Inside The Heartbreaking Death Of Gilda Radner, The SNL Comedian Who Died Of Ovarian Cancer At 42
Maximum FilmGilda Radner died young, and many believe that her death could have been prevented.From the moment Saturday Night Live debuted in 1975, Gilda Radner delighted audience with her array of zany characters. Warm, silly, and magnetic, Radner was a fan favorite until she left the show until 1980. But everything changed for the comedian when her health declined in the 1980s, leading to a diagnosis of aggressive ovarian cancer in 1986. Just two and a half years later, Gilda Radner died at the age of just 42. The world reacted with shock and sadness to her passing but her husband Gene Wilder reacted with bewilderment and anger. He and Radner had spent months trying to find a doctor to take her seriously, as Radner suffered from severe fatigue, bloating, and abdominal pain. Precious time was lost as doctors dismissed Radners symptoms, to the point when she was finally diagnosed with ovarian cancer, Radner expressed genuine relief. But by then, it was too late. Despite treatment and the removal of a tumor, Gilda Radner died in 1989. This is the sad story of her death, which Wilder has claimed could have been prevented. Gilda Radners Rise In The World Of ComedyBorn on June 28, 1946, in Detroit, Michigan, Gilda Radner credited much of her comedic leanings to her father. Not only did he frequently take her to the theater, but he also owned a hotel where entertainers often stayed. My father had a hotel, she once recalled, according to her New York Times obituary, and people in show business used to stay there. He loved performers and entertainment, and I grew up knowing that. Some of his spunk must have come out in me, because he used to love to perform, too. He was funny, he could tell a good story, he could do magic tricks.Gilda Radner EstateGilda Radner as a child.Though Radners father sadly died of a brain tumor when she was just 12 years old, Radner remained interested in entertainment. She majored in drama at the University of Michigan and, after following a boyfriend to Toronto, became involved in the Canadian comedy scene. She snagged a role in Godspell alongside Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Victor Garber, Martin Short, and Paul Shaffer, and later joined the comedy troupe Second City, where she performed alongside Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.Then, shortly after moving to New York City in 1974, Gilda Radner was cast in Saturday Night Live. When the show premiered in 1975, Radner quickly became a fan favorite because of her characters Roseanne Roseannadanna, Lisa Loopner, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa. She stayed on the show for five years, until her contract expired, and then left to pursue a career in film. At that point, Gilda Radner met actor Gene Wilder on the set of Hanky Panky. The two fell in love and married in 1984. United Archives GmbHGilda Radner and Gene Wilder on the set of Hanky Panky , where they met and fell in love.But the couple only had a few years together before Gilda Radners death. Shortly after they got married, Radner began to experience a series of alarming health issues.Ten Frustrating Months Of MisdiagnosesThree years before Gilda Radner died, the actress started to experience some troubling symptoms. In 1985, after taking great steps to get pregnant, Radner suffered a miscarriage and then contracted the flu. She started feeling run-down into 1986, which she thought was just everything catching up with her. But as Wilder later wrote in a 1991 essay for People Magazine, things changed dramatically for the couple starting that year. For us, it all started on the first Sunday in January 1986, Wilder recalled in the essay. We were driving to play tennis in Los Angeles at a friends house. Gilda began to feel what she described as a fog rolling in. She said, I cant keep my eyes open. I think Im going to fall asleep. She lay back and looked like she had taken a sleeping pill.Radner and Wilder started seeing doctors as they tried to cure her chronic fatigue. Initially, Radner was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr and told to rest. But she also started to suffer from severe bloating, stomach cramps, and shooting pain in her legs. Meanwhile, doctors who examined Radner found that nothing was wrong, blamed her problems on ovulation, or suggested that Radner was a high-strung person who simply needed to relax. Love Gilda/Magnolia PicturesGilda Radner and Gene Wilder in Stamford, Connecticut, in the early 1980s.Ten months after Radners first symptoms appeared, she was finally given a diagnosis: ovarian cancer. Radner had sought answers for so long that the diagnosis almost came as a relief. According to Wilder, she cried: Thank God, finally someone believes me!But it was too late to prevent Gilda Radners death. A doctor even quietly told Wilder, She doesnt have much chance.The Sad Preventable Death Of Gilda RadnerJust 36 hours after Gilda Radners diagnosis, doctors operated on her, removed a grapefruit-sized tumor, and determined that Gilda Radner had Stage IV ovarian cancer. Radner was then prescribed chemotherapy treatment, which caused her to lose her hair and feel sick. But Wilder remained optimistic that Radner would make it through.Until three weeks before Gilda died, I believed she would make it, Wilder wrote in People Magazine. But on May 17, 1989, Radner was taken to a Los Angeles hospital for a CAT scan. In Wilders recollection, she was frantic and raving, scared that the doctors would give her morphine and that she wouldnt wake up again. Wilder reassured her that everything would be alright. But after Radner was sedated, she never regained consciousness. Three days later, on May 20, 1989, Gilda Radner died at the age of 42.Across the country, Radners friend, the actor Steve Martin, was preparing to host Saturday Night Live when he heard about Gilda Radners death. He and others at the show were shocked Radner was among the first of the original Saturday Night Live cast to die. According to NBC News, Martin dedicated his monologue to her, and played a clip of sketch they were in together in 1978, called Dancing in the Dark.NBCGilda Radner and Steve Martin on Saturday Night Live.Ive been coming here to do Saturday Night Live since 1976, and the thing that brings you back to the show is the people you get to work with, Martin told the audience. You know, when I look at that tape, I cant help but think how great she was, and how young I looked. Gilda, we miss you.How Gene Wilder Became An Advocate For Womens Health After Gilda Radners DeathIn the aftermath of Gilda Radners death, Gene Wilder was stunned and angry. For weeks after Gilda died, I was shouting at the walls. I kept thinking to myself, This doesnt make sense,' Wilder wrote. The fact is, Gilda didnt have to die. But I was ignorant, Gilda was ignorant the doctors were ignorant.He continued: She could be alive today if I knew then what I know now. Gilda might have been caught at a less-advanced stage if two things had been done: if she had been given a CA 125 blood test as soon as she described her symptoms to the doctors instead of 10 months later, and if the doctors had known the significance of asking her about her familys history of ovarian cancer. But they didnt. So Gilda went through the tortures of the damned and at the end, I felt robbed.Wikimedia CommonsAfter Gilda Radners death, her widower Gene Wilder became an advocate for womens health.Wilder went on to establish Gildas Club, which aimed to support cancer patients. He testified before Congress in 1991 to explain the urgency of early testing and to advocate for better diagnostic tests. And he worked with Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to develop the Gilda Radner Ovarian Cancer Detection Program. In other words, Wilder dedicated his life to save the Gildas out there that still have a chance, as he said before Congress in 1991. In that way, Gilda Radners death was certainly tragic, but Wilder ensured it wasnt in vain.After reading about the tragic death of Gilda Radner, learn about the tragic death of Saturday Night Live cast member Chris Farley, who died at just 33. Or, discover the disturbing story behind the death of Saturday Night Live cast member Phil Hartman, who was killed by his wife in a murder-suicide. The post Inside The Heartbreaking Death Of Gilda Radner, The SNL Comedian Who Died Of Ovarian Cancer At 42 appeared first on All That's Interesting.
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