When Gilda Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, at only 43 years old, almost nobody had heard of the disease. But thanks to the diminutive comedienne who defined our generation, the public knows more about ovarian cancer; thanks to her husband, those who are coping with the disease have a support network.
What was it about Gilda that made her so special? Tiny, delicate, feisty and fearless, with unruly hair that would've upstaged the personality of someone less vivacious, she captured the hearts of millions with her weekly antics on Saturday Night Live (my personal favorite was Emily Latella knitting a new "shawl" for Iran).
Born in Detroit on June 28, 1946, Gilda was Herman and Henrietta Radner's first daughter. The couple, a businessman and a legal secretary, respectively, already had a five-year-old son, Michael. Herman had always wanted to be a performer, Gilda once recalled, and he doted on his outgoing girl, calling her his "little ham." And a ham she was, in an era when improvisational comedy was a subculture, not a genre. By the time she'd graduated high school, there was no doubt where her future lay. After leaving the University of Michigan, she moved to Toronto, where she joined the fledgling Second City, then the top comedy troupe in existence (alongside its sister troupe in Chicago). In 1974, she moved to New York, where she appeared in two National Lampoon shows, one for radio, the other on stage. The next year, Lorne Michaels tapped Radner to be one of the founding cast members of Saturday Night Live; she remained on the show for five years, bringing her wacky characters and outrageous voices to millions of Americans weekly; in turn, she was rewarded with an Emmy, television's highest honor. 1979 saw Radner fulfill her dream of having a one-woman show on Broadway, Gilda Radner - Live in New York. A string of movies followed, including Hanky Panky; it was on that set that Gilda met her future husband, Gene Wilder. The two were madly in love, the chemistry between them palpable.
In 1986, just a year after she married Wilder, Gilda was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. The worst thing about ovarian cancer is that it is undetectable in its earliest, treatable stages. Radner, whose trademark comment was managed to make something good come from this tragedy, by bringing national awareness to this heretofore almost unheard-of disease. She wrote a bestselling book, It's Always Something, about her battle with the disease, in which she noted how lucky she was to have immense support among her family and friends and noted that everyone should have such encouragement. After her death, Wilder fulfilled Radner's dream by founding Gilda's Club, a place where people with cancer, their friends and families could congregate and get as much emotional support as they needed - for free. The basic concept is twofold: one, to provide the cancer patient with whatever support she needs, and two, to provide support for family and friends. Additionally, each Gilda's Club has a place called Noogieland, both for both children who have cancer and for children whose parents have cancer. The original Gilda's Club is on Houston St. in New York; there are now offshoots in a dozen cities including Chicago, Los Angeles and Toronto.
Even in death, Gilda continues to be an inspiration.
Out of something as tragic as the deaths of Gilda Radner and Madeline Kahn, two of the most brilliant comediennes of our era, can come education, research and empowerment.
-- Sarah Chauncey 
