Gilda Radner facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gilda Radner
Radner as Roseanne Roseannadanna in 1980
Born	Gilda Susan Radner (1946-06-28)June 28, 1946 Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Died	May 20, 1989(1989-05-20) (aged 42) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting place	Long Ridge Union Cemetery
Alma mater	University of Michigan
Occupation	Actress comedian
Years active	1972–1989
Spouse(s)	G. E. Smith ​ ​ (m. 1980; div. 1982)​ Gene Wilder ​ (m. 1984)​
Relatives	Steve Ballmer (second cousin)

Gilda Susan Radner (born June 28, 1946 – died May 20, 1989) was a famous American actress, comedian, writer, and singer. She was one of the first seven cast members of the "Not Ready For Prime Time Players" on the TV show Saturday Night Live (SNL). She joined the show when it started in 1975 and stayed until 1980.

On SNL, Gilda was known for making fun of common TV characters, like advice experts and news anchors. In 1978, she won an Emmy Award for her amazing performances on the show. She also brought her characters to life in a very popular one-woman show on Broadway in 1979. Gilda's work on SNL made her a true icon in the history of American comedy.

She passed away from ovarian cancer in 1989. Her book, It's Always Something, openly shared her life and her struggles with her illness. Her husband, Gene Wilder, made sure that information about her illness was used to help other cancer patients. He started and inspired groups that focus on finding cancer early, understanding family history, and supporting patients. After her death, Gilda won a Grammy Award in 1990. She was also added to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003.

Early Life and Family

Gilda Radner was born in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents were Henrietta and Herman Radner. Gilda once said she was named after her grandmother, but her name "Gilda" also came from a movie with Rita Hayworth. Through her mother, Gilda was a second cousin to famous business executive Steve Ballmer.

She grew up in Detroit with her nanny, Elizabeth Clementine Gillies, whom she called "Dibby." Gilda later based her famous character Emily Litella on Dibby. She also had an older brother named Michael. Gilda went to the special University Liggett School in Detroit.

Gilda was very close to her father. He owned the Seville Hotel in Detroit, where many performers stayed. He often took her on trips to New York to see Broadway shows. When Gilda was 12, her father became very ill and passed away two years later.

In 1964, Gilda finished high school and started studying at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. She planned to become a teacher.

Starting Her Career

In her last year at the University of Michigan, Gilda left school to follow her boyfriend, sculptor Jeffrey Rubinoff, to Toronto, Canada. There, she began her acting career in 1972 in a play called Godspell. Many future stars were also in this play, including Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Martin Short, and Paul Shaffer. After Godspell, Gilda joined The Second City, a famous comedy group in Toronto.

From 1974 to 1975, Gilda was a main performer on The National Lampoon Radio Hour. This was a comedy show played on many radio stations across the U.S. Other cast members included John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, and Richard Belzer.

Becoming Famous on Saturday Night Live

Gilda became widely known in 1975 when she joined Saturday Night Live (SNL) as one of the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players." She was the very first person chosen for the show. Gilda helped write many of the funny things she performed. She also worked with writer Alan Zweibel to create her popular recurring characters.

Between 1975 and 1980, she created many memorable characters. These included the loud personal advice expert Roseanne Roseannadanna, who was based on a real New York reporter. She also played "Baba Wawa," a funny imitation of news anchor Barbara Walters. After Gilda's death, Barbara Walters said that Gilda was the "first person to make fun of news anchors."

Another of Gilda's famous characters was Emily Litella. Emily was an elderly, hard-of-hearing writer who would give angry, misinformed comments on SNL's Weekend Update news segment. Gilda also made fun of celebrities like Lucille Ball, Patti Smith, and Olga Korbut in SNL sketches. In 1978, she won an Emmy Award for her great work on SNL.

In 2015, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Gilda as the ninth most important SNL cast member ever. They said she was "the most beloved of the original cast." They also called her the "prototype for the brainy city girl with a bundle of neuroses."

In 1979, the head of NBC offered Gilda her own TV variety show, but she said no. That same year, she helped host the Music for UNICEF Concert at the United Nations General Assembly. Gilda also gave a graduation speech, as her character Roseanne Roseannadanna, to the 1979 class at the Columbia School of Journalism.

Gilda sometimes felt mixed emotions about being recognized by fans in public. She would sometimes get upset when people approached her, but also when they didn't.

Theater Work and First Movie

In 1979, Gilda performed a very successful one-woman show on Broadway called Gilda Radner – Live from New York. That same year, her Broadway show was filmed by Mike Nichols and released as a movie called Gilda Live. It came out in theaters in 1980 but did not do well at the box office. A soundtrack album for the show was also not very successful. During the Broadway show, Gilda met her first husband, G. E. Smith, who was a musician in the show. They got married in 1980.

In late 1980, after all the original SNL cast members had left the show, Gilda started performing in a play called Lunch Hour with actor Sam Waterston. The play ran for over seven months in different theaters across the U.S. Many newspaper critics praised both the play and Gilda's performance.

Gilda's SNL castmate Laraine Newman said in 2018 that she thought Gilda's movie career was mostly disappointing. Laraine believed this was because directors and producers didn't know how to give Gilda roles where her talents could truly shine.

