Gilda Radner Movies
At the height of her Saturday Night Live fame, Gilda Radner was characterized by one publication as "America's Sweetheart." Few performers, comic or otherwise, have so richly deserved this appellation. Born in Detroit to a well-to-do Jewish family, Radner forsook the usual social whirl attending girls of her background and opted for a career in comedy. After attending the University of Michigan, Radner joined the Toronto Second City improvisational troupe, where she worked for the first time with John Belushi, later one of her best friends and most frequent collaborators. Radner and Belushi moved to New York when they were selected to perform on The National Lampoon Radio Hour and in the popular stage production The National Lampoon Show. Along with several other "Lampooners," Radner was chosen by producer Lorne Michaels as a member of the Not Ready for Prime Time Players on the NBC comedy weekly Saturday Night Live, which debuted in 1975. Radner soon distinguished herself as one of the most versatile of the bunch, portraying such characters as hard-of-hearing media critic Emily Litella ("Never mind"), nerdish Lisa Lupner ("That was so funny I almost fergot to LAFFFFF!"), frizzy-haired TV journalist Roseanne Roseanna-Dana ("Just goes to show ya -- it's always somethin'!), and of course, the inimitable Baba WaWa. Her efforts won her a 1978 Emmy, as well as the love and respect of her fans and fellow workers. After leaving SNL, Radner developed her own one-woman Broadway show, 1979's Radner Live; the following year, she made her Broadway acting bow in Lunch Hour. Among her many films was 1982's Hanky Panky, in which she co-starred with her future husband, Gene Wilder. Even when suffering from ovarian cancer in her final years, Gilda Radner never lost her sense of humor or her upbeat approach to life; her philosophy was eloquently put forth in her autobiography, It's Always Something, which was published shortly after her death in 1989. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- 2008
- Add Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest to Queue Add Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest to top of Queue
Comic Relief: The Greatest... and the Latest features a number of performances by some of the most talented comics of their day performing for a charity that collects money for the homeless. Among the performers who appear on this release are Sarah Silverman, Lewis Black, Jon Stewart, and David Cross. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Whoopi Goldberg, (more)
- 2005
- Add Saturday Night Live: The Best of Gilda Radner to Queue Add Saturday Night Live: The Best of Gilda Radner to top of Queue
Saturday Night live: The Best of Gilda Radner compiles many of the moments that made her the first big female star launched by the venerable television institution. Included are sketches featuring some of her most popular characters including Roseanne Roseannadanna, Lisa Loopner, and Emily Litella. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- 2002
The tragically short life of one of TV's favorite funny ladies is the subject of the network-movie biopic It's Always Something: The Gilda Radner Story. The story begins in Gilda's native Canada, where as a child she develops her comic skills to overcome her shyness and feelings of inadequacy. Gravitating to show business, Gilda (played as an adult by Jami Gertz) becomes a topnotch sketch performer with the famed Second City Troupe, leading to an even more prestigious stint as one of the original "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on the irreverent American variety series Saturday Night Live. Earning the love and devotion of TV viewers throughout the nation with such ditsy comic characters as Emily Latella and Roseanne Roseanadana, Gilda nonetheless has trouble settling down in a satisfactory romantic relationship in her private life. But after a few go-nowhere affairs and an in-name-only marriage to musician G.E. Smith, Gilda at last finds happiness as the sweetheart -- and later the wife -- of actor Gene Wilder (played by Tom Rooney), her costar in the 1982 movie Hanky Panky. Just when it seems that Gilda's life is on the right course with all cylinders clicking, she is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Based on her 1989 autobiography (published the same year as her death), It's Always Something: The Gilda Radner Story debuted April 29, 2002, as part of an evening-long ABC network tribute to Radner and her career. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Jami Gertz, Tom Rooney, (more)
