Ruth Buzzi, who rose to fame as the frumpy and bitter Gladys Ormphby on the groundbreaking sketch comedy series "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In" and made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career, died Thursday. She was 88.Related video above: Remembering those we lost in 2025Buzzi died at her home in Texas, her agent Mike Eisenstadt said. She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's and was in hospice care. Shortly before her death, her husband Kent Perkins, had posted a statement on Buzzi's Facebook page, thanking her many fans and telling them: "She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them."Buzzi won a Golden Globe and was a two-time Emmy nominee for the NBC show that ran from 1968 to 1973. She was the only regular to appear in all six seasons, including the pilot."Ruth Buzzi was a comedic genius," Nancy Sinatra posted on X. "Working alongside her on Laugh-In was the most fun I ever had working. I treasured her friendship and I am heartbroken to wake up to the news that she is gone. I love you, Ruthie."Singer Deana Martin posted, "Her laughter and warmth touched us all, leaving an everlasting void."Ormphby character leads to 맥스카지노�Laugh-In맥스카지노�Buzzi was first spotted by 맥스카지노�Laugh-In맥스카지노� creator and producer George Schlatter playing various characters on 맥스카지노�The Steve Allen Comedy Hour.맥스카지노�Schlatter was holding auditions for 맥스카지노�Laugh-In맥스카지노� when he received a picture in the mail of Buzzi in her Ormphby costume, sitting in a wire mesh trash barrel. The character was clad in drab brown with her bun covered by a hairnet knotted in the middle of her forehead.맥스카지노�I think I hired her because of my passion for Gladys Ormphby,맥스카지노� he wrote in his 2023 memoir 맥스카지노�Still Laughing A Life in Comedy.맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�I must admit that the hairnet and the rolled-down stockings did light my fire. My favorite Gladys line was when she announced that the day of the office Christmas party, they sent her home early.맥스카지노�The Gladys character used her purse as a weapon against anyone who bothered her, striking people over the head. On 맥스카지노�Laugh-In,맥스카지노� her most frequent target was Arte Johnson맥스카지노�s dirty old man character Tyrone F. Horneigh.맥스카지노�Gladys embodies the overlooked, the downtrodden, the taken for granted, the struggler,맥스카지노� Buzzi told The Connecticut Post in 2018. 맥스카지노�So when she fights back, she speaks for everyone who맥스카지노�s been marginalized, reduced to a sex object or otherwise abused. And that맥스카지노�s almost everyone at some time or other.맥스카지노�Buzzi took her act to the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts in Las Vegas, where she bashed her purse on the heads of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Lucille Ball, among others.맥스카지노�Ruth Buzzi brought a singular energy and charm to sketch comedy that made her a standout on 맥스카지노�Laugh-In맥스카지노� and the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts. Her characters, especially the unforgettable Gladys Ormphby, captured the delightful absurdity of the era," said Journey Gunderson, executive director of the National Comedy Center in Jamestown, New York.Her other recurring characters on 맥스카지노�Laugh-In맥스카지노� included Flicker Farkle; Busy-Buzzi, a Hollywood gossip columnist; Doris Swizzler, a cocktail-lounge regular who got drunk with husband Leonard, played by Dick Martin; and an inconsiderate flight attendant.맥스카지노�I never took my work for granted, nor assumed I deserved more of the credit or spotlight or more pay than anyone else,맥스카지노� Buzzi told The Connecticut Post. 맥스카지노�I was just thrilled to drive down the hill to NBC every day as an employed actor with a job to do.맥스카지노�Buzzi remained friends through the years with 맥스카지노�Laugh-In맥스카지노� co-stars Lily Tomlin and Jo Anne Worley.From cheerleading to the stageBorn Ruth Ann Buzzi on July 24, 1936, in Westerly, Rhode Island, she was the daughter of Angelo Buzzi, a nationally known stone sculptor. Her father and later her brother operated Buzzi Memorials, a gravestone and monument maker in Stonington, Connecticut, where she was head cheerleader in high school.Buzzi enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse at age 17. Two years later, she traveled with singer Rudy Vallee in a musical and comedy act during her summer break. That earned her an Actors맥스카지노� Equity union card before she graduated from the playhouse맥스카지노�s College of Theatre Arts.Buzzi moved to New York and was immediately hired for a lead role in an off-Broadway musical revue, the first of 19 such shows she performed in on the East Coast.She got her national television break on 맥스카지노�The Garry Moore Show맥스카지노� in 1964, just after Carol Burnett was replaced by Dorothy Loudon on the series. She played Shakundala the Silent, a bumbling magician맥스카지노�s assistant to Dom DeLuise맥스카지노�s character Dominic the Great.Buzzi was a regular on the CBS variety show 맥스카지노�The Entertainers맥스카지노� whose hosts included Burnett and Bob Newhart.She was in the original Broadway cast of 맥스카지노�Sweet Charity맥스카지노� with Gwen Verdon in 1966.Buzzi toured the country with her nightclub act, including appearances in Las Vegas.She was a semi-regular on 맥스카지노�That Girl맥스카지노� as Marlo Thomas맥스카지노� friend. She co-starred with Jim Nabors as time-traveling androids on 맥스카지노�The Lost Saucer맥스카지노� in the mid-1970s.Her other guest appearances included variety shows hosted by Burnett, Flip Wilson, Glen Campbell, Tony Orlando, Donny and Marie Osmond and Leslie Uggams.She appeared in Ball맥스카지노�s last comedy series 맥스카지노�Life With Lucy.맥스카지노�Buzzi appeared in music videos with 맥스카지노�Weird Al맥스카지노� Yankovic, the B-52맥스카지노�s and the Presidents of the United States of America.She did hundreds of guest voices in cartoon series including 맥스카지노�Pound Puppies,맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�Berenstain Bears,맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�The Smurfs맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�The Angry Beavers.맥스카지노�She was Emmy nominated for her six-year run as shopkeeper Ruthie on 맥스카지노�Sesame Street.맥스카지노�Her movie credits included 맥스카지노�Freaky Friday,맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�Chu Chu and the Philly Flash,맥스카지노� 맥스카지노�The North Avenue Irregulars맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.맥스카지노�Buzzi was active on social media and had thousands of followers whom she rewarded with such one-liners as 맥스카지노�I have never faked a sarcasm맥스카지노� and 맥스카지노�Scientists say the universe is made up entirely of neurons, protons and electrons. They seem to have missed morons.맥스카지노�She married actor Perkins in 1978.The couple moved from California to Texas in 2003 and bought a 640-acre ranch near Stephenville.Buzzi retired from acting in 2021 and suffered a series of strokes the following year. Her husband told The Dallas Morning News in 2023 that she had dementia.맥스카지노�-Associated Press National Writer Hillel Italie contributed to this report.