GILDA RADNER
Name: Gilda Susan Radner
Born: 28 June 1946 Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died: 20 May 1989 Los Angeles, California, United States
Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 - May 20, 1989) was an Emmy Award winning
American comedienne and actress, best known for her five years as part of the
original cast of the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. Radner's death at 42
of ovarian cancer helped increase public awareness of the disease and the need
for earlier detection and treatment.
Gilda Radner was born to Jewish-American parents, Herman Radner and Henrietta
Dworkin, in Detroit, Michigan. She grew up in Detroit with a nanny, Elizabeth
Clementine Gillies, whom she called "Dibby" (and on whom she based her famous
character Emily Litella), and an older brother named Michael. When young, they
spent their winters in Palm Beach, Florida.
Radner was close to her father, who operated Detroit's Seville Hotel, where many
nightclub performers and actors stayed while performing in the city. Her
father, who died when she was fourteen, sometimes took her on trips to New York
so that they could see Broadway shows. Radner's history of bulimia and
anorexia reportedly began at around the same time of her father's death.
After experiencing severe fatigue and suffering from pain in her upper legs on
the set of Haunted Honeymoon, Radner sought medical treatment. After several
false diagnoses, she learned that she had ovarian cancer in October 1986.
Even with Wilder's support, she suffered extreme physical and emotional pain
during chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.
After Radner was told she had gone into remission, she wrote a memoir about her
life and struggle with the illness, called It's Always Something (a catchphrase
of her character Roseanne Roseannadanna). Life magazine did a March 1988
cover story on her battle, entitled Gilda Radner's Answer to Cancer: Healing the
Body with Mind and Heart.
In 1988, Gilda Radner guest-starred on It's Garry Shandling's Show on Showtime
to great critical acclaim. When Shandling asked her why she had not been seen
for a while, she replied "Oh, I had cancer. What did you have?" Shandling's
reply: "A very bad series of career moves." When Shandling said he had been
under the impression that she was dead, she cited Mark Twain's famous quote "Reports
of my death are greatly exaggerated." She planned to host an episode of SNL that
year, but a writers' strike caused the cancellation of the rest of the season.
In May of 1988, Radner discovered the cancer had returned and metastasized. She
was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on May 17,
1989 for a CAT scan. Anxious with fear that she would never wake up, she was
given a sedative and passed into a coma. She did not regain consciousness and
died three days later at 6:20 am on May 20, 1989, with her husband at her side.
Name: Gilda Susan Radner
Born: 28 June 1946 Detroit, Michigan, United States
Died: 20 May 1989 Los Angeles, California, United States
Gilda Susan Radner (June 28, 1946 - May 20, 1989) was an Emmy Award winning
American comedienne and actress, best known for her five years as part of the
original cast of the NBC comedy series Saturday Night Live. Radner's death at 42
of ovarian cancer helped increase public awareness of the disease and the need
for earlier detection and treatment.
Gilda Radner was born to Jewish-American parents, Herman Radner and Henrietta
Dworkin, in Detroit, Michigan. She grew up in Detroit with a nanny, Elizabeth
Clementine Gillies, whom she called "Dibby" (and on whom she based her famous
character Emily Litella), and an older brother named Michael. When young, they
spent their winters in Palm Beach, Florida.
Radner was close to her father, who operated Detroit's Seville Hotel, where many
nightclub performers and actors stayed while performing in the city. Her
father, who died when she was fourteen, sometimes took her on trips to New York
so that they could see Broadway shows. Radner's history of bulimia and
anorexia reportedly began at around the same time of her father's death.
After experiencing severe fatigue and suffering from pain in her upper legs on
the set of Haunted Honeymoon, Radner sought medical treatment. After several
false diagnoses, she learned that she had ovarian cancer in October 1986.
Even with Wilder's support, she suffered extreme physical and emotional pain
during chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment.
After Radner was told she had gone into remission, she wrote a memoir about her
life and struggle with the illness, called It's Always Something (a catchphrase
of her character Roseanne Roseannadanna). Life magazine did a March 1988
cover story on her battle, entitled Gilda Radner's Answer to Cancer: Healing the
Body with Mind and Heart.
In 1988, Gilda Radner guest-starred on It's Garry Shandling's Show on Showtime
to great critical acclaim. When Shandling asked her why she had not been seen
for a while, she replied "Oh, I had cancer. What did you have?" Shandling's
reply: "A very bad series of career moves." When Shandling said he had been
under the impression that she was dead, she cited Mark Twain's famous quote "Reports
of my death are greatly exaggerated." She planned to host an episode of SNL that
year, but a writers' strike caused the cancellation of the rest of the season.
In May of 1988, Radner discovered the cancer had returned and metastasized. She
was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California on May 17,
1989 for a CAT scan. Anxious with fear that she would never wake up, she was
given a sedative and passed into a coma. She did not regain consciousness and
died three days later at 6:20 am on May 20, 1989, with her husband at her side.