Though most of Ruth Buzzi's official biographies list her birthplace as Westerly, RI, she herself was fond of claiming that she was born in Wequetequock, CT, perhaps because it sounded funnier. Whatever the case, Buzzi was the daughter of an immigrant Italian stone sculptor who specialized in cemetery monuments. After attending dancing school, 17-year-old Buzzi studied for an acting career at the Pasadena Playhouse. A well-established West Coast character actress by 1959, Buzzi came to Broadway to appear in the short-lived revue Misguided Tour; it was here that she created the first of her many memorable "alter egos," half-witted magician's assistant Shakuntula. It was while playing the woebegone Agnes Gooch in a 1961 stock-company production of Auntie Mame that Buzzi developed the character that would reach full maturity as the whining schlumper Gladys Ormphby. In 1965, she joined the cast of the CBS TV variety series The Entertainers, and that same year provided the voice of Granny Goodwich on the Linus the Lionhearted cartoon weekly. She went to make recurring appearances on That Girl and the 1967 Steve Allen Comedy Hour; and in January of 1968, she began a seven-year hitch on the immensely popular Rowan and Martin's Laugh-In. Together with Laugh-In co-star Arte Johnson, Buzzi provided the voice for her cartoon likeness in the 1977 Saturday morning animated series Baggy Pants and the Nitwits. Under the aegis of Sid and Marty Krofft, Buzzi starred on the weekend kiddie shows Far Out Space Nuts (1975) and The Krofft Supershow (1976). On the big screen, Ruth Buzzi has been seen in such Disney fare as Freaky Friday (1977), The North Avenue Irregulars (1978), and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again (1979).
| Title | Year | Editors' Rating | User Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
According to Dom
Participant |
2009 | |||
| 2006 | ||||
|
Fallen Angels
Actor |
2006 | |||
| 2004 | ||||
| 1999 | ||||
|
Boys Will Be Boys
Actor |
1997 | |||
|
Troublemakers
Actor |
1994 | |||
|
Wishful Thinking
Actor |
1992 | |||
|
Digging up Business
Actor |
1991 | |||
|
Diggin' up Business
Actor |
1989 | |||
|
Hollywood on Horses
Actor |
1989 | |||
|
My Mom's a Werewolf
Actor |
1989 | |||
|
Dixie Lanes
Actor |
1988 | |||
| 1988 | ||||
|
Up Your Alley
Actor |
1988 | |||
|
Dream Boys Revue
Performance |
1987 | |||
| 1987 | ||||
|
Bad Guys
Actor |
1986 | |||
| 1985 | ||||
|
Incredible Book Escape
Actor |
1984 | |||
|
Reading Rainbow: Miss Nelson Is Back
Participant |
1984 | |||
|
Surf 2
Actor |
1984 | |||
| 1984 | ||||
|
The Being
Actor |
1983 | |||
|
The Pottsville Horror
Actor |
1983 | |||
| 1981 | ||||
| 1981 | ||||
|
I Go Pogo
Actor |
1980 | |||
|
Scavenger Hunt
Actor |
1979 | |||
|
Skatetown, USA
Actor |
1979 | |||
| 1979 | ||||
| 1979 | ||||
|
The Villain
Actor |
1979 | |||
|
Record City
Actor |
1978 | |||
| 1977 | ||||
|
Emergency!: Grateful
Actor |
1976 | |||
|
Freaky Friday
Actor |
1976 | |||
|
The Crazy Comedy Concert
Actor |
1974 | |||
|
In Name Only
Actor |
1969 | |||
|
That Girl: Season 02
Actor |
1967 | |||
| 1967 |



