Ruth Buzzi, who played a purse-wielding spinster on ‘Laugh-In,’ dies at 88

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88-year-old actress Ruth Buzzi, best known for portraying the handbag-carrying character Gladys Ormphby in “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” passed away on Thursday, as reported by her family on Friday.

According to a post on Facebook, Ruth Buzzi passed away tranquilly in her sleep, surrounded by her home in Texas. For quite some time, she had been under hospice care due to Alzheimer’s disease.

For over four decades, Buzzi was married to Kent Perkins. In July 2022, it was Kent who shared the heartbreaking news that Buzzi had experienced severe strokes, rendering her unable to move and function independently.

For 43 years, I’ve shared life with my best friend, an extraordinary individual named Ruth Buzzi. On social media, I expressed my gratitude for our marriage back then. Her love is boundless, always reaching out to make others happy and bring smiles to faces.

She could still speak, understand and recognize her friends and loved ones at that point, he said.

On Thursdays, he posted on Facebook saying that Buzzi requested him to express gratitude towards you all for your kindness towards her over numerous years. She wanted it known that she likely enjoyed performing those shows more than you did while watching them.

The artist hails from Rhode Island, born on July 24, 1936, and spent her formative years in Connecticut. Later, she attended the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theatre Arts, an institution linked to Southern California’s Pasadena Playhouse from 1928 to 1969. Throughout its existence, it educated over 5,000 students.

I graced every episode of NBC’s “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In” from 1967 to 1973, perfecting my comedic character as a park-dwelling spinster. Notably, I was one of the cast members who delivered the iconic catchphrase, “Sock it to me.” Following this, I became a regular television personality in the late ’60s, appearing on shows like “The Monkees” and “The Steve Allen Comedy Hour,” as well as playing a role in “That Girl.

In a conversation with The Times in 2019, the creator and executive producer of “Laugh-In,” George Schlatter, shared that he couldn’t find anyone funnier than Goldie Hawn, Ruth Buzzi, or Arte Johnson.

Buzzi herself told The Times in 2011 about working with John Wayne on the variety show.

John Wayne held us dear. He was willing to accomplish nearly any task you requested of him. In one skit, he portrayed Gladys’ husband, as she often did on screen. They had me don a miniature cowboy hat and toy guns. I was supposed to strike him, but I continued hitting him, waiting for them to call ‘cut.’ I eventually turned around and pleaded, ‘I don’t want to hit this man.’ It was so amusing they included that moment in the broadcast.

In her latest roles, she appeared in the 2009 film “City of Shoulders and Noses,” the 2006 series “Fallen Angels,” numerous episodes of “Passions” in 2003, and starred as Suzie Kabloozie over 86 episodes on “Sesame Street.” Her final role was portraying Agnes in the 2021 movie “One Month Out.

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2025-05-02 19:01