Phyllis Diller’s Gag File

Object Details

Date made
ca 1962 - 1994
manufacturer
Art Steel Company, Inc.
maker
Diller, Phyllis
Art Steel Company, Inc.
Description

This beige metal cabinet is Phyllis Diller’s gag file, a categorized archive of the jokes Diller used in her stand-up comedy routines throughout her half-century long career. A small three drawer expansion of the gag file is also in NMAH’s collection (Catalog Number 2003.0289.01.02). The 48 drawers of the gag file, along with the 3 drawer expansion, contain a total of 52,569 3-by-5 inch index cards, each holding a typewritten joke or gag. These index cards are organized alphabetically by subject ranging from accessories to world affairs and covering almost everything in between.

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. She developed a stage persona of an incompetent housewife and dressed in outlandish outfits with wild hair. Her material focused on self-deprecating jokes that tackled the idealized image of American mothers and homemakers. She also created many mythical personas for her stage act including her “husband” Fang, her “neighbor” Mrs. Clean, and her “mother-in-law” Moby Dick.
Location
Currently not on view
place made
United States: New York, New York City
Subject
Humor
Comedians
See more items in
Culture and the Arts: Entertainment
Popular Entertainment
Phyllis Diller
Credit Line
Gift of Phyllis Diller
Data Source
National Museum of American History
ID Number
2003.0289.01.01
accession number
2003.0289
catalog number
2003.0289.01.01
Object Name
file
Physical Description
steel (overall material)
paper (overall material)
ink (overall material)
adhesive (overall material)
Measurements
overall: 48 in x 40 in x 17 1/4 in; 121.92 cm x 101.6 cm x 43.815 cm
GUID
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ab-40b6-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa
Record ID
nmah_1218385
Phyllis Diller Gag File, Drawer 01 slideshow