Gilda Radner

Born, in Detroit, Michigan, Gilda Radner got her lover of performance from her father, who operated a hotel frequented by artists and musicians. She majored in drama at the University of Michigan, but dropped out before her final year and moved with her boyfriend to Canada. In Toronto she had her first big break, playing in the 1972 production of "Godspell" with Eugene Levy, Martin Short and others. By 1974, Radner had moved to New York and was a featured performer on "The National Lampoon Radio Hour" until 1975 when she was the first cast member for "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1975-). She would be followed by many of her National Lampoon performers and writers, including Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and John Belushi. On the show, Radner created a number of unique comic characters including Roseanne Roseannadanna and Baba Wawa, her spoof of news anchor Barbara Walters. When she left the show in 1980 with most of the original cast, Radner went on to release "Gilda Live" (1980), a filmed version of her acclaimed one-woman show on Broadway. In 1982, Radner starred in "Hanky Panky" (1982) opposite her future husband, Gene Wilder. The two would appear in two more films together, "The Woman in Red" (1984), and "Haunted Honeymoon" (1986). In 1986, Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which went briefly into remission before returning to take her life in 1989.