The Madeline Kahn Page

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Last updated 9/24/00: Updated News. Please read.

The page you have reached is dedicated to the memory of a divinely talented, hugely gifted woman.
An Emmy winner for "Wanted: The Perfect Guy," a two-time Oscar nominee for "Paper Moon" and "Blazing Saddles," a three-time Golden Globe nominee for "What's Up Doc," "Paper Moon," and "Young Frankenstein," and a Tony winner (for "The Sisters Rosensweig") and three-time nominee (for "In the Boom Boom Room," "On the Twentieth Century," and "Born Yesterday").
A comedienne who delighted audiences as wacky Pauline Fox on CBS's "Cosby" and gave an American Comedy Award-nominated performance as Blanche Munchnik in the film "Mixed Nuts."
An operatically trained singer who demonstrated her magnificent voice in "Two by Two," "At Long Last Love," "On the Twentieth Century," the musical revue "Scrambled Feet," "Hello Dolly," and two recent Carnegie Hall concerts celebrating the work of Stephen Sondheim.
A woman who on December 3, 1999, was taken from us entirely too soon.
I refer, of course, to the one, the only -- MADELINE KAHN.

NEWS

(9/24/00) This Friday, September 29, is Madeline Kahn's birthday. I encourage you to celebrate, as I will, the memory of a beautiful person, and the tremendous gifts we were lucky enough to have her share with us. Watch your favorite Madeline movie, or listen to a Madeline CD, and relive the magic she made, and the magnificent presence that she so effortlessly projected.

You won't be celebrating alone. On Saturday, September 30, NBC will air Madeline's 1995 episode of Saturday Night Live in its classic SNL timeslot, which varies from market to market, but is traditionally late Saturday night/early Saturday morning, some time after the traditional SNL is aired. Check your local listings to be sure that your affiliate is airing it, and at what time. Two days later, on Monday, October 2, Lifetime will debut "Intimate Portrait: Madeline Kahn," a segment of Lifetime's biography series devoted to Madeline's story. It will certainly be a can't-miss event. (More info can be found in the 8/19 news update.)

Finally... I encourage everyone reading this to send Madeline a birthday present. When she announced her illness with ovarian cancer, she issued a statement in which she said, "It is my hope that I might raise awareness of this awful disease and hasten the day that an effective test can be discovered to give women a fighting chance to catch this cancer in its earliest stage...I would urge everyone to support the vital work being done by the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund." I have been collecting money for the OCRF at my workplace all year, and this week, I will send it all in. I encourage all of you to join me in making a donation this week, as a birthday present to Madeline. Donations can be made quite easily through the OCRF website at www.ocrf.org, and you can call the OCRF at (212) 268-1002, or at 1-800-873-9569. Their address appears below:

The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Inc.
One Pennsylvania Plaza
Suite 1610
New York, NY 10119-0165

We can make a difference, guys. Let's do it now.

(8/19/00) News Updates:

- "Judy Berlin" is now available for rent, but only at your local Hollywood Video. After spending a 12-week exclusive engagement there, it will reportedly be available for rent at stores everywhere.

- Lifetime has prepared an Intimate Portrait on Madeline, which I have heard is airing in the month of September. It includes interviews with Madeline's family, Robert Klein, Mel Brooks, Phylicia Rashad, Lily Tomlin, Eric Mendelsohn, Peter Bogdanovich, and Dom DeLuise, and it was directed by actress Lee Grant.

- The "Clue" DVD recently released by Paramount has a nifty feature: while you can still view the home video version of the movie with all three endings, you are also given the option of replicatin g the original theatrical experience by having an ending selected for you at random. The film's theatrical trailer is also included. If you haven't gotten it yet, you need to pick it up ASAP, or order it through this site at the store.

- The American Film Institute announced its list of the 100 funniest movies on June 13th in a three-hour special on CBS. Madeline appeared in three of the top films: "What's Up Doc" at number 61, "Young Frankenstein" at number 13, and "Blazing Saddles" at number 6. The segment of the special about "Young Frankenstein" was in part dedicated to Madeline, showing some of her funniest scenes and featuring these very nice comments about her.
Milton Berle: "I think Madeline Kahn, who we just lost, was one of our very great comediennes that I ever saw."
Whoopi Goldberg: "There are so few real comediennes... REAL comediennes... who can do what Madeline did."
Mel Brooks: "Madeline Kahn was maybe the single best comedian that ever lived. She left us much too soon."

News Archive

Special thanks

Now, I would like to give my thanks to some very special people who deserve it. To Carol, Kelli, Holly, Walter, Laura, Caitlin, Erin, Megan, Angela, Cassie, Leslie, and Aubrey: you have all helped me on numerous occasions, in many different ways. I am extremely grateful for all your contributions. But more importantly, you have done me the great honor of sharing your friendship with me. You are all very dear to me, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To Madeline: Thank you for all the entertainment you have given me and everyone else visiting this page. There will never be another like you.

Well, here's the good stuff. The career page leads to all my pages on individual Madeline movies and shows. The other sections are listed below. Have a fun look around.

Sections of my homepage:

Madeline's Career
The Madeline Photo Gallery
Madeline in Print
The Chat Room
Sign the Madeline Guestbook
View the Madeline Guestbook
Visit the Message Board
Join the Mailing List
Links
My other page: