From Education to Entertainment

Gilda Radner (1946–1989) was an actress and comedienne who was the most beloved of the seven original cast members for Saturday Night Live (SNL). In her routines, Radner created unforgettable characters, including misinformed news commentator Roseanne Roseannadanna. In 1978, she won an Emmy Award for her performances on the show. She also portrayed those characters in her highly successful one-woman show "Gilda Live" on Broadway in 1979. Radner's SNL work established her as an iconic figure in the history of American comedy.

Radner was born and raised in Detroit, MI, and attended U-M from 1964–1970. She planned to get an education degree and teach children with developmental challenges, but decided to pursue her theater aspirations one semester short of graduation. She moved to Toronto and was cast in a now-legendary production of Godspell, featuring other future stars Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, and Martin Short. After her time with Godspell, Radner joined The Second City Toronto when it opened in 1973. In 1975, Saturday Night Livepremiered, altering the course of comedy ever since and making Radner a household name.

When Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986, she joined a cancer support group in Santa Monica. The group gave Radner the mental strength to battle her disease, and Radner became an active member, helping to publicize its activities. She was the inspiration for Gilda’s Club, a network of cancer support groups worldwide. After she lost her life to ovarian cancer in 1989, her husband Gene Wilder carried out her personal wish that information about her illness would help other cancer victims. He established the Gilda Radner Hereditary Cancer Program at Cedars-Sinai to screen high-risk candidates (such as women of Ashkenazi Jewish descent) and to run basic diagnostic tests. He testified before a Congressional committee that Radner's condition had been misdiagnosed and that if doctors had inquired more deeply into her family background, they might have attacked the disease earlier.

Radner’s audio recording of her book about her personal battle with cancer, It’s Always Something earned her a posthumous Grammy Award in 1990 for “Best Spoken Word or Non-Musical Recording.” The book was recorded only a month before her death in May 1989. Radner was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1992, and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2003. Her legacy lives on through the influence she had on the comedy world, numerous Gilda’s Club groups, and more.