Madeline Kahn
Madeline Kahn
Hofstra graduate Madeline Kahn was trained for an operatic career, but found her most gainful employment in musical comedy and revue work. While reducing audiences to tears of laughter as a member of New York's Upstairs at the Downstairs satirical troupe, Kahn made her first appearance in the short-subject Bergman lampoon The Dove (1968). She was "officially" discovered for films by director Peter Bogdanovich, who cast her as Ryan O'Neal's frowsy fiancee in What's Up Doc (1972). Kahn was nominated for Academy Awards for her portrayals of Southern doxy Trixie Delight in Bogdanovich's Paper Moon (1973) and Dietrich-like chanteuse Lilly Von Schtupp ("Oh, it's twue, it's twue, it's twue!") in Mel Brooks' Blazing Saddles (1974). Kahn went on to co-star in Brooks' Young Frankenstein (1974) and High Anxiety (1975), and made a return trip to the Bogdanovich fold in the disastrous At Long Last Love (1976) Her manic comedy style could be appealing, but, to paraphrase the late film encyclopedist Leslie Haliwell, it became a quickly overplayed hand. On Broadway, Kahn co-starred with Danny Kaye in Two by Two and was starred in the musical version of Twentieth Century, a grueling experience that all but destroyed her singing voice. She won a Tony award for her non-musical performance in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosenzweig in 1992. Kahn's TV projects include the 1983 sitcom Oh, Madeline (based on the British series Pig in the Middle), a single season as George C. Scott's virago sister-in-law in Mister President (1987) and Cosby, the most recent project of comedian Bill Cosby, a sitcom that premiered in 1996. In 1995, Madeline Kahn was superbly cast as Martha Mitchell in Oliver Stone's Nixon and as a vituperative gossip columnist on the TV series New York News. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Filmography of Madeline Kahn:
- Won Ton Ton, the Dog Who Saved Hollywood with Bruce Dern , Art Carney , Teri Garr , Billy Barty , Edgar Bergen , Joan Blondell , John Carradine , Cyd Charisse , Jackie Coogan , Broderick Crawford , Gloria DeHaven , William Demarest , Andy Devine , Alice Faye , Fritz Feld , Stepin Fetchit , Rhonda Fleming , Huntz Hall , Dick Haymes , Dorothy Lamour , Peter Lawford , Guy Madison , Victor Mature , Virginia Mayo , Mike Mazurki , Ann Miller , Walter Pidgeon , Ann Rutherford , Dean Stockwell , Jesse White , Henny Youngman , Milton Berle , Tab Hunter
- Paper Moon with Ryan O'Neal
- Clue with Tim Curry , Lesley Ann Warren
- Young Frankenstein with Gene Wilder , Peter Boyle , Teri Garr , Gene Hackman , Mel Brooks
- Judy Berlin with Edie Falco
- Blazing Saddles with Gene Wilder , Harvey Korman , Mel Brooks , Mel Brooks
- Yellowbeard with Peter Boyle , Tommy Chong , John Cleese , James Mason , Susannah York
- Nixon with Anthony Hopkins , Joan Allen , Ed Harris , Bob Hoskins , E.G. Marshall , Edward Herrmann , George Plimpton , Mary Steenburgen , Oliver Stone , James Woods
- The Muppet Movie with Jim Henson , Frank Oz , Frank Oz , Charles Durning , Edgar Bergen , Elliott Gould , Bob Hope , Milton Berle , Mel Brooks , Jim Henson , Jim Henson , Jim Henson , Steve Martin , Frank Oz , Frank Oz , Richard Pryor , Orson Welles , James Coburn
Madeline Kahn Trivia
