Are Phyllis Diller and Susan Lucci related?
by Dan J Kroll
Posted Friday, December 24, 1999 - 8:32:53 PM


Is Susan Lucci the daughter of legendary comic Phyllis Diller? And where does One Life to Live star Robin Strasser fit into the branches of that family tree?


There's no denying that the Internet is possibly one of the greatest inventions of the twentieth century. As we move into the next millennium, the speed at which people can exchange information will increase.


One of the downfalls of this ease of communication is the spreading of mistruths and falsehoods. Urban legends have been part of American culture for some time. Now that the 'net is here, there are more outlets for people to spread these stories.


No one's sure exactly when or where this All My Children rumor first popped up, though it seems to have first popped up in the early part of the 1980s. Fans of All My Children started hearing word that Susan Lucci -- famous in her own right -- was the daughter of another famous woman: Phyllis Diller. Some time later, the story was augmented to include soap veteran Robin Strasser. Strasser, best known as One Life to Live's Dorian Lord, was said to be Lucci's sister.


In the five years that The AMC Pages have been online, we've received the occasional question about these three women's ties. In the past two weeks, however, we've been inundated with mail on this subject. We came to the conclusion that someone had either posted the tale on the web site or in Email thinking that the story was true or, more likely, someone posted the message to dupe other fans.


Let there be no mistake: Susan Lucci and Phyllis Diller are not related. According to sources, the two women have not even met. Lucci and Strasser, though, are a lot closer --- because both All My Children and One Life to Live are filmed across the street from each other at ABC's sprawling studio complex in Manhattan.


But they are not relatives.

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Related Information
News Archive: Susan Lucci tackles the Iditarod. [Mar 8, 1999] About The Actor: Get the real story on actress Susan Lucci. More Gossip: Check in with The Scoop for more AMC gossip. More Archived News: Review more past AMC news headlines. News and More: Return to soapcentral.com's AMC FrontPage.