Yet more:
“Mr. Derbyshire—I don’t know if you’d call them diseuses per se, but I saw you mentioned Carol Burnett in The Corner. There are some American women comedians from days gone by who did monologues and might qualify. Their works are well worth searching for: Belle Barth, Sophie Tucker, Rusty Warren, Pearl Williams, Moms Mabley. All were rather ‘blue’–some of it is jawdropping even today–but very, very funny.”
[Derb] Sophie Tucker, Mae West,… the “blue” American comedienne goes back a long way. The name Tessie O’Shea floats up dimly from my childhood–does she belong here? Another reader offers a present-day diseur, though I haven’t listened to make sure this guy qualifies.