Gene Wilder Dead at 83

Well, crap. I knew he was getting old, and frail. And we hadn't seen him much lately. But dammit, mortality sucks. Gene Wilder is probably in my top five all time favorite performers. His late wife Gilda Radner ranked even higher. But Gene had far more success, and left so many marks in my pop culture database, this one hurts almost as much. Blazing Saddles. Young Frankenstein. Willy Wonka. Silver Streak. Stir Crazy. The Producers. His heyday may have been too long ago for Millennials and late Gen-Xers to remember, but even then, his Wonka character has been one of the most successful and versatile memes out there:

And the one quote that resonates so well as an answer to anyone bested:

But for me, there are those iconic roles in some of my favorite movies, not to mention appearances in oddball features like The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother, and many others. I didn't expect he'd probably be well enough to ever make new contributions to culture. But there's something about knowing that he never will that makes me very sad. RIP, Mr. Wilder. You will truly never be forgotten.

[Excerpt]

Gene Wilder, ‘Willy Wonka’ Star and Comedic Icon, Dies at 83

Gene Wilder, who regularly stole the show in such comedic gems as “The Producers,” “Blazing Saddles,” “Young Frankenstein,” “Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory” and “Stir Crazy,” died Monday at his home in Stamford, Conn. His nephew Jordan Walker-Pearlman said he died of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. He was 83. . .

Read more at: Variety

Blast from the Past: Best of Madeline Kahn!

I recently joined a group on Facebook called Hollywood Babylon. Each day, they have a topic, and invite members to post pictures or videos. Very, very often, Madeline Kahn comes up (often from me, admittedly). Kahn's heyday was the early 70s to early 80s, making a name for herself in movie comedies, especially those by Mel Brooks. She also appeared in other venues like The Muppet Show and Saturday Night Live. It was on SNL where she appeared with Gilda Radner, brilliantly melding Gilda's Barbra Walters parody Baba Wawa with Madeline's Marlene Dietrich impression. Interestingly, Madeline frequently co-starred with Gene Wilder and Gilda married him. Sadly, both actresses--who will always be linked in my mind--died ovarian cancer in different years, both far too young. In both cases, I and many others felt absolutely robbed of a favorite entertainer, and it for some reason felt personal. But it's great that we can replay our favorite performances whenever we want to.

So, here in no particular order, are some of my favorite Madeline Kahn performances. Enjoy!

And that's just a small slice of the genius that was Madeline Kahn. Hopefully, it puts a smile on your face to greet the week with. Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: The Best of Gilda Radner

I had a busy weekend, so I'm re-running a Blast from the Past from back in September. It's a Blast from the Past from the Past! Sorry, kids. I know the blog has been a little slow this year. Going to try to kick it into gear this week!

---

For this week's Blast from the Past, I really need an easy one. I have had a very busy weekend [it's a trend --Ed.], and don't have a text-heavy episode in me. The best thing for this sort of butt-dragging, is to put up highly entertaining clips to make up for the lack of wordsmithery.

So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm raiding NBC's Saturday Night Live vaults for my favorite bits from my favorite SNL cast member of all thirty-eight seasons, Gilda Radner! I still get sad about her early passing, and I just don't do that. Here's to you Gilda! Enjoy.

Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: The Best of Gilda Radner on SNL

For this week's Blast from the Past, I really need an easy one. I have had a very busy weekend, and don't have a text-heavy episode in me. The best thing for this sort of butt-dragging, is to put up highly entertaining clips to make up for the lack of wordsmithery.

So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm raiding NBC's Saturday Night Live vaults for my favorite bits from my favorite SNL cast member of all thirty-eight seasons, Gilda Radner! I still get sad about her early passing, and I just don't do that. Here's to you Gilda! Enjoy.


Happy Monday!