Mike Nichols lends some comic structure to Carrie Fisher's best-selling confessional novel concerning a woman's struggles with drug addiction and mother-daughter rivalry (subjects Fisher admits to understanding all too well). Meryl Streep, in her most full-blown comic performance up to that point, plays Suzanne Vale, a popular movie actress well on her way to a Hollywood crack-up. Suzanne suffers from blackouts and memory lapses, and awakens in the beds of men she doesn't remember; she is a barely-functioning wreck on the set of her latest movie. When a coke dealer who delivers stops by her dressing room between takes, she swiftly finds herself being rushed to the hospital, suffering the effects of a narcotics bender. While in detox, Suzanne attempts to piece her life and career back together, but her confidence is shattered when her mother arrives at the rehab clinic -- Doris Mann, a famed film icon from the 1950s and 1960s (Shirley MacLaine). Doris is soon soaking up the adulation and applause of Suzanne's fellow recovering drug addicts. Upon Suzanne's release, she must compete with her mother for attention and fame as she tries to walk a thin line as a recovering drug abuser. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Meryl Streep, Shirley MacLaine, (more)
- 1989
Within a single year, Gilda Radner rose from talented but obscure improv comedienne to "America's Sweetheart" thanks to NBC's Saturday Night Live. The 60-minute video The Best of Gilda Radner is culled from SNL's vintage years, 1975 to 1980. Included are such beloved Radner creations as Roseanne Roseannadanna ("Thought ah wuz gonna die!"), Emily Litella ("Never mind!"), Lisa Looper ("That was so funny I a'most fergot t' LAFFFFF") and, of course, Baba Wawa. We are also treated to Gilda's takeoff of Lucille Ball and her extended "Dancing in the Dark" number with Steve Martin. You may find yourself alternately laughing and crying through The Best of Gilda Radner--crying because this matchless performer left this world much too soon. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
Gene Wilder directed and wrote (along with Terence Marsh) this mild farce which is a pale reminder of Wilder's glory days in Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein. Wilder plays ham radio actor Larry Abbot, who takes his fiancee Vickie Pearle (Gilda Radner) out to meet his relations on a gloomy country estate before they are married. The creepy clan is lorded over by the bizarre Aunt Kate (Dom DeLuise), who keeps babbling about a local rampaging werewolf. As Larry and Vickie try to spend a quiet weekend in the mansion, they are assaulted with all manners of spooky goings-on -- the kind of routines that were already growing whiskers when Abbott and Costello first dusted them off over fifty years ago. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, (more)
- 1985
Assembled long after John Belushi's death in 1982, The Best of John Belushi is at once hilarious and melancholy. From 1975 to 1979, Belushi was a member in excellent standing of the "Not Ready for Prime Time Players" on NBC's Saturday Night Live. This 60-minute video covers those amazing years, offering such highlights as "Samurai Delicatessen" and "The Honeybees." Best and most poignant of all the scenes is the elegiac "Don't Look Back in Anger". This is the one wherein an aged John Belushi strolls reflectively past the graves of all his SNL costars-then breaks into an exuberant dance. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- John Belushi
- 1985
- PG
The "movers and shakers" in this weak comedy limned by Charles Grodin do not refer to a religious sect, but the big-wigs in Hollywood who determine how the next many millions are to be spent. Two parallel stories occupy center stage. On the one hand, Joe Mulholland (Walter Matthau) has made a promise to a dying producer that he would put together a film on "Love in Sex." The problem is that there is no script to go with that title -- a minor hurdle by Hollywood standards. On the other hand, Herb Derman (Grodin) is hired to make up the story, but he is neck-deep in marriage woes and will have a hard time holding down his personal life long enough to write. Mixed into both of these tales are parodies of behind-the-scenes Hollywood at its worst. These scenarios are helped along by a fine cast of actors and actresses. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Walter Matthau, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1984
- PG13
- Add The Woman in Red to Queue