Personal Life

Gilda Radner with Gene Wilder in 1986

Gilda was married to musician G. E. Smith from 1980 to 1982. They met while working on her Broadway show, Gilda Radner – Live from New York.

Gilda met actor Gene Wilder when they worked together on the movie Hanky Panky in 1982. She described their first meeting as "love at first sight." After meeting Gene, her marriage to G. E. Smith ended. Gilda made a second movie with Gene, The Woman in Red, which came out in 1984, and their relationship grew stronger. They got married on September 18, 1984, in Saint-Tropez. They made a third movie together, Haunted Honeymoon, in 1986. They remained married until Gilda's death in 1989.

Illness and Legacy

Gilda Radner's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame

In 1985, while filming Haunted Honeymoon in the United Kingdom, Gilda started feeling very tired and had pain in her legs. She saw many doctors for 10 months, mostly in Los Angeles, but they all gave her wrong diagnoses. Her pain continued during this time.

Finally, on October 21, 1986, Gilda was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. She had surgery right away to remove a grapefruit-sized tumor. Gilda then began chemotherapy and radiation therapy treatments. She wrote in her book It's Always Something that the treatment caused a lot of physical and emotional pain.

After her diagnosis, a newspaper called the National Enquirer printed a headline saying "Gilda Radner In Life-Death Struggle." They said she was dying without even asking her for a comment.

Gilda saw her Saturday Night Live friends one last time at Laraine Newman's birthday party in March 1988. According to Bill Murray, he and Dan Aykroyd carried her around the house so she could say goodbye to everyone.

Remission and Book

After doctors told Gilda that her cancer was in remission (meaning it was under control), she wrote her book It's Always Something. This title was a famous saying from her character Roseanne Roseannadanna. The book shared details of her fight with the illness. Life magazine featured her illness on its cover in March 1988, with the title "Gilda Radner's Answer to Cancer: Healing the Body with Mind and Heart." In March 1988, Gilda also appeared on a TV show called It's Garry Shandling's Show, where she mentioned that her cancer diagnosis and treatment explained why she had been away from entertainment for a while.

Gilda was supposed to host an episode of Saturday Night Live in the spring of 1988. She would have been the first female former cast member to host the show. However, a writers' strike stopped the show's production before the season ended.

Gilda's Legacy and Gilda's Club

After Gilda's death, her husband Gene Wilder started the Gilda Radner Hereditary Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. This program helps screen people who are at high risk for cancer, like women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Gene also spoke to a Congressional committee. He said that Gilda's condition was not diagnosed correctly at first. He believed that if doctors had asked more about her family history (her grandmother, aunt, and cousin all died of ovarian cancer), they might have found the disease earlier.

Gilda's death helped people learn more about finding ovarian cancer early. It also highlighted the link between cancer and family history. Because of the media attention after Gilda's death, 450 families with ovarian cancer were registered at the Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry. This research database was renamed the Gilda Radner Familial Ovarian Cancer Registry (GRFOCR) in 1990.

In 1991, Gilda's Club was founded by Joanna Bull (Gilda's cancer therapist), Gene Wilder, and broadcaster Joel Siegel. Gilda's Club is a network of places where people living with cancer, their friends, and families can meet. They learn how to live with cancer and support each other. The first club opened in New York City in 1995. The organization was named after Gilda's own comment that cancer gave her "membership to an elite club I'd rather not belong to." You can read more about Gilda's story in her book, It's Always Something.

Many Gilda's Clubs have opened across the United States and Canada. In 2009, Gilda's Club Worldwide joined with another cancer support group called The Wellness Community. Together, they became the Cancer Support Community (CSC). As of 2012, more than 20 local Gilda's Club locations were still active.

In 2002, the ABC network showed a three-hour special about Gilda. It started with "Gilda Radner's Greatest Moments," hosted by Saturday Night Live star Molly Shannon. The special showed highlights from Gilda's career and featured her friends and co-stars. This was followed by a TV movie about her life called Gilda Radner: It's Always Something, starring Jami Gertz as Gilda.

In 2007, Gilda was featured in Making Trouble, a film that honored female Jewish comedians.

Awards and Honors

Gilda Radner won an Emmy Award in 1977 for "Outstanding Continuing or Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in Variety or Music" for her work on Saturday Night Live. After her death, she won a Grammy Award in 1990 for "Best Spoken Word Or Non-Musical Recording" for her audiobook It's Always Something.

In 1992, Gilda was added to the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame for her achievements in arts and entertainment. Thanks to many people who helped with the 2002 ABC special "Gilda Radner's Greatest Moments," a campaign was started to give Gilda a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On June 27, 2003, Gilda received her star at 6801 Hollywood Blvd. Saturday Night Live star Molly Shannon hosted the ceremony. Gilda's friend Laraine Newman, Gilda's Club founder Joanna Bull, and Gilda's brother Michael F. Radner were there to accept the honor.

Parts of streets in New York City, Toronto, and White Plains, New York, have been renamed "Gilda Radner Way." A private road in Warminster Township, Pennsylvania, that leads to the Cancer Support Community Greater Philadelphia (formerly Gilda's Club Delaware Valley) is also named after her.

Filmography

Films

Television

Awards

See also

In Spanish: Gilda Radner para niños

• Friends of Gilda