Madeline Kahn | |
|---|---|
 Kahn in 1983 | |
| Born | Madeline Gail Wolfson (1942-09-29)September 29, 1942 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Died | December 3, 1999(1999-12-03) (aged 57) New York City, U.S. |
| Education | Hofstra University |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1964–1999 |
| Spouse | |
Madeline Gail Kahn (néeWolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed byPeter Bogdanovich andMel Brooks, includingWhat's Up, Doc? (1972),Young Frankenstein (1974),High Anxiety (1977),History of the World, Part I (1981), and herAcademy Award–nominated roles inPaper Moon (1973) andBlazing Saddles (1974).
Kahn made her Broadway debut inLeonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968, and receivedTony Award nominations for the playIn the Boom Boom Room in 1974 and for the original production of the musicalOn the Twentieth Century in 1978. She starred as Madeline Wayne on the short-lived sitcomOh Madeline (1983–84) and won aDaytime Emmy Award in 1987 for anABC Afterschool Special. She received a third Tony Award nomination for the revival of the playBorn Yesterday in 1989, before winning the 1993Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the comedyThe Sisters Rosensweig. Her other film appearances includedThe Cheap Detective (1978),Yellowbeard (1983),City Heat (1984),Clue (1985), andNixon (1995).
Kahn was born in Boston, the daughter of Bernard B. Wolfson, a garment manufacturer, and his wife Freda (née Goldberg).[1][2] She was raised in a nonobservantJewish family.[3] Her parents divorced when Kahn was two, and she moved with her mother to New York City. In 1953, Freda married Hiller Kahn, who later adopted Madeline; Freda eventually changed her own name to Paula Kahn.[2] Madeline Kahn had two half-siblings: Jeffrey (from her mother's marriage to Kahn) and Robyn (from her father's second marriage).[4]
In 1948, Kahn was sent to the progressiveManumit School, a boarding school inBristol, Pennsylvania. During that time, her mother pursued her acting dream. Kahn soon began acting herself and performed in a number of school productions.[5] In 1960, she graduated fromMartin Van Buren High School[6] inQueens,New York, and then earned a drama scholarship toHofstra University onLong Island. At Hofstra, she studied drama, music, and speech therapy. Kahn graduated from Hofstra in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy.[5] She was a member of a local sorority on campus, Delta Chi Delta.[citation needed] She later studied singing in New York City withBeverley Peck Johnson.[7]
When asked on television byKitty Carlisle andCharles Nelson Reilly how she began theopera aspect of her career, Kahn said:
It's so hard to determine exactly when I began or why, singing. The Muse was definitely not in attendance. I'll tell you exactly.[8]
To earn money while a college student, Kahn was a singing waitress at a Bavarian restaurant named Bavarian Manor, aHofbräuhaus in New York'sHudson Valley. She sang musical comedy numbers during shows.[9]
There was a really important customer there, a big Italian man, who shouted out to me 'SingMadame Butterfly', and of course he didn't mean the whole opera. He meant that one very popular aria, "Un Bel Di". So, if I was to come back the next summer to earn more money during the next year, I'd better know that aria. You know, and I didn't know anything about it; I just learned that one aria and a few others and then one thing led to another and I studied that, and I discovered that I could sing that, sort of, that way. But my first actual thing that I did wasCandide forLeonard Bernstein's 50th birthday atPhilharmonic Hall[10]—at the time that's what it was called.[11] And I don't know if that was an opera, but it was very hard to sing. I actually have done Musetta inLa Bohème a long time ago inWashington, DC. I mean, utterly terrifying. I mean, basically I feel as though I was asked to do it and I did it.[9]
Kahn began auditioning for professional acting roles shortly after her graduation from Hofstra; on the side, she briefly taught public school.[5] Just before adopting the professional name Madeline Kahn (Kahn was her stepfather's surname), she made her stage debut as achorus girl in a revival ofKiss Me, Kate,[12] which led her to joinActors' Equity. Her part in the musicalHow Now, Dow Jones was written out before the 1967 show reached Broadway.[13]
In 1968, Kahn performed her first professional lead in a special concert performance of the operettaCandide in honor ofLeonard Bernstein's 50th birthday.[5] She made her Broadway debut in 1968 withLeonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968[14] and also appearedoff-Broadway in the musicalPromenade.[15]
Kahn appeared in two Broadway musicals in the 1970s: a featured role inRichard Rodgers' 1970Noah's Ark–themed showTwo by Two[12] (singing a high C)[5] and a lead turn as Lily Garland in 1978'sOn the Twentieth Century.[12] She left (or, reportedly, was fired from) the latter show early in its run, yielding the role to understudyJudy Kaye.[16][17] She starred in a 1977Town Hall semi-staged concert version ofShe Loves Me (oppositeBarry Bostwick and original London cast memberRita Moreno).[5][18]
Kahn's film debut was in the 1968 shortDe Düva (The Dove). Her feature debut was asRyan O'Neal's character's hysterical fiancée inPeter Bogdanovich's screwball comedyWhat's Up, Doc? (1972) starringBarbra Streisand.[19] Her film career continued with Bogdanovich'sPaper Moon (1973), for which she was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[12]
