Selma Diamond

Selma Diamond (August 5, 1920 – May 13, 1985) was a Canadian-born American comedic actress and radio and television writer, known for her high-range, her raspy voice, and her portrayal of Selma Hacker on the first two seasons of the NBC television comedy series Night Court.[1]

Selma Diamond
Born	August 5, 1920 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	May 13, 1985 (aged 64) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Alma mater	New York University
Occupation	Comedic actress Comedy writer for radio and television
Years active	1943–1985

Life and career

Diamond was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada in 1920 to a tailor and his wife, but moved at a young age to Brooklyn, New York City. She graduated from New York University[2] and published cartoons and humour essays in The New Yorker before moving to the West Coast, hiring an agent, and finding work in radio and, eventually, television. Her first radio writing credit was in 1943 on Blue Ribbon Town with Groucho Marx,[3] the Camel Caravan with Jimmy Durante and Garry Moore,[4] The Drene Show with Rudy Vallee,[5] Duffy's Tavern,[6] and The Kenny Baker Show.[7] In 1950, she became one of the staffers hired by legendary comedy writer Goodman Ace (who'd previously hired her for some work on Danny Kaye's short-lived 1940s' radio show) for The Big Show (1950–52), the ninety-minute weekly program hosted by actress Tallulah Bankhead. Considered one of the last great variety shows of the classic old time radio era, this Sunday night comedy marathon featured some of the biggest entertainers of the era.

She moved on to television as one of the writers for Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca's groundbreaking Your Show of Shows. Diamond was reputed to have been the inspiration for the Sally Rogers character on The Dick Van Dyke Show, which centered on the head writer for a fictitious, mercurial television comedian. While writing for another Caesar vehicle, Caesar's Hour, Diamond earned an Emmy nomination. She also worked for Goodman Ace once again, writing for Perry Como's successful Kraft Music Hall television series.

Diamond wasn't always taken seriously by her writing peers. Bob Schiller, who had also written for Duffy's Tavern and The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, told author Jordan R. Young (for The Laugh Crafters), "The jury is still out on whether Selma was a comedy writer. She was really a very interesting character—salty, and she was—exactly what you saw on camera is what she was."

In 1960, she released a comedy album based around her humorous conversational style called Selma Diamond Talks...and Talks and Talks and Talks... (Carleton LPX 5001, 1960).

In 1970, she wrote the book Nose Jobs for Peace, published by Prentice-Hall (ISBN 0136238270 ISBN 9780136238270)

By the 1960s and 1970s, Diamond was familiar as a frequent guest on The Jack Paar Show and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and she made numerous film appearances, including Stanley Kramer's comedy It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (as the unseen telephone voice of Spencer Tracy's wife, Ginger Culpepper), Bang the Drum Slowly (as hotel switchboard operator Tootsie), and All of Me (as Margo). In 1982, she appeared in My Favorite Year with a memorable small role as wardrobe mistress for King Kaiser's Comedy Calvalcade, a fictional show which clearly echoed the time and venue of her work for Sid Caesar. She was also a semi-regular for four seasons of the Ted Knight comedy series Too Close For Comfort.

For many years, Diamond resided in a co-op apartment at 60 Sutton Place South in Manhattan until she moved out in the late 1970s. The diminutive Diamond, who was a chain smoker, was one of the original cast members of Night Court until she was stricken with lung cancer and died at age 64 in Los Angeles. She was buried in Hillside Memorial Park in Culver City, Los Angeles County, California.[8] By tragic coincidence, her successor playing the bailiff, Florence Halop, also succumbed to lung cancer after her one year in the cast of Night Court.[9]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World	Ginger Culpeper	Voice
1973	Bang The Drum Slowly	Tootsie
1982	My Favorite Year	Lil
1983	Lovesick	Harriet Singer, M.D.
	Twilight Zone: The Movie	Mrs. Weinstein	Segment: "Kick the Can"
1984	All of Me	Margo

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1963	Jackie Gleason: American Scene Magazine	American Scene Magazine Reporter	Episode: "#1.17"
1972	Arnie	Selma	Episode: "Wilson Tastes Like a Good Candidate Should"
	McMillan & Wife	Gas Station Attendant	Episode: "An Elementary Case of Murder"
	Magic Carpet	Mrs. Vogel	Television Film
1977	The Edge of Night	Mrs. Yoast	Unknown Episodes
1978	Flying High	Woman in beauty salon	Episode: "Swan Song for an Ugly Duckling
1980 - 1984	Too Close for Comfort	Mildred Rafkin	08 Episodes
1983	Archie Bunker's Place	Mrs. Isaacson	Episode: "Three Women"
	The Other Woman	Aunt Jeanette	Television Film
	Nine to Five	Selma	Episode: "The Phantom"
	Trapper John, M.D.	Martha	Episode: "What a Difference a Day Makes"
1984	The Ratings Game	Francine's Mother	Television Film
1984 - 1985	Night Court	Bailiff Selma Hacker / Selma Hacker	36 Episodes
1985	The Jetsons	Di Di	Episode: "Elroy in Wonderland" (voice)

References

1. "'Night Court' co-star Selma Diamond dead". The Montreal Gazette. May 14, 1985. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
2. New York Times, 20 Sept. 1953
3. Daily Variety, February 25, 1943
4. Daily Variety, Dec. 12,1944.
5. Daily Variety, Aug. 30, 1945.
6. Daily Variety, Jan. 14, 1946.
7. Daily Variety, April 2, 1947
8. "Selma Diamond (1920-1985)".
9. Boyer, Edward J. (July 16, 1986). "Florence Halop of TV's 'Night Court' Dies at 63". Los Angeles Times.

External links

• Selma Diamond at IMDb
• Selma Diamond at Find a Grave