Ruth Buzzi dies at 88 following Alzheimer’s diagnosis

Buzzi’s agent confirmed the news, stating that Buzzi died Thursday at her home in Texas.

She had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and was in hospice care.

What they’re saying:

Shortly before her death, her husband, Kent Perkins, 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.”

Ruth Buzzi’s 4-decade career

The backstory:

Ruth Buzzi was born July 24, 1936, in Westerly, Rhode Island. At 17, she enrolled at the Pasadena Playhouse for the Performing Arts. Her classmates included Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman, according to IMDB.

She went on to act in a wide variety of revues throughout New England, and worked alongside other young and talented performers who were just beginning their careers at the time, including Barbra Streisand, Joan Rivers and Carol Burnett.

She auditioned for and received a permanent place in “Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In,” playing everything from deadpan housewives to hard-bitten drunks to Southern belles.

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.

She made over 200 television appearances during a 45-year career.

What She Said:

“I never took my work for granted, nor assumed I deserved more of the credit or spotlight or more pay than anyone else,” Buzzi told The Connecticut Post. “I was just thrilled to drive down the hill to NBC every day as an employed actor with a job to do.”

Buzzi also guested in music videos with “Weird Al” Yankovic, the B-52’s and the Presidents of the United States of America.

In addition, she did hundreds of guest voices in cartoon series including “Pound Puppies,” “Berenstain Bears,” “The Smurfs” and “The Angry Beavers.” She was Emmy nominated for her six-year run as shopkeeper Ruthie on “Sesame Street.”

Her movie credits included “Freaky Friday,” “Chu Chu and the Philly Flash,” “The North Avenue Irregulars” and “The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.”

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.