Customer Reviews

Live From New York

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She was born in 1946 in Detroit, Michigan, and after a stint with Second City shot to stardom as one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live: a little slip of a thing with ordinary-girl-next-door looks, a cockerspaniel hairstyle, and twinkling eyes. And a charming, touching vulnerability that combined with a truly subversive sense of humor and a talent that was completely at home with the greatest comic artists of her generation. America's Sweetheart, suddenly, impossibly dead of ovarian cancer in 1989 at age 42.

GILDA RADNER: LIVE FROM NEW YORK extracts portions of her 1980 stage show, a program in which Radner drew heavily upon the characters she had first created for Saturday Night Live--but this was no rerun; the material was new and the characters were as fresh as they were when they debuted. There's Candy Slice, Radner's wickedly funny take-off on Patti Smith, Priestess of Punk; the sinus-afflicted teenager Lisa Loopner, who becomes overwrought during a piano recital; the slightly deaf and eternally confused Emily Litella, who suddenly finds herself working as a substitute teacher in a most unpleasant school; and Roseanne Roseannadanna, an aggressively obnoxious news commentator, delivering a commencement speech at (of all places) Columbia University.

All of these sketches have their charms, but to my mind the best selections from this recording are those in which Gilda Radner is just Gilda Radner, completely unencumbered by the necessity of creating an alter-ego. The opening "Let's Talk Dirty to the Animals" is bright, cheery, and hilariously obscene; "I Love to Be Unhappy" is a classic of bright desperation; and the closing "Honey (Touch Me With My Clothes On)" is an incredibly charming bit of nostalgia, a recollection of early highschool romances in a more innocent time.

If I have a complaint with this recording, it is that it is partial and that on occasion the sketches really have to be seen as well as heard in order to fully appreciate them. This is particularly true of the Rhonda Wiess character, a Long Island Jewish princess furious at the FDA for banning saccharine--and who utters a truly disturbing line when she comments that "statistics show men prefer skinny girls with cancer to healthy girls with bulging thighs." At the time, the line got a tremendous laugh. Today it leaves you with a sharp wince of irony and a trace of tragedy.

Sadly, Radner never really had time to find the post-Saturday Night Fame which surely would have been hers: a few minor roles in minor films, a few television appearances, and suddenly it was over. But her unique brand of joyful innocence and sly humor remains intact both here and in other venues, where she is forever loveable, forever young, and absolutely, unspeakably funny. Recommended.

--GFT (Amazon.com Reviewer)--

I remember purchasing this album when it came out in 1979, right after Gilda Radner's one-woman show had premiered on Broadway. Many of the lines from this record (which I played countless times in college for hysterical friends) are classics, and have stayed with me 'till today. (I'm 37 now). Her Roseanne Rosanneadana routine (a commencement speech) will have you laughing so hard you'll cry. Ditto for Emily Litella, and her punk-rock alter-ego, Candy Slice and the Slicers. ("If You Look Close" had me rolling on the floor the first time I heard it.) Also priceless is Radner's number as Rhonda Weiss - the stereotypical Brooklyn Jew/songstress. All in all, absolutely hilarious. How very sad, and what a great loss that Gilda died so young. She'll always live on, however, in my memory and in those of her many fans.

I laugh so hard every time I hear this album (I had to buy the CD version of this when my vinyl copy finally wore out) I nearly lose control of my faculties. Until the part where Lisa Loopner sings "The Way We Were" and I start to weep.

brilliant opening in lets talk dirty to the animals!other highlights:introductions to the audition,"I really want this job!";and Lisa Loopner singing The Way We Were;Emily Litella and Roseanne Roseannadanna classics;then the last track a lovely memory of this great talent.

Classic Gilda Radner that makes you laugh and cry and wish she was still with us here on Planet Earth.

From her days on SLN to her specials, she was one of my favorites. A true class act. Her sense of humor was in a class of it's own. This CD is a tribute to some of her best preformances. I loved it then and I love it now. It's funny, yet sensitive. I am very happy I added it to my collection.

Came in before I expected it, very well packaged and if it's not brand new, I can't tell. I saw this on HBO years ago and when I saw the CD I just had to have it. So much fun.

Had this recording as as 8 track 30 years ago. Finally got the sense of finding it on Amazon as a CD.

If you havent had the chance to hear or see this you are missing out. One of America's funniest women ever. This is short skits of some of her most famous characters.I first saw it in College in the late seventies and have bought it on 8-track, casette... Its just the best clean humor to make you laugh for years !!!!

(looking at my name) As a big SNL fan, I didn't realize how much this show means to me now. She does all her BEST characters (Roseanne R., Lisa Lupner etc.) and whether it is with the DVD or NOT;one can picture her doing these routines! If you have not heard any of this stuff you will want to go and get OLDER Saturday Night Live stuff to see what happened in the late '70s. It is sooo funny you won't forget to laugh! -Lisa L.