Gilda
was an original. She was in the 1975
freshman cast of "NBC Saturday Night." The show had to settle for that title because
Howard Cosell had a show at the time called "Saturday Night
Live." (When Cosell's show went off
the air, NBC Saturday Night took it over.)
Gilda was a brilliant sketch actress and comedienne, and she became
famous for her many characters. Her
"Baba Wawa" was a take-off on Barbara Walters and her pronunciation
issues. (The clip shows how Barbara's
reaction changed.) Gilda also invented
"Roseanne Rosannadanna," who shared celebrity news on the Weekend
Update sketch. Gilda based this
character on WABC-TV news anchor Rose Ann Scamardella. At other times on Weekend Update, "Emily
Litella" would appear. The
character, based on Gilda's childhood nanny, made fiery speeches as she
misunderstood the issues. She
passionately ranted about the "Eagle Rights Amendment" and
"violins on television." When
Jane Curtin set her straight, she would respond with an angelic "Never
mind." In 1978 Gilda won an Emmy for her performances on SNL.
Radner
was offered her own variety show in 1979 but turned it down. In 1980 she married G.E. Smith from the SNL
band. They divorced two years
later. In 1984 Gilda married Gene
Wilder. They met on the set of
"HankyPanky," a Sidney Poitier film.
The couple made two more films together, "The Woman in Red"
and "Haunted Honeymoon." In
1986, suffering from fatigue and pain, Gilda was diagnosed with ovarian
cancer. She underwent chemotherapy and
radiation, and during a later remission, she wrote a memoir, It's Always
Something. In 1988 the cancer had
returned. Gilda died in May 1989 with
Gene Wilder at her side.
Comments (0):