Gilda Radner was a comedian and actress who rose to fame on Saturday Night Live (SNL), creating many legendary characters. She died tragically young of ovarian cancer. Gilda’s Clubs nationwide commemorate her and support cancer survivors.
Radner was born in Detroit on June 28, 1946, and discovered early on a talent for entertaining family and friends. She graduated from University Liggett School and attended the University of Michigan into her senior year. She left for Toronto, Ontario before graduating to be with a boyfriend. There she got involved in theater, appearing in Godspell, then joining the improv comedy group The Second City.
From 1974-1975 she had a role in the National Lampoon Radio Hour, a syndicated program that also featured future SNL players John Belushi and Chevy Chase. Through this exposure she came to the attention of SNL creator Lorne Michaels and became an original cast member – one of the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players.” At SNL, Radner created the indelible characters of Roseanne Roseannadanna, Baba Wawa, and “Weekend Update” commentator Emily Litella, co-writing much of her own material. She was a part of SNL from 1975-1980, receiving an Emmy Award in 1978.
She was first married to G.E. Smith, a musician she met while performing her one-woman show titled Gilda Radner – Live from New York. They were married from 1980-1982. She met her soulmate, actor Gene Wilder, in 1981 while filming Hanky Panky and they were married in 1984. The couple made two more films together, The Woman in Red and Haunted Honeymoon.
In 1986 Radner was diagnosed with stage IV ovarian cancer. After chemotherapy and radiation she was in remission until 1988 when she relapsed, and died on May 20, 1989. In her autobiography It’s Always Something, she shared details of her personal life and work and her struggle with cancer.
Radner’s infectious zaniness was kept alive by several theater and television works, including Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner: A Sort of Romantic Comedy by her friend Alan Zweibel which ran off-Broadway in 1997, a three-hour ABC TV tribute called Gilda Radner's Greatest Moments, and an appearance in Making Trouble, a 2007 film honoring Jewish female comedians.
The Gilda Radner Hereditary Cancer Program was established at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles by her husband Gene Wilder. The first Gilda’s Club opened in New York City in 1995 to support anyone battling cancer, their friends and family members and is a nationwide network, including a Metro Detroit chapter.