Diane M Ford

In the world of comedy, there are stars, and then there are icons. Diane Marie Ford, with her razor-sharp wit, lightning-fast humor, and unwavering spirit, was undoubtedly the latter. On April 30, 2024, the comedy world bid farewell to one of its brightest, bawdiest, and most irreverent luminaries as Diane passed away in Sarasota, Florida, at the age of 68, following a valiant battle with cancer.

Born on September 4, 1955, in the quaint town of Waseca, Minnesota, Diane's journey to stardom grew from seeds of tragedy. When Diane was just fourteen years old, she lost both her parents in a car accident. Her young life was quite difficult; she was moved from relative to relative, then to foster homes, and finally placed in a Catholic girls boarding school. This experience forced her to find humor and laughter in all parts of life, from the dark times to the joyful times.

In an interview with The Detroit News, Diane shared, “A lot of comics have known some personal tragedy in their lives. A lot of comedy comes out of pain. If you can turn it around somehow, and then laugh at it, it makes the pain easier to bear.”

Diane turned that energy into ribald, no-holds-barred humor where she skewered societal standards about men and women, sex, and often her home state of Minnesota, but always with a wry engaging wink that made you feel like you were in on the joke-an engaging technique that let her walk right up to the line of outraging her audience, while winning their admiration instead.

From her early days in the Midwest to the glitz of Hollywood and the bright lights of Las Vegas and Reno, Diane's comedic genius lit up the stage as well as the TV screen in her many televised appearances.

Her rise to fame was steady, a testament to her drive to succeed in a field where very few women had done so. Well-known for many years in the industry, but not as visible to the country as a whole, she was what the LA Times called “a comedian's comedienne.”

Her irrepressible spirit meant that national breakthrough was inevitable, and when it came, it came with gusto. In the late 80s and early 90s, she had a string of high-profile appearances, including starring roles in three HBO specials: "Women of the Night," "One Night Stand," and "Command Performance," and three shows recorded for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

Throughout her career, Diane amassed a staggering array of accolades, highlighted by her incredible eleven nominations for Comedian of the Year by the American Comedy Awards. She also had frequent recurring appearances on major televised programs, including thirteen appearances on 'Comic Strip Live' and thirteen appearances on 'Evening at the Improv.” Her eight appearances on “The Jerry Lewis Telethon” culminated in her serving as co-host.

Her later career included her own show in Las Vegas, “Diane Ford’s Cosmopolitan Comedy” at the Desert Inn, and an extended career as an in-demand performer on Carnival cruise lines. When not on-the-road, she loved to appear at McCurdy's Comedy Theatre in Sarasota.

Les McCurdy, co-owner of McCurdy’s Comedy Club with wife Pam, recalls, “I first met her when I opened for her in Atlanta at the Punchline. She was the headliner, and I was so impressed with her strength as an independent woman. You're talking about the eighties, and she was in a very male-dominated industry. She wasn't intimidated by anyone; she only allowed you to get so close. Basically, a ballbuster,” “and other comedians respected her for that because she could back it up. She'd step up on that stage and rock.”

Les continues, “Diane was a great mentor to me as a comedian. She got me my first gig in Las Vegas, my first experience of riding down the Vegas strip and seeing my name up on a sign. She made that happen. Whenever I saw her, she was treating us to one of the most special memories of our entire life.”

Nothing filled Diane with more joy than riffing and laughing with her professional peers as well as her family. A casual dinner could turn into a collaborative comic tour de force with Diane leading the charge.

When actor and comedian Tim Allen was asked by Bon Appetit magazine which three comedians he would invite to dinner, Tim replied that one of his three, “would have to be a woman who wouldn't be afraid to tell us if we were being full of it, and it would be one of my contemporaries. I'd choose Diane Ford, who is a very funny comedienne."

Diane’s sharp wit and keen observations on love, marriage, and the human condition made her the natural choice when her friend Tim Allen wanted to find a fresh and funny approach to these for his hit TV show “Home Improvement,” bringing Diane in to write an episode very much in the style of her humor.

A visit to Sarasota, Florida in 2001 introduced Diane to the town she would call “home” for the remainder of her life, and introduced her to the man who would become the love of her life, John Garner, a Sarasota-based Realtor. Together they traveled the world, wherever Diane’s career led them; Europe, the Caribbean, Asia, Alaska, and more.

Diane enjoyed life in the sunny climate of Sarasota, quite the opposite of her white and snowy Minnesota childhood. As Diane quipped often from the stage, “you've got to have a good sense of humor to survive the winters in Minnesota … the folks who came from Sweden and Norway all the way across the ocean to America to settle in a place just as cold and miserable as the one they left. They're not afraid to make fun of themselves.”

With Diane’s humor being so focused on relationships and the observations about male/female dynamic, it was natural that her marriage made for constant fodder in her always evolving performances. Always self-deprecating, Diane made her and John the butt of endless humor, and John enjoyed being part of the show. He recounts night after night, standing in the dark, in the back of the theater; “I loved watching the audiences. See, I knew when the punchline was coming up, so I loved looking at the audience and watching their drinks come out of their noses at just the right at the right moment!”

Her husband, John, also brought a whole new rewarding dynamic into Diane’s life with their blended family. Diane often joked that she worked hard at being a “bad influence” as a doting stepmother and grandmother to her sons John Rhett Garner and Travis Garner, and her grandchildren, Charles, Aubrey, Addison, Selkie, and Uhtred, as well as her numerous nieces and nephews. Diane’s prowess in the kitchen brought her a different kind of fame, that which comes from the adulation of a procession of smiling grandkids, nieces, and nephews. Too young to watch her specials, the little ones would cheer to hear that “Aunt Diane” was bringing her sweet treats, especially pies and cakes, to Christmas or Thanksgiving dinner.

As her battle with cancer took its inevitable toll, one of the special joys for Diane was to visit the Big Cat Habitat, run by her dear friend, Kay Rosaire, and spend time with the animals, especially the lemurs. Kay says of Diane, “I miss her. It's the laughter, you know, and that’s best thing you can do. I tell people this all the time, ‘We have one life, make it fun, make it happy, be joyful.’ And she was the personification of that. Even with all she was going through, right to the very end, she cracking jokes, she was still joking, you know? She was just amazing.”

She is survived by her husband, John, her cherished stepsons Rhett (Ashley) and Travis (Amy), their children, her brothers Jerry Waldron and Lyle Waldron, her sisters Connie Rupp, Carol Norton, and her adoptive sister Kolleen Felber. She is also survived by her sister-in-law, Laura Roberts of Sarasota, and numerous nieces and nephews, and grand nieces and grand nephews.

In her memory, memorial contributions can be made to the Big Cat Habitat and Gulf Coast Sanctuary at 7101 Palmer Blvd, P.O.BOX 50217, Sarasota FL 34242.

Diane’s passing leaves an empty space that cannot be filled and a somber silence, and even in sadness we know that the impact she made on the world rang with laughter. Our tears of sadness today are but a droplet compared to the buckets of tears from the laughter that Diane elicited during her life.

A Celebration of Diane’s Life for friends and family, will be held on June 1st at 11am to 1pm, at Robert Toale and Sons Funeral Home at Palms Memorial Park, 170 Honore Avenue, Sarasota, FL 34232.