Gilda's Club South Jersey
555 Bay Avenue
Somers Point, NJ 08244
609-926-2699 phone
609-926-2688 fax
info@gildasclubsouthjersey.org
Saturday Night Live Cast, 1976
Gilda Radner was born on June 28, 1946 and grew up in Detroit,
Michigan. Her older brother Michael once described her as
“a little ham”. She was very close to her father,
who died of brain cancer when she was 14. Gilda studied drama
at the University of Michigan, then dropped out to move to
Toronto, Canada. She was acting in the rock musical Godspell
in 1972 when she was invited to join John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd
and John Candy in the cast of Toronto Second City, an improvisational
comedy troupe. She was the first person Lorne Michaels hired
for the inaugural cast of a ground-breaking new TV show, "Saturday
Night Live”.
Gilda as Roseanne Roseannadanna
From 1975 to 1980, Gilda developed a host
of brilliantly addled characters for SNL that won the hearts
of the American television-viewing audience and remain archetypes
in our comedic consciousness. Her most popular characters
were the crotchety news commentator Emily Litella, and Roseanne
Roseannadanna, whose infectious catch phrase was "It's
always something!"
She then concentrated on stage, film and TV guest appearances,
including the one-woman Broadway show "Gilda Radner --
Live From New York", directed by Mike Nichols. She made
over ten movies and appeared on many TV shows, including "The
Muppet Show”, receiving an Emmy award in 1978.
Gilda, Gene Wilder and Sparkle
In 1984, Gilda married Gene Wilder in a
small village in the south of France with her dog, Sparkle,
as wedding attendant. Gene, an accomplished comedic actor
in his own right, had met Gilda through friends in 1980. Their
efforts to have children failed. Gilda had two miscarriages
and her health seemed to be failing. She was diagnosed with
ovarian cancer in 1986. For two years, she endured surgery,
chemotherapy and radiation treatments.
Joanna Bull, Gilda's psychotherapist, introduced her to a
cancer support community where she discovered that others
shared feelings that not even caring family and friends could
possibly understand. By sharing her confusion about treatments,
relationships, sexuality, and the thousands of other challenges
faced by other people with cancer, Gilda said she reclaimed
her sense of humor, the essence of which had never deserted
her.
Gilda's big brother, Michael Radner, works tirelessly
for Gilda's Club, particularly our Detroit affiliate
Pouring her heart and creativity into her journal, she wrote,
"I joined an elite club that I'd rather not belong to."
She talked about her new acting role, that of "Invisible
Cancer Woman" starring in “The Adventures of the
Independent Baldheaded Chemo Patient'. She said she wanted to
establish a free cancer support community in New York when she
felt better. Her writings became the book “It’s
Always Something”, a New York Times bestseller.
Gilda's cancer was diagnosed too late for effective treatment.
She died on May 20, 1989. Following her death, Gene Wilder,
Joanna Bull and many of her friends and family founded Gilda's
Club in her memory.
The journal Gilda kept during her experiences with
cancer eventually became a New York Times bestseller.
Click on the photo to buy the book.
