Ruth Buzzi on Comedy, "Laugh-In," and Gladys

Ruth Buzzi enjoys life on her Texas
ranch. (Photo: James Pylant)

Ruth Buzzi, Golden Globe winner and five-time Emmy nominee, appeared in hundreds of television shows, dozens of movies, and is now retired on a Texas ranch in northern Erath County where she and her husband raise cattle and horses.

James Pylant: You learned to perform in front of crowds as a high school cheerleader. When did you realize you wanted to get into acting? What sparked that interest?

Ruth Buzzi: I knew that my father was serious about furthering my education after high school. I really wanted to just be a housewife but that would have disappointed him, so I was forced to choose another career involving higher education, and acting seemed like the most interesting thing I could pursue.  I had the lead in a high school play, The Heiress, and was in all the school variety shows we put on.  I always played a funny part of some kind. They considered me the gooney one.  I was head cheerleader, and that was performing, too, and that showed me how much I enjoyed performing in front of a crowd.  There were 14 of us, all girls, and we had to do flips, cartwheels and gymnastics—all that sort of thing.  I loved the rehearsals, the training, everything about it.  Somewhere along the way I realized acting and performing was what I really enjoyed the most.  So I decided to go to the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater Arts.

JP: Where did you discover your talent for comedy? How did you come to realize you had this gift?

RB: I always enjoyed making people laugh, from as early as I can remember. I had fun with talent shows in school, and comedy came rather naturally to me.  My mother was a very funny person, and I must’ve picked up some of her sense of humor.  I had a little talent for sketching and painting, too—my father was a really great artist and sculptor—and because I usually drew “funny” pictures, Dad suggested I might end up a cartoonist.  But performing for people was more appealing to me than working all day at a desk, drawing pictures.

JP: By the time Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In came along, you had already appeared in TV shows such as The Garry Moore Show, Your Show of Shows, and The Steve Allen Comedy Hour. At what point did you realize that you had “arrived”? 

Ruth with husband Kent Perkins
(Courtesy of Kent and Ruth Buzzi Perkins)

RB: I realized when Laugh-In was a number one hit show that I was probably destined to make a decent living at acting. I never sat back and thought, “I’ve arrived!” but our hit show on NBC gave me the confidence to buy a house in the Hollywood Hills and to pursue my career with a little less anxiety. Really, though, most actors never get over the insecurity that comes from living job to job, and always wondering whether the offers would continue to come in. That may be why I enjoy retirement so much—not having to think about it! I am grateful for the success I had, which I never took for granted, but equally grateful for the opportunity to have a “life after show-biz.” 

JP: We have to talk about Gladys Ormphby. You played several characters on Laugh-In, but none were as popular as Gladys. How did that character come about? 

RB: I created the costume for a character in the show Auntie Mame. I played the dorky secretary, Agnes Gooch. Gladys Ormphby is a name I made up, trying to give my ugliest character a name to match her looks. It worked! 

JP: Is it true you have a horse named Gladys? What prompted that?

RB: The horse was born with markings on her forehead that looked just like Gladys Ormphby’s hair, and even had a dot in the middle of the forehead like the knot on Gladys’s hair net, so calling the horse Gladys was totally natural!

 

Ruth with Gladys
(Courtesy of Kent and Ruth Buzzi Perkins)

JP: Tell me about being honored on This is Your Life. Was this a complete surprise? 

RB: Unbeknownst to me, it had all been set up for them to come when the cast was doing the last number of a Monday night Laugh-In show taping.  They came onto the stage, which was lit for the last number, and Ralph Edwards walked up and said, “Ruth Buzzi, this is your life!” It was a wonderful, emotional experience.  They put me into a limo and took me to their studios to finish doing the show. I was shocked at the amount of research they’d done into my background and life. I was amazed at the level of detail! And it became very emotional to be reunited with so many people who had contributed to my being where I was in life—friends and relatives, teachers—it was unforgettable.

JP: Of all your roles, which was your favorite?

RB: The French ones that arrive at the dinner table very hot, with lots of garlic butter.