Gene Wilder's remake of this 1976 French comedy is a Hollywood version of what happens when Theodore (Wilder), an ordinary ad agency executive, is captivated by a gorgeous woman (Kelly Le Brock). The woman just happens to be standing on a grate when her skirt blows up over her waist (a scene first made famous by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven-Year Itch), and one glimpse is enough to change Theodore's whole life. Although he is married, he is willing to risk his happy relationship with his wife for a romp in the hay with the beautiful stranger. Unfortunately, even when he tracks down the object of his lust he is woefully inept at sneaking out on his wife to consummate his desire. Three of his male office mates help him as much as they can, but Ms. Milner (Gilda Radner) is really incensed when she finds out that the object of Theodore's attention is not herself. Stevie Wonder's score included his hit song "I Just Called to Say I Love You", which received an Oscar nomination. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Charles Grodin, (more)
- 1983
When Reading Rainbow host LeVar Burton goes up against top competitors in a bike race, he finds out the true meaning of the story of The Tortoise and the Hare. This adaptation by Janet Stevens of the classic story is read by Gilda Radner. Burton tries the Marine Corps obstacle course in Hawaii to test his endurance. He finds that winning doesn't always mean finishing in first place, and tells viewers about the importance of giving their best effort. Other related books in this episode are Hill of Fire, Albert the Running Bear's Exercise Book, and Hooray for Snail!. ~ Alice Day, Rovi
- Starring:
- LeVar Burton
- 1983
This comical video features the cast of the original Saturday Night Live and the quietly riotous Bob and Ray. Also featured is Willie Nelson who croons three tunes. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Gene Wilder stars as Michael Jordon, an architect on the run from false murder charges, who hooks up with Kate Hellman (Gilda Radner), the sister of a recent suicide victim. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gene Wilder, Gilda Radner, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Latter-day comedy stars like Dan Aykroyd and John Candy host this compilation of clips from Hollywood's most famed bad movies, including Plan 9 From Outer Space, Untamed Women and Robot Monster. ~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, (more)
- 1980
- R
Director Mike Nichols makes no effort to inject camera trickery or "mise en scene" in Gilda Live. This is a live comedy concert by the peerless Gilda Radner, and that is enough; Nichols merely records this wonderful lady in action. All of Gilda's standard characterizations -- Emily Latella, Roseanna Roseannadanna et. al. -- are here in full force, a lot raunchier than when seen on TV. Everyone's favorite bit in this comedy catalogue is Gilda's specialty number "Let's Talk Dirty to the Animals." On hand to allow Gilda to take a breather once in a while is Don Novello, aka Father Guido Sarducci. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gilda Radner
- 1980
One of the better-known of the many half-hour TV cartoon specials of the 1980s, Animalympics: Winter Games is distinguished as much by its stellar voice cast as by the wit of the script. The story is built around the occasion of the first Animalia Olympic Winter Games, with a wide assortment of humanized animals (who look and sound a lot like current celebrities) participating. Among the contestants is a figure-skating ostrich, a slalom-racing daschhund, and a hockey-playing bull. Every one of the athletic events depicted herein is based on a popular song, TV show, commercial or some other pop-culture reference--a fact that, happily, hardly dates the special at all. Animalympics: Winter Games first aired February 1, 1980, on NBC. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Billy Crystal, Harry Shearer, (more)
- 1980
- R
Gilda Radner, Bob Newhart, and Madeline Kahn star in this comedy. The farce sends up an idiotic First Family in the persona of a bumbling president (Newhart), his semi-alcoholic wife (Kahn), and his oversexed daughter (Radner). Satirizing the artificial, formal speech of real-life First Families in television interviews, director Buck Henry carries this mode of speech into their private lives as well. The trio travel to an African country where the First Daughter is kidnapped and white Americans are traded as slaves in exchange for some special animal dung that is able to accelerate plant growth. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi
- Starring:
- Gilda Radner, Bob Newhart, (more)
- 1979
Goofy animated animals compete for Olympic gold in this entertaining family-oriented feature that includes the vocal talents of comedians Gilda Radner, Harry Shearer and Billy Crystal. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- 1979
When two kids run into a witch, she obligingly agrees to magically turn them into the monsters of their choice. ~ Iotis Erlewine, Rovi
