Ruth Buzzi - Career

Career

Before leaving New York for a career in Los Angeles as a television star, Buzzi played in a Bob Fosse classic Broadway show, Sweet Charity, with Gwen Verdon in the original cast; she had to leave the show in which she had several small roles, one of them "the Singing Fairy," to become a regular performer on The Steve Allen Show, on CBS. Between New York musical variety shows, Buzzi made numerous television commercials, some of which won national awards including the coveted Clio Award.

Buzzi's first national recognition on television came on The Garry Moore Show just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. Ruth Buzzi saw her first taste of national fame as "Shakuntala" the silent, bumbling magician's assistant to her comedy partner Dom DeLuise who played "Dominic the Great". They were an instant hit with the public.

Buzzi was a member of the regular repertory company on the CBS variety show The Entertainers (1964–1965). In 1966–1967, she was in the Broadway cast of the musical

In the late 1960s, she was featured as a semi-regular on the sitcom That Girl as Marlo Thomas's friend while she had been cast as a regular in "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In." Before that, she appeared in every episode of a comedy-variety series starring Steve Allen. Her character parts in the Steve Allen Show sketches led her to be cast for NBC's new show Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Ruth Buzzi was the only featured player to appear in every episode of Laugh-In including the initial pilot for the show and the Laugh-In television special.

A versatile comedienne, she played everything from dowdy old women, to tipsy drunks, to Southern belles to flashy hookers. Among her recurring characters on Laugh-In were Busy-Buzzi, Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Sidebottom, a cocktail-lounge habituée who always got riotously smashed with husband Leonard (Dick Martin); and one of the Burbank Airlines Stewardesses, teaming with Debbie Reynolds as two totally inconsiderate flight attendants.

Her most famous character is the dowdy spinster Gladys Ormphby, clad in drab brown with her bun hairdo covered by a visible hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead. In most sketches, she used her lethal purse, with which she would flail away vigorously at anyone who incurred her wrath.

On Laugh-In, Gladys most often appeared as the unwilling object of the advances of Arte Johnson's "dirty old man" character Tyrone F. Horneigh. In a typical exchange, Tyrone accosts Gladys and asks, "Do you believe in the hereafter?" "Of course I do!", Gladys retorts defensively. Delighted, Tyrone shoots back: "Then you know what I'm here after!" NBC collectively called these two characters The Nitwits when they went to animation in the mid 1970s as part of the series Baggy Pants and the Nitwits. Buzzi and Johnson both voiced their respective roles in the cartoon.

Buzzi, as Gladys, was featured in most of the Dean Martin Roasts from the MGM Hotel in Las Vegas. Memorable shows included her intense comedic dialogue, ranting about notable roastees including Muhammad Ali, Frank Sinatra, and Lucille Ball, to name a few. In each case, Gladys Ormphby pugnaciously attacked the honoree with her flailing purse to the screams and howls of the Las Vegas audience.

Martin would also suffer Gladys' purse assaults for his remarks about her unappealing looks and poor romantic prospects. In one such exchange, Gladys accusingly questioned Martin about who had been chasing her around a hotel room in the wee hours; Martin's response, "The exterminator!" earned him a beating as he broke up laughing along with the audience. Gladys then declared to the audience that, when Martin and other men looked at her, only one thing came to their minds. Martin, still laughing, could barely get out the answer, "Rabies!" which earned him an even fiercer beating from Gladys.

Buzzi starred with Jim Nabors in The Lost Saucer produced by Sid and Marty Krofft which aired from September 11, 1975 – September 2, 1976 (16 episodes).

Buzzi also guested as Chloe, the usually never-seen but often mentioned wife of phone company worker Henry Beesmeyer on Alice.

Dean Martin's producer, Greg Garrison, obviously enjoyed Ruth Buzzi's work as a "comedy sketch artist" and hired her for his comedy specials starring Dom DeLuise.

In 1986, she voiced for the character Nose Marie in the Hanna Barbera animated series Pound Puppies. She voiced "Mamma Bear" in Berenstain Bears, and did hundreds of guest voices for many other cartoon series. She is still seen frequently on Sesame Street in comedy sketch clips from her six years on that show, and is often heard as the voice of outlandish failed torch singer "Susie Kabloozy". She was a regular performer on Sesame Street for 6 years, during which time she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work as "Ruthie".

Buzzi was a guest star on many television series including Donny & Marie, The Flip Wilson Show, The Dean Martin Music and Comedy Hour, the Dean Martin Roasts, The Carol Burnett Show, Tony Orlando and Dawn, and variety series hosted by Leslie Uggams and Glen Campbell.

Buzzi performed in numerous national television commercials, most notably for "Clorox 2", Liquid Swan soap, Clairol hair products, Ban roll-on deodorant, and Santa Anita Raceway, but probably most famous as the voice of "Granny Goodwitch" opposite the "Sugar Bear" in the animated commercials for Sugar Crisp cereal.

Buzzi appeared in the "Weird Al" Yankovic video "Gump" and similarly appeared in other music videos with the rock groups B-52's and The Presidents of the United States of America. She also appeared for seven years as a regular performer on Sesame Street (playing shopkeeper Ruthie, which also allowed her to revive her Gladys Ormphby character, and also voiced Susie Kabloozie), Saved by the Bell (playing Screech Powers's wacky mother as an Elvis fanatic), The Muppet Show, You Can't Do That on Television (during its CTV-produced incarnation Whatever Turns You On), and numerous other television shows. She was also a voice actress for The Smurfs, The Angry Beavers and Mo Willems' Sheep in the Big City. Buzzi also played the role of the eccentric Nurse Kravitz on NBC's daytime soap Passions. In 2006 and 2007, she made guest appearances on the children's TV series Come on Over. Ruth Buzzi recreated her own voice for the Gladys Ormphby character in its cartoon series called Baggy Pants and the Nitwits with Artie Johnson bringing his character to life on the show, as well.

Buzzi had a successful nightclub act all across the United States including in Las Vegas at the Sahara Hotel and at the MGM Grand. She only performed the act for one year because she did not like the smell of cigarette smoke and disliked traveling all the time; her shows were all sold out and she was offered an extended stay in Las Vegas but opted out.

Buzzi has had featured roles in more than 20 motion pictures including Chu Chu and the Philly Flash, Freaky Friday, The North Avenue Irregulars, The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again, The Villain, and a number of westerns for the European market known as the Lucky Luke series in which she plays the mother of the Dalton Gang and other roles.

She was a judge on the Gong Show and Gang Gonged Alan Katz during his famous burping act.