Love, Gilda

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by lightbulb, Jan 5, 2019.

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  1. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch Thread Starter

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    I’m watching the CNN documentary “Love, Gilda” right now. I wasn’t planning to, but now that I have, I’m fully absorbed into it...

    Not only is it a great encapsulation of her life (as far as I’m aware),
    But as all great documentaries do, it holds up a great mirror to reflect upon many things in life, such as celebrity, fame, creativity, humor, personality, 70’s culture, laughter, inspiration, media, TV, success, friendships, and love.

    What do you think?
     
    Last edited: Jan 5, 2019
  2. Chris DeVoe

    Chris DeVoe RIP Vickie Mapes Williams (aka Equipoise)

    That Gene Wilder was a real mensch.
     
  3. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch Thread Starter

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    ...as I’d expect no less from Young Franken-Willie Wonka-stein.
     
  4. jojopuppyfish

    jojopuppyfish Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    I saw it. It was well done. Interesting that most of it was narrated by Gilda.
    Honestly, I wasn't a huge fan of her. And her movies after SNL were all awful (going on reputation....I haven't seen any)
     
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  5. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch Thread Starter

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    Yes, it was interesting how other comedians read her personal notes and observations, sprinkled amongst recordings of her voice, from interviews and talk shows.
    At several points, I wasn’t certain which was which...

    Her SNL characters are very funny and memorable, especially in contrast to her movie roles (which I admit to not recalling/seeing.)
     
  6. feinstei9415

    feinstei9415 Forum Resident

    Location:
    South Bend, IN
    I saw some previews on CNN's website with Anderson-Cooper. His mother, Gloria Vanderbilt was satirized in the very last "original cast" Saturday Night Live episode by Rosanne Rosannadanna. It was the most hilarious and daring skit that Saturday Night Live had done to that point. It's too bad that the documentary didn't have the courage to include that clip.
     
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  7. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch Thread Starter

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    The big regret will always be how any medical consultation that Gilda sought didn’t factor in her family history of ovarian cancer; thus missing an earlier detection.

    Just one part of her legacy is to increase awareness of that, along with Gene Wilder’s testimony in Congress.

    “...After [Gilda’s] passing, Wilder began looking more into advanced ovarian cancer and discovered ways that doctors could have reached an earlier diagnosis and possibly saved her life. He discovered a blood test known as CA 125 that had never been administered to Radner and which is designed to detect tumors regularly created by ovarian cancer. He also learned that a family history of ovarian cancer is often a warning sign. Unfortunately, it took 10 months from Radner’s first exam for doctors to diagnose her with the disease....”
     
  8. sixtiesstereo

    sixtiesstereo Senior Member

    Location:
    Wisconsin
    I DVR'd this last night, and just finished watching it today.
    I have watched every SNL episode when it first started in the 70's (when I was in my 20's)
    to the present day (don't ask), and I still feel that of all the greats on the show over the last
    40 plus years, Gilda was, and is still is, the best that was ever on the show.
    I thought the "Love, Gilda" doc was terrific, but way overdue. And two hours isn't
    enough to cover all of the remarkable things she did in her career.
    I especially liked the clips and photos of her as part of Second City (before they went on
    to do SCTV), and seeing basically the entire male cast (Eugene Levy, John Candy, etc).
    I suppose she would have been on SCTV if she hadn't gotten the call from Lorne for SNL.
    I wished they could have shown entire Lisa Lupner sketches with Murray, more Candy Slice,
    and all of the rest, but, again, two hours isn't enough.
    And when she finally found, and married, the love of her life (Gene Wilder), even that was
    taken from her two soon. Very heartbreaking, but at least she finally found happiness for a short time.
    They only used the very beginning of this Weekend Update clip of her, but NBC.com has the entire
    sketch on their website (among many others). Watch it to see her incredible genius...
    Weekend Update: Roseanne Roseannadanna On Smoking
     
    Last edited: Jan 6, 2019
  9. Myke

    Myke Trying Not To Spook The Horse

    Thanks for the reminder y'all.
    Just told the remote to call it up, then set it as a Favorite, so I can watch it On Demand for free, later.
    Really appreciate it.
    Always loved Belushi saying " great legs," about his friend. :agree:
     
  10. theoxrox

    theoxrox Forum Resident

    Location:
    central Wisconsin
    The mid-1970s cast of SNL was wonderful, and Gilda was one of the brightest-shining stars. I miss her!
     
  11. brownie61

    brownie61 Forum Resident

    I loved this movie. I’ve watched it twice within the past week.

    I thought she was hilarious on Saturday Night Live, but didn’t really follow her career aside from that. This movie made me feel like I got to know her a little bit.
     