- 1978
- Add The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash to Queue Add The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash to top of Queue
A mockumentary of a Beatles-like singing group called the Rutles, The Rutles is a collaboration between Monty Python alumnus Eric Idle and Saturday Night Live filmmaker Gary Weis. The members of the "pre-Fab Four" are Nasty, Barry, Stig, and Dirk. There really isn't any plot, just a series of vignettes, unctuously narrated by Idle, which mercilessly skewer the Beatles mythology. Under the guidance of agent Leggy Mountbatten (before he tragically takes a teaching post in Australia), the Rutles rise to the top with such hit songs as "Please Please Let Me Hold Your Hand" and "I Am the Waitress." Mention is made of the Rutles' film successes: "A Hard Day's Rut," "Ouch!," "Tragical History Tour," "Yellow Submarine Sandwich," and "Let It Rot." We also see such career highlights as Nasty's declaration that the Rutles are more popular than God (he meant "Rod," as in Rod Stewart), the rumor that Dirk is dead (whereupon Stiggy starts his own rumor that he is dead), and Nasty's unfortunate liaison with a Yoko Ono counterpart (depicted as a Neo-Nazi dominatrix). The Rutles gains an added veneer of verisimilitude through the participation of such rock stars as Paul Simon, Mick Jagger, and Ron Wood, as well as George Harrison himself, who shows up as a BBC commentator. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eric Idle, Neil Innes, (more)
- 1978
This episodic comedy features the original cast of Saturday Night Live as they present individual skits that describe their summer vacations. Among the highlights is a concert segment featuring John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd as the Blues Brothers. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Returning for a fourth season (1978-79), the cast and writers of Saturday Night Live maintained their reputation for hilarious characters and innovative sketch-comedy, creating characters such as the Blues Brothers (John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd), Nick the Lounge Singer (Bill Murray), Candy Slice (Gilda Radner), the Loud Family (Jane Curtin, Murray, and Radner), Fred Garvin: Male Prostitute (Aykroyd), and the Nerds (Murray and Radner). Other favorites include the return of iconic host Steve Martin (with Aykroyd as the "wild and crazy" Festrunk Brothers) and Buck Henry's inappropriate Uncle Roy. The 20 episodes of Season 4 feature classic performances from hosts Fred Willard, Carrie Fisher, Kate Jackson, Milton Berle, Michael Palin, Eric Idle, Elliott Gould, Frank Zappa, Gary Busey, and Walter Matthau. Unforgettable musical guests include Peter Tosh, Mick Jagger, the Doobie Brothers, Bette Midler, Talking Heads, Devo, Van Morrison, Grateful Dead, Rickie Lee Jones, James Taylor, and the Rolling Stones.
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, (more)
Continuing the enormous success of the previous two years, the third season of SNL (1977-78) showcased a fearless cast that created some of the most memorable sketches to ever appear on the show. With hilarious breakthrough characters like The Nerds (Bill Murray and Gilda Radner), Coneheads (Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin), lounge singer Nick Winters (Bill Murray), Samurai Warrior (John Belushi), a singing King Tut (legendary SNL host Steve Martin) and featuring Father Guido Sarducci (Don Novello) as well as "The Franken and Davis Show" (Al Franken and Tom Davis), SNL continued to define itself as the pinnacle of irreverent humor and political satire.
The complete third season of SNL contains unforgettable appearances by hosts Steve Martin, Michael Palin, Hugh Hefner, Buck Henry, Robert Klein, Chevy Chase, Madeline Kahn, Richard Dreyfuss, O.J. Simpson and the winner of the "Anyone Can Host" contest, Miskel Spillman, and classic musical performances by Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Leon Redbone, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Ashford & Simpson, Meat Loaf and The Blues Brothers.
The complete third season of SNL contains unforgettable appearances by hosts Steve Martin, Michael Palin, Hugh Hefner, Buck Henry, Robert Klein, Chevy Chase, Madeline Kahn, Richard Dreyfuss, O.J. Simpson and the winner of the "Anyone Can Host" contest, Miskel Spillman, and classic musical performances by Elvis Costello, Billy Joel, Ray Charles, Leon Redbone, Willie Nelson, Bonnie Raitt, Jackson Browne, Ashford & Simpson, Meat Loaf and The Blues Brothers.
- Starring:
- Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, (more)
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