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 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: Greenlee Gazette's Favorite Comedy Movies (Part 1)

There are so many, I can't narrow them down to just one batch. So here is the first in (at least) two parts!






#1 and #2-3/4 - Airplane! and The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad! (#1 - 3) - I'm combining these movies because the video I found does the same. In truth, Airplane! is at the top of the heap, and the Naked Gun series slots in slightly down the list. But I defy you to get any of these four movies, and not laugh. It's my litmus test for a sense of humor.

#3 - What's Up, Doc? - One of the funniest movies of the 70s starred (at their physical peaks) Ryan O'Neal and Barbra Streisand, not to mention Madeline Kahn in her introductory role, Kenneth Mars, John Hillerman, Phyllis Albertson, Sorrell Brooke and Randy Quaid. It's a comic masterpiece, and if you don't think so, well. . .there's no hope for you. Represented here by one of the few embeddable videos I could find, a blooper reel.

#4 - Top Secret! - From the wonderful ZAZ! team (before David Zucker lost his ever-loving mind) was this under appreciated comic masterpiece, starring Val Kilmer at his absolute best. Not to be missed.

#5 - Ruthless People - Again, ZAZ! in one of their more straight-ahead comedies, produced this gem, starring Danny Devito and Bette Midler. It's one of the funniest movies of the 80s.

#6 - Young Frankenstein - Surely one of the most artistic and well-executed spoof movies of all time, Young Frankenstein marks the pinnacle (along with Blazing Saddles) of both Mel Brooks' and Gene Wilders' careers. Nothing short of perfection. Frau Blucher!!!

#7 - Blazing Saddles - Of course, with the last entry, I couldn't forget this one. Not only is this a spectacular spoof, an fantastic skewering of racism, and a masterful bit of film making. . .it's also a pop culture touchstone for its generation. Along with Young Frankenstein, this movie is so full of talent, so jam-packed with jokes and one-liners, the two films may have more quotable lines than any ten other movies.

Torture Should Be a Mystery, Says Peggy Noonan

When I heard Madeline Kahn sing, "Ah, sweet mystery of life, at last I've found you!" in Young Frankenstein, I never considered that she might be thinking of torture, though I suppose you could view it that way. But apparently--at least to conservative reporter Peggy Noonan--the subject of torture, and whether the Bush Administration should be accountable for doing it, is better left undiscovered. Her conclusion was, at best, bizarre.

[Excerpt]

Noonan: Torture memos should have remained one of life’s mysteries

On Monday, Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart poked fun at how conservative politicians and pundits are reacting to the release of four Office of Legal Council Memos that authorized the use of torture on detainees under President Bush. Stewart notes that some pundits are disturbed more by the release of the memos than by the fact that torture was okayed and then deployed.

“Apparently, everyone is not upset about the fact that we torture. They are upset about the fact that we now know about it,” said Stewart. . .

Read more at: Raw Story

More Blazing Saddles as Obama/McCain Race

In the post below, I used imagery from the Mel Brooks classic Blazing Saddles to make a point about racism in the Barack Obama/John McCain race for the presidency. The more I thought about it, the more sense it made to me. So, I did a search on the Google for "Barack Obama" + "Blazing Saddles." Not surprisingly, there were quite a few hits.

My favorite, was this video, chronicling the race so far by using clips from the movie. It could benefit from some paring down, but just when I would think it had gone on too long, another choice, perfect moment would come along. You have to stick around for the classic Gene Wilder (Joe Biden) line about "people of the earth." And of course, McCain's (Harvey Korman) reorganization of his campaign. And Madeline Kahn/Lily von Schtupp as Hillary Clinton? Brilliant!

I'd love to see this clip tightened up a little, and see it go viral on the web. Very funny stuff.

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)

My Favorite Movies: Comedy Edition #1

It's been a while since I posted one of these types of posts, and it's long overdue. Politics are important to me, but it can be dreadfully dry, and make me seem single-minded and screechy. So, here's something fun you can enjoy.

Some of my favorite movies are comedies. But in my opinion, they just don't make them like they used to. Whether they're straight-ahead comedy or spoofs, most of today's funny films don't seem to me like they'll hold up to the test of time. Spoofs in particular--while still full of funny moments--are so scatter shot these days. You have to go back to the days of Airplane! or early Mel Brooks to find some of the truly inspired comedy films. Here are some of my favorites.




#1 - Hot Shots! - By some of the makers of the original Airplane!, this parody of Top Gun never lets up, and is funny from beginning to end. Charlie Sheen really shines in this type of comedy, and Lloyd Bridges is inspired casting. This one must be watched repeatedly to catch all the gags.

#2 - All of Me - This is one of Steve Martin's best comedies, chock full of comedy gold, and quotable lines. Lily Tomlin was also at her peak. But check out how they made movie trailers in the early 80s. . . There is an art form that has only improved.

#3 - High Anxiety - Not one of Mel Brooks' most popular films, but one of my favorites. Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman, Harvey Korman. . .who could ask for more? In this extended clip, watch for the infamous obscene phone call bit at about 3:20.

#4 - Top Secret! - Another one from the makers of Airplane!, but surely one of their more obscure ones. Val Kilmer is dynamite in his first role, and the gags here are loopier than in the other spoof films. This film demands repeated viewings. Even the trailer for the film is funny.

Movie Review/Blast From the Past: Clue

There was an odd bit of synchronicity in the household this evening. Apparently, The Other Half and The Roommate were talking about the movie Clue recently (without my knowledge). Tonight, they were lamenting that we didn't own it, and that they really wanted to watch it. I told The Other Half to turn around while I opened my Christmas closet, and pulled out. . .Clue!

I found it in the Wal-Mart $5 bin only two hours earlier, believe it or not. Bizarre. Anyway, Clue is one of my guilty pleasures. Surely not a classic, maybe not even a "good movie," it is still chock full of pop-culture goodness. It stars Tim Curry, Leslie Ann Warren, Martin Mull, Colleen Camp, Michael McKean, Eileen Brennan, Howard Hessman, Christopher Lloyd and the immortal Madeline Kahn. Such star power couldn't be all bad, right?

The movie was a madcap screwball comedy/mystery, based on (of course) the classic board game of the same name. The movie had three different endings, originally airing separately depending upon what theater you were in. Now on DVD, it includes all three endings.

As I said before, the movie is not terrific exactly, it's just that the individual performances--performed by these showbiz veterans--are each greater than the sums of their parts. Facial expressions, comic timing, and improvisation are on display in abundance. And to the film's credit, it recreates the elements of the board game quite well. Recommended.



One more after the jump. . .

Continued

Ode to Madeline Kahn: Sweet Mystery of Life

Inspired by a post I found at FireDogLake.com, a montage of Madeline Kahn videos. I absolutely adored Madeline Kahn, and almost everything she ever appeared in. Her death by ovarian cancer was a very sad day for me (a mirror of co-star Gene Wilder's wife, Gilda Radner's equally sad similar demise).

Kahn was an under appreciated, underused, dynamic talent. Long live Madeline Kahn! Enjoy.




And the video that inspired this montage. Can you imagine the memorization, and preporation required for this performance? I miss you, Madeline!