Ruth Buzzi, best known for her work on the hit sketch comedy Rowan & Martin’s Laugh-In, died May 1, 2025, at home in Texas while under hospice care. She was 88. Her official Facebook confirmed she “passed away peacefully… in her sleep.”
Diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in 2012 and left incapacitated by a stroke in 2022, Buzzi rose to fame playing quirky characters like Doris Swizzler and Busy-Buzzi. “She garnered five Emmy nods and a Golden Globe” for Laugh-In, which aired from 1968 to 1973.
Buzzi’s decades-long TV career included appearances on The Carol Burnett Show, Sesame Street, The Muppet Show, and The Gong Show. She also starred in films like Freaky Friday and The Apple Dumpling Gang Rides Again.
Starting her career at 19 with Rudy Vallee, she later worked with stars like Carol Burnett, Barbra Streisand, and Dean Martin. Her final screen credit was One Month Out in 2021.
She spent her later years on a Texas ranch with her husband, actor Kent Perkins. Her legacy lives on through a body of work that delighted generations.