Blast from the Past: My Favorite SNL Clips of the 70s and 80s

This has likely been one of my least productive blogging weeks. I just have not been much in the mood. I have a feeling it is an expression of the February blahs, something I used to get back in Ohio. There, I had the excuse that the sun stops shining some time in November, and doesn't start again until March.  Out here in Las Vegas, I don't have that excuse. Maybe it's just inborn.

But I wanted to get something new up for Monday, even if I do have a "surprise" day off from work. So, since NBC decided to fill their entire Sunday night with Saturday Night Live specials--once again, too focused on musical acts--I thought I'd see if some of my favorite clips are available. Having watched the show since the very first live episode, I've stuck through each cast change. Every year has it's bright spots (though some years they are rare), and every year has it's rough episodes (more than you likely remember). Here are some of the better moments.

Church Chat - Dana Carvey brought out "The Church Lady" (Enid Strict was her actual name) in his first episode in 1986. It was an unusually strong first episode, funny nearly all the way through. This skit is from a little later in the season, featuring Phil Hartman as Jimmy Swaggert, the then recently scandal-plagued televangelist. Church Chat came along just in time for a lot of religion-themed scandals.



Bonus, Derek Stevens Choppin' Broccoli - This isn't one of my favorite clips, but it is memorable, and from that initial Carvey episode, hosted by Sigourney Weaver. It was also the first episode for Phil Hartman, as well as Jan Hooks and Victoria Jackson.



Quiz Masters - This one always cracked me up, mostly for Jan Hooks. SNL has used game shows as skit fodder for as long as it's been around, so this one didn't break any special ground, but for some reason, it stuck with me.



Emily Litella on Weekend Update - Any appearance by Gilda Radner, as Emily Litella or Roseanne Roseanneadana, on Weekend Update would qualify as a favorite. She likely had the first regular characters featured on Update, a trend that would stray further and further from actual news-related figures. But Emily and Roseanne were both news commentators, and very, very funny.



"Not for Ladies Only"- Another Gilda clip, one of many favorites. This one was a natural, since Madeline Kahn was the host of the evening. Each woman had performed as a character that spoke like Elmer Fudd, Kahn as Lilly Von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles, and Radner as Baba Wawa. Here, they get together with Kahn as "Marlena Deutschland." Very funny stuff. I still get a little misty that both of these funny ladies met sad, too-early deaths.



Well, I suppose that's enough for one entry, and I have really not even scratched the surface. Maybe I'll do a sequel next week. In the meantime, happy Presidents' Day, and have a great week!

Gilda Radner as Roseanne Roseannadana on Quitting Smoking

My biggest New Year's resolution was to quit smoking, and I'm still smoke free. It isn't always easy, but it really isn't as hard as all that either. Today, I had to do the math to see what "day" I'm on! That in itself is a victory. Anyway, this all reminded me of a post I did a couple of years ago. Here's the post in its entirety:

Original Post, Monday, December 22, 2008

I'm a smoker. There, I said it. I'm not the guy who goes outside three or four times a day at work to have a cigarette. I'm not the guy who has to have a smoke at breakfast, lunchtime or dinner. But I like to have a few smokes in the evening. I don't know why. It can't be an addiction, or I would do it all day long. But in the evening, I like to have a few smokes.


Oh, and when I'm drinking, or when I'm gambling. Then too. I know I should quit completely, I know that its bad for me. But I do it anyway. But I'm gonna quit. Completely. Honestly. I really will. Someday.  Did it!!!

Frivolity Break: Gilda Radner & Candice Bergen

An anonymous commenter just wrote a note on an old post I did of a Saturday Night Live bit from the original glory years. After all of the politics of the last couple of days--and given NBC's Women of SNL special a couple of nights ago--I thought it was the perfect antidote to the top-heavy seriousness of the last several days.

From the original post:
. . .a commercial for SNL clips online lead me to check out NBC.com, for embeddable clips of SNL videos. To my glee, I found my very favorite clip of Gilda Radner, from the classic 1975-1980 cast. In the clip, a rather tame PSA parody about the right to extreme stupidity was made hilarious by guest Candice Bergen's flub of a line, and Gilda Radner's superb save of the bit. It would probably have gone unremembered otherwise. Gilda was always my favorite, and her death ranks up there with Madeline Kahn's for "most tragic early deaths" of celebrities, in my book. Both were a loss to American comedy. As Opus the penguin said in Bloom County, "Gilda Radner isn't supposed to end."

HuffPost's Favorite Ladies of Saturday Night Live

Image from source, Huffington Post

Sure, this post is kind of a cheat. But I'm a big fan of SNL--since the live airing of episode 1--through the (many) lows, and (less frequent) highs. So this hits my pop-culture sweet spot. My personal list of favorite funny females of Saturday Night Live would have to be:

- Gilda Radner (Roseanne Roseannadana, Emily Litella, Baba Wawa)

- Jan Hooks (Tammy Faye Bakker, Jessica Hahn, Sweeney Sisters)

- Amy Poehler (Weekend Update, Amber, Bronx Beat)

- Tina Fey (Weekend Update, Sarah Palin)

- Julia Sweeney (Pat)

- Maya Rudolph (Bronx Beat, Noony)

- Jane Curtin (Weekend Update, Coneheads)
- Robin Duke (Wendy Whiner)

[Excerpt]

The 11 Funniest Ladies In 'Saturday Night Live' History

With Betty White hosting SNL's "Women Of Comedy" this weekend, we got to thinking about the myriad ladies that have been cast members of the legendary program. While the ratio of men to women on SNL has always been skewed, there have been a select few ladies who broke through the boy's club and brought their own brand of comedy to Studio 8H. . .

Read more at: Huffington Post

Gilda Radner as Roseanne Rosannadanna on Quitting Smoking.

I'm a smoker. There, I said it. I'm not the guy who goes outside three or four times a day at work to have a cigarette. I'm not the guy who has to have a smoke at breakfast, lunchtime or dinner. But I like to have a few smokes in the evening. I don't know why. It can't be an addiction, or I would do it all day long. But in the evening, I like to have a few smokes.

Oh, and when I'm drinking, or when I'm gambling. Then too. I know I should quit completely, I know that its bad for me. But I do it anyway. But I'm gonna quit. Completely. Honestly. I really will. Someday.

Quickie Post #2: Roseanne Roseanadana

Here is the second of three "quickie" posts of classic Saturday Night Live clips, to save my aching eyes from blogging for a little while.

Continuing with the Weekend Update theme, still in the Jane Curtin era, here is one of the most beloved SNL characters ever invented, Roseanne Roseanadana who as usual, makes Jane Curtin sick.

In Memory of Harley Korman (That's Harvey!)

Image from Kenneth in the (212)

I haven't yet reached the age where I'm losing large chunks of family or friends. In fact, I really dread that day. But I'm old enough to start losing cherished bits of my childhood and young adulthood. Many of the entertainers I enjoyed so much back in the 1970s and 80s are sadly leaving us.

The first celebrity passing that knocked me for a loop was Gilda Radner. So sweet, so talented, and unfortunately underused as a performer, it just didn't seem right somehow. Then, several years later, Madeline Kahn was felled by the same dreaded disease. How difficult it must have been for Gene Wilder, having been married to Radner, and friends with Kahn. And poor Mel Brooks too, who lost his wife, Anne Bancroft. How strange that these celebrity deaths hit me harder than most, and were so connected.

Now there has been another one, Harvey Korman. Another of Mel Brooks' fabled company of performers, Korman was a delight as the prissy, self-important Heddy (that's Hedley!) LaMarr in Blazing Saddles, and Count de Money (de Monet, de Monet!) in History of the World Part 1. He also played Dr. Montague in High Anxiety as slave to dominatrix Nurse Diesel (Cloris Leachman). Of course, he is probably best known as one of the talented group of comics on The Carol Burnett Show, often (and best) paired with Tim Conway.

The sad part is, many of the rest of the best of these costars are in their seventies and eighties. I fear it won't be long before I end up like my grandparents, pointing to Randolph Scott and Gary Cooper, lamenting their passing. Sigh. Sorry for the bring-down. Let's try bringing it back up with some of Harvey Korman's best bits, shall we?

Gilda Radner & Madeline Kahn: Baba Wawa

In my previous post, I mentioned Saturday Night Live's Gilda Radner, and her character, Rhonda Weiss. It got me interested in what SNL clips were available of Gilda Radner. And yes, I know I featured one a few days ago. But I love Gilda, and this clip features another of my all-time-favorites, Madeline Kahn.

Madeline had been featured as the "Teutonic Titwillow," Lily Von Schtupp in Blazing Saddles, and one of Gilda's most-loved characters was her take on Barbara Walters, Baba Wawa. Both have exaggerated speech impediments--though Madeline performed here as "Marlena Deutschland." Just terrific.

And if you're too young to remember, this was at a time when Barbara Walters had secured an anchor position on the news with Harry Reasoner--a big deal at the time.

Not For Ladies Only (Not For Wadies Onwy)

What's With the Beijing Olympics Protests?

I, like Gilda Radner's Saturday Night Live character, Rhonda Weiss, have never much gotten into protests, finding them kind of "pushy and whiny." I've also--though politically plugged in and interested--not really researched human rights issues in China (or sorry, Darfur either). Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the things that go in in these countries and others are deplorable, hideous and wrong. They've just for some reason been a little bit off of my radar.

That's why I find all of the protests about the 2008 Beijing Olympics just a little mystifying. It seems so organized, so together. . . Why haven't these people been mounting such effective attacks against George W. Bush and his administration over the past seven years? We get Code Pink and Cindy Sheehen--protesters that get snuffed out like birthday candles by the right. And, by the way, who are we to be protesting human rights abuses anyway? We do not currently have a sterling record in that area.

That said, the above poster is--graphically speaking--both effective and very creative. Kudos activist protester people! And, I promise, from now on I'm going to try to let a little more of this stuff seep into my brain.

[Excerpt]

Reporters Without Borders stages major protests for Olympic torch relay in Paris despite massive police presence

Reporters Without Borders hails the extensive demonstrations in support of human rights and press freedom that were staged today in Paris as relay runners carried the Olympic torch around the city.

The press freedom organisation managed to unfurl gigantic flags with its Beijing 2008 campaign motif of the Olympic rings turned handcuffs in seven locations: the Eiffel Tower, Avenue Marceau, the Champs-Elysées, the Pont des Arts, the Quai Malaquais, the facade of the cathedral of Notre Dame and near the Charléty Stadium (headquarters of the National Olympic Committee). . .

Read more at: Reporters Without Borders

Gilda Radner: The Right to Extreme Stupidity

I'm watching a new Saturday Night Live episode at the moment, and it's a rather bland episode. Christopher Walken is hosting for the umpteenth time, and it's just OK. The opening, with Bill and Hillary Clinton (Darrell Hammond and Amy Pohler) and Weekend Update were great, but the rest. . .meh.

But a commercial for SNL clips online lead me to check out NBC.com, for embeddable clips of SNL videos. To my glee, I found my very favorite clip of Gilda Radner, from the classic 1975-1980 cast. In the clip, a rather tame PSA parody about the right to extreme stupidity was made hilarious by guest Candice Bergen's flub of a line, and Gilda Radner's superb save of the bit. It would probably have gone unremembered otherwise. Gilda was always my favorite, and her death ranks up there with Madeline Kahn's for "most tragic early deaths" of celebrities, in my book. Both were a loss to American comedy. As Opus the penguin said in Bloom County, "Gilda Radner isn't supposed to end."