Kahn was cast in the role of Agnes Gooch in the 1974 filmMame, but starLucille Ball fired Kahn due to artistic differences. (Several of Ball's biographies say Kahn was eager to be released from the role so that she could join the cast ofBlazing Saddles, a film about to go into production. Kahn stated in a 1996 interview withCharlie Rose that she was fired.[20]) Ball's version was that Kahn had already been offeredBlazing Saddles and thus deliberately got herself fired by acting badly in the first few days of shooting forMame.[21]
A close succession of comedies—Blazing Saddles (1974),Young Frankenstein (1974), andHigh Anxiety (1977)—were all directed byMel Brooks,[12] who was able to bring out the best of Kahn's comic talents.[22] Their last collaboration was 1981'sHistory of the World, Part I. ForBlazing Saddles, she was again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[12] In the April 2006 issue ofPremiere, her performance inBlazing Saddles as Lili von Shtupp was selected as number 74 on its list of the 100 greatest performances of all time.[23]
In 1975, Kahn again teamed with Bogdanovich to co-star withBurt Reynolds andCybill Shepherd in the musicalAt Long Last Love. The film was a critical and financial disaster, but Kahn largely escaped blame for the failure.At Long Last Love was one of three films in which Kahn worked alongside the character actressEileen Brennan, the other two beingThe Cheap Detective andClue. In that same year, she again teamed withGene Wilder, this time for his comedyThe Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother. In 1978, Kahn's comic screen persona reached another peak with her portrayal of Mrs. Montenegro inNeil Simon'sThe Cheap Detective (1978),[12] a spoof of bothCasablanca andThe Maltese Falcon, directed byRobert Moore. That role was followed by a cameo in 1979'sThe Muppet Movie.[24]
Kahn's roles were primarily comedic rather than dramatic, although the 1970s found her originating roles in two plays that had elements of both: 1973'sIn the Boom Boom Room on Broadway[25] and 1977'sMarco Polo Sings a Solo off-Broadway.[26]
After her success in Brooks' films, Kahn appeared in a number of films in the 1980s. She played Mrs. White in 1985'sClue,[27] First Lady Constance Link in the 1980 spoofFirst Family, a twin from outer space in theJerry Lewis sci-fi comedySlapstick of Another Kind (1982), thelove interest ofBurt Reynolds in the crime comedyCity Heat (1984), and Draggle in the animated filmMy Little Pony: The Movie (1986). She voiced the character Gussie Mausheimer in the animated filmAn American Tail. According to animatorDon Bluth, she was cast because he was "hoping she would use a voice similar to the one she used as a character in Mel Brooks'Blazing Saddles."[28]
In 1983, Kahn starred in her own short-lived TV sitcom,Oh Madeline,[5] which ended after one season due to poor ratings. In 1986, she starred inABC Comedy Factory's pilot ofChameleon, which never aired on the fall schedule.[29] In 1987, Kahn won aDaytime Emmy award for her performance in theABC Afterschool SpecialWanted: The Perfect Guy.[5]
Kahn returned to the stage as Billie Dawn in the 1989 Broadway revival ofBorn Yesterday, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[30]
Kahn played the mother ofMolly Ringwald's character in the 1990 filmBetsy's Wedding,[31] and shortly after she recorded a voice for the animated movieThe Magic 7, which, as of 2024, has still not been released.[32] In 1994, she portrayed suicide hotline worker Blanche Munchnik in the holiday farceMixed Nuts. Kahn played the corrupt mayor in a benefit concert performance ofAnyone Can Whistle in 1995.[33] She appeared inNixon asMartha Beall Mitchell (1995).[34]
On stage, Kahn played Dr. Gorgeous inWendy Wasserstein's 1993 Broadway playThe Sisters Rosensweig, a role for which she earned a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[35] She was a member of the cast ofCosby (1996–1999) as Pauline, the eccentric friend and neighbor.[5]
Kahn participated in a workshop reading ofDear World at theRoundabout Theatre Company in June 1998, reading the part of Gabrielle.[36] She also voiced Gypsy the moth inA Bug's Life (1998).[37]
Kahn received good reviews for herChekhovian turn in the 1999 independent movieJudy Berlin, her final film.[38] Before her death, she also voiced Mrs. Shapiro on the first two episodes ofLittle Bill, the second of which ("Just a Baby" / "The Campout") was dedicated to her memory.Kathy Najimy succeeded her in the role following Kahn's death.
Kahn was diagnosed withovarian cancer in September 1998. She underwent treatment, continued to work onCosby, and married John Hansbury in October 1999.[39] However, the disease spread rapidly, and she died on December 3, 1999, at age 57.[40]
She wascremated on December 6, atGarden State Crematory inNorth Bergen, New Jersey.[41] A bench dedicated to her memory was erected inCentral Park by her husband John and her brother Jeffrey.[41] The bench is located near theJacqueline Kennedy Onassis Reservoir on West 87th Street.[41]
| Year | Show | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1972 | Harvey | Nurse Ruth Kelly | TV movie |
| 1973 | Adam's Rib | Doris | 2 episodes |
| 1975 | The Carol Burnett Show | Mavis Danton | Episode: #10.4 |
| 1976–1995 | Saturday Night Live | Host | 3 episodes |
| 1977 | The Muppet Show | Special Guest Star | Episode 209[42] |
| 1978–1997 | Sesame Street | Herself / various | 12 episodes |
| 1981 | Fridays | Host | Episode 35 |
| 1983–1984 | Oh Madeline | Madeline Wayne | 19 episodes |
| 1986 | Comedy Factory CTV | Violet Kinsey | Episode 6: "Chameleon" |
| 1987–1988 | Mr. President | Lois Gullickson | 14 episodes |
| 1988 | Sesame Street, Special | Herself | TV special |
| 1991 | Road to Avonlea | Pigeon Plumtree | Episode: "It's Just a Stage" |
| 1992 | Lucky Luke | Esperanza | Season 1, episode 1[43] |
| For Richer, for Poorer | Billie | TV movie | |
| 1993 | Monkey House | