‘Functioned out of her passion’: Funeral for comedian Ruth Buzzi held in Erath County
.JPG "Ruth Buzzi and husband Kent Perkins in 2015.")
Family and friends of the late comedian Ruth Buzzi described her as a deeply charitable individual and an icon of entertainment at a funeral service held Saturday.
Buzzi died of Alzheimer’s disease May 1 at her home in Erath County, her husband announced on Facebook at the time.
The funeral, held at the Cowboy Church of Erath County, included a eulogy from Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller.
During one of his campaigns, Miller said, Buzzi offered to film a commercial for him.
“She wasn’t really very political, and I could tell when she made this commercial that she hadn’t made a lot of political commercials,” Miller said. “She just did this off the cuff.”
In the ad, Miller said, Buzzi described him as “the kind of guy that you can call at all hours of the night,” before joking that Miller’s wife Debra “gets mad when another woman calls her husband at 2 o’clock in the morning.”
At the close of his remarks, Miller read a letter from President Donald Trump.
“The First Lady and I were deeply saddened when our friend, Texas Commissioner of Agriculture Sid Miller, called to let us know of the passing of his dear friend, entertainment icon Ruth Buzzi,” Trump said in the letter.
“Her comedic talents were immense and she could make anyone she met smile,” Trump said.
Buzzi was best known for her role as the handbag-wielding Gladys Ormphby on “Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In,” a storekeeper on “Sesame Street” in the 1990s and voice roles in multiple cartoons.
The role of Ormphby won Buzzi a Golden Globe in 1973. She was nominated for five Emmys during her 40-plus year career.
She and her husband Kent Perkins moved from California to a 640-acre ranch near Stephenville in 2003, the Associated Press reported.
The comedian had been in hospice care and suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for several years, the Star-Telegram previously reported.
Buzzi will be buried at the Texas State Cemetery in Austin, Miller said. The cemetery is “the final resting place for notable Texans who have made significant contributions to the state’s history and culture,” according to its website.
“Ruthie functioned out of her passion,” officiant Rev. Werth Mayes said. “There was nothing that was pretend, nothing that was manufactured. It was all real.”
This story was originally published May 17, 2025 at 6:13 PM.
