The entertainment world recently said goodbye to singer-songwriter Jill Sobule and comedian and actress and comedian Ruth Buzzi. Ms. Sobule died tragically in a structure fire at her Woodbury, Minnesota home. She was 66. And Ms. Buzzi, who suffered a severe stroke in 2022, died from Alzheimer’s disease at her home near Mingus, Texas at the age of 88.

Although they were a generation apart, they both showed a quirky independence that is so lacking in today’s entertainment world. They shared the traits of being energetic, charming, naughty, and funny. Both Sobule and Buzzi were originals who blazed their own paths to success. And they were beloved by their many fans.

Jill Sobule

Jill Sobule was born in Denver Colorado on Jan. 16, 1959. Her guitar talents began to show when she was in the eighth grade. She later wrote about this period in a musical saying “This period was kind of this universal story of a weirdo growing up.” She said the only queer role models she had as a youth were Miss Jane Hathaway, the very proper secretary played by Nancy Kulp on the sitcom “The Beverly Hillbillies,” and her gym teacher, “who looked like Pete Rose.”

Sobule eventually dropped out of school to pursue her music career and in 1990, she recorded her first album, “Things Here Are Different.” But it was her second album, self-titled, “Jill Sobule” that brought her overnight fame. It spawned a hit single “I Kissed a Girl,” which tells the story of a woman who kisses a female friend.  It reached the Top 20 of Billboard Magazine’s Modern Rock Tracks chart, then known as the Alternative Airplay chart, and it was the first song with an openly LGBTQ+ theme to reach the Top 20 of a Billboard chart.

Sobule followed that up with the rockin’ rebellious single, “Super Model, which was featured in the movie “Clueless.” And while her subsequent albums were creative and unique, she never again reached that level of commercial success. But she continued to have a loyal following who purchased her albums and reveled in her live performances. Her manager John Porter said this in a statement about Sobule after her passing.

“Jill Sobule was a force of nature and human rights advocate whose music is woven into our culture. I was having so much fun working with her. I lost a client and a friend today. I hope her music, memory and legacy continue to live on and inspire others.”

Ruth Buzzi

Ruth Ann Buzzi was born in Westerly, Rhode Island, on July 24, 1936, but raised in nearby Wequetquock Cove, Connecticut. After graduating from high school in 1954, she trained for three years at the Pasadena Playhouse where two of her classmates were Dustin Hoffman and Gene Hackman. She worked a summer with Rudy Vallee’s musical-comedy group and appeared with Dom DeLuise on “The Garry Moore Show.” She also guest starred on Marlo Thomas’ sitcom “That Girl” and “The Monkees” television show.

Buzzi was cast in her only Broadway show in 1966 when she was part of the original cast, along with Gwen Verdon, of the classic musical “Sweet Charity.” She was regular on “The Steve Allen Comedy Hour” where she developed some of the characters she would later use on Laugh-In. But it was her coming of age on the latter that made her a household name and beloved to this day. Buzzi was one of first hires for “Laugh-In” in 1967 and stayed with the show in its entirety through March 1973.

“Laugh-In” served as the springboard for many future stars including Lily Tomlin, Goldie Hawn, Richard Dawson, Buzzi, and many others. Much like The Smother Brothers Comedy Hour, much of the show’s humor was geared to the counterculture. They found a frequent target in candidate and then President Richard Nixon, who playfully appeared on the show during the presidential campaign in an attempt to soften his image.

Buzzi was a whirlwind of characters on the show such as Gladys Ormphby, a crabby old woman who was paired with Arte Johnson who played the creepy geezer, Tyrone F. Horneigh. Some of her other classic characters were Flicker Farkle, the youngest child of the show’s Farkle Family, and Doris Swizzler, an always soused cocktail-lounge regular. For her work on the show, she was a five-time Emmy Award nominee and the winner of a Golden Globe Award,

After “Laugh-In” she made frequent appearances on the Dean Martin Celebrity Roasts where she reprised, her role as Gladys Ormphby. Some of her other credits included playing shopkeeper Ruthie on “Sesame Street” from 1993 to 1999 and voice work on the cartoons “The Berenstain Bears” and “The Smurfs.” In 2021, Buzzi retired and lived out her years with her husband Ken on their Texas ranch. After she became ill, her husband shared this message from Buzzi to her fans.

“She asked me to thank all of you for being so good to her for so many years. She wants you to know she probably had more fun doing those shows than you had watching them. Because of health issues, she’s must withdraw from writing, but she will still be reading and enjoying your posts,” he wrote via her Facebook page. “If you’ve met Ruthie and had a picture taken with her, please post it below. If you have a great memory from her career that you enjoyed — a special comedy sketch, or a moment that made you laugh — share that with us. Ruthie loves you.”