Texas, her longtime rep, Mike Eisenstadt, told The Hollywood Reporter. In July 2022, her husband, actor Kent Perkins, revealed that she was “bedridden and incapacitated” after suffering a series of strokes.

Buzzi was a quadruple threat: singer, dancer, actress, AND comedian. Before and during "Laugh-In's" successful run, Buzzi worked alongside her equally funny contemporaries Carol Burnett and Lucille Ball. 

Early on in her career, Buzzi had a comedy act with Dom DeLuise in which he played the incompetent magician Dominic the Great and she his assistant, Shakuntala.

Buzzi was one of producer George Schlatter’s first hires for Laugh-In in 1967 and remained with the show for its entire run through March 1973. She played many characters — drunk Doris Swizzle, gossip columnist Busy Buzzi, hooker Kim Hither and silent movie diva Laverne Blossom — but it was her Gladys that remains unforgettable.

My GenX peers would agree. Buzzi appeared as Gladys in a 1995 "Weird" Al Yankovic video, "Gump." Even Elton John knew of Buzzi and the iconic character she created.

The pint-sized comedian received three of her five career Emmy nominations for playing the character, including one for an appearance on a Dean Martin Celebrity Roast in 1974. (She also showed up as Gladys in “Weird” Al Yankovic’s 1995 music video Gump.)

“So many people ask me to hit them with my purse,” Buzzi told Nick Thomas in 2016. “In fact, a few years ago we were at a Beverly Hills party and in walked Elton John. He immediately made his way over to me and said, ‘For God’s sakes, Ruth, please hit me with your purse. That’s been on my bucket list for years!'”

After "Laugh-In" was canceled, Buzzi still maintained a busy career. She was a regular on the "Hollywood Squares," and other variety programs of the day, like "Dinah!" and "Tony Orlando and Dawn." Buzzi starred in a short-lived 1975 Sid and Marty Krofft series with Jim Nabors called "The Lost Saucer." Buzzi's big-screen roles included 1976's "Freaky Friday," 1979's "The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again," "The Villain" (1979), and 1981's "Chu Chu and the Philly Flash." 

In the '90s, Buzzi appeared on "Saved By the Bell" as Screech’s mom. Buzzi also starred in "Lucky Luke," an Italian television Western.  

Buzzi created two more iconic characters for the Millennial generation. She portrayed Ruthie, the Finders Keepers store owner on "Sesame Street," then reprised the character in the 1999 special, "The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland." Buzzi also voiced the character of Suzie Kabloozie on "Sesame Street."

Buzzi was born on July 24, 1936, in Westerly, Rhode Island. She was raised in Connecticut by her mother and father. Buzzi's father was a nationally recognized stone sculptor. 

When she struggled during a dance class but made light of it, her instructor offered to teach her something different — a “funny ballet,” she recalled in a 1983 interview with Orange Coast Magazine.

"All the other girls will do it straight and you’ll be a little off," the teacher told her. "Well, I did it, and it was a big hit. That’s what started me [in comedy,] and I continued to do funny dances and funny this and funny that through high school."

At 17, Buzzi took a huge leap: She moved to California to enroll in the Pasadena Playhouse, at the same time as her contemporaries Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. Unlike Hackman, Buzzi graduated from the Playhouse in 1957 and appeared on the Pacific stage, in East Coast theaters, and on Broadway. In 1955, while still enrolled at the Playhouse, Buzzi appeared opposite Rudy Vallee in a San Francisco production of "Jenny Kissed Me," allowing her to earn her Actors Equity card. After graduation, Buzzi became part of the Broadway revue for "Misguided Tour," and in 1961, she starred in "Auntie Mame" in Pennsylvania. Buzzi signed on for an 18-month stint in the 1966 original Broadway run of "Sweet Charity," but quit to take a gig on "The Steve Allen Comedy Hour." From there, she was approached to appear on "Laugh-In," and the rest, as they say, is history.

Survivors include Kent Perkins, whom Buzzi married in December 1978. Buzzi and Perkins escaped Hollywood in 2010 to live on a 600-acre cattle and horse ranch in Texas.

Donations in her memory can be made to the Alzheimer’s Association.