Phyllis Diller (July 17, 1917–August 20, 2012) is widely considered to be the first woman stand-up comic to perform as a solo act. To celebrate her 100th birthday in 2017, the Smithsonian worked with ...

Phyllis Diller (1917-2012) began her comedy career in the 1950s at the age of 37 and broke barriers in the comedy world to become the first solo female comic to be a household name.

Stephanie Diller received the award in honor of her late husband, while Long Island officer Brendon Gallagher was also honored.

On the other hand, shouldn’t people just — you know — laugh when something’s funny? There was concern, for example, that the Munsters would be scary without a laugh track.