  12. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    We watched it on Friday night. Really well done.
    The only odd thing was that with all that talent and the huge success of the Broadway show, she had no desire to be a 'star comedian'. She felt she didn't have the talent, it seems. I admit, it must be a tough road, but people like Woody and Steve Martin did it. IMO, she had the talent, but she just lacke dthe confidence and drive. Which is big shame.

    Also, lot of shots of her with a cig in her hand before she met Gene. That could not have helped.
     
  13. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    I watched it twice too, she was one in a million at least. Loved the Emily, Debbie Doody and Lisa Lubner bits, plus below! :laugh:

    Gilda's Clubs are a great legacy too!
    [​IMG]
     
  14. lightbulb

    lightbulb Not the Brightest of the Bunch Thread Starter

    Location:
    Smogville CA USA
    What always cracked me up about Gilda’s “Roseanne Roseannadanna” skits was that the letters she always read were from “...a Mister Richard Feder from Fort Lee, New Jersey writes...”

    Per Wiki:
    “...Roseannadanna's Saturday Night Live commentary followed a strict formula. She usually read a letter from Richard Feder of Fort Lee, New Jersey, although she once read a letter from his wife, "Mrs." Richard Feder. (The Feders later re-located to Mount St. Helens, Washington.)

    The letter would include a series of questions, usually about a current social issue, to which Roseannadanna made derogatory comments about New Jersey before moving on to respond to the question. The name Richard Feder (pronounced as "Fay-der") was an in-joke; it was the name of an actual resident of Fort Lee who also happened to be the brother-in-law of SNLwriter and segment co-creator Alan Zweibel.

    While answering the questions, Roseannadanna invariably digressed, launching into lengthy anecdotes, frequently having to do with an encounter with celebrities (Bo Derek, Dr. Joyce Brothers, Princess Grace, Gloria Vanderbilt, etc.) which had no relevance to the topic at hand. Invariably, the story led to Roseannadanna going into graphic detail about bodily functions or personal hygiene. The concept was that the celebrities had told her the graphic stories and she was simply relating them to the audience. She also provided response to these stories, which was the rhetorical question and catch phrase: "What are ya tryin' to do, make me sick?!"

    Eventually, Weekend Update co-anchor Jane Curtin would interrupt, saying, "Roseanne, you're making me sick." Curtin would then ask Roseannadanna what her comments had to do with the question. Radner would reply: "Well, Jane, it just goes to show you, it's always something — if it ain't one thing, it's another."

    Roseannadanna's comments wrapped up with the sharing of a piece of advice passed along by a family member, most often her father, but sometimes her "Nana Roseannadanna". In one episode, she mentioned her aunt "Pollyanna Roseannadanna", while in others, her "musically happening cousin Carlos Santana Roseannadanna", her religious aunt "Hosanna Roseannadanna", and her singing cousin "Lola Falana Roseannadanna". In the final episode in which the character appeared, she mentioned her fashion designer aunt, "Murjani Roseannadanni".
     
  15. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Around here, they took her name off of Gilda's Clubs, which is a terrible shame.
     
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  16. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    Yes. If only her ovaries hadn’t smoked, she wouldn’t have gotten cancer.
     
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  17. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Ovaries are tricky devils, you gotta watch 'em, you're right.
     
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  18. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    I remember her talking in her book about all the sacchrin and diet sodas she had. She thought about how that could've helped cause it. Also, being bulimic screws up the PH levels in your body. If those levels aren't normal it can contribute to cancer.
     
  19. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    My wife actually said something like that, but she wasn't sure.
     
  20. Gems-A-Bems

    Gems-A-Bems Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Duke City
    On the one hand I was surprised there wasn’t more about her eating disorder in the documentary, but as you point out it was mentioned.

    Perhaps by the time she was recording the narration she was so beyond it (as she was in the midst of a bigger battle) that she didn’t feel the need to dwell on it. By the way, where did her narration come from? Did she record it as a book-on-tape version of her autobiography?
     
  21. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    It wasn't made clear. The shot of the cassette playing at the start implied to me that she had dictated some of what became the book instead of writing a journal. But if she did that instead of writing, then what were the others reading from?
     
  22. All Down The Line

    All Down The Line The Under Asst East Coast White Label Promo Man

    Location:
    Australia
    I just always felt comforted watching her like she was an honest not just talented performer.
    I know little of her life.
     
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  23. vince

    vince Stan Ricker's son-in-law

    I had the "Live In New York" show on cassette, as a kid!
    Played it to death!
    [​IMG]
     
  24. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    Let's Talk Dirt to the Animals! lol
     
  25. bartels76

    bartels76 Forum Hall Of Fame

    Location:
    CT
    I assume she was dictating for her book.
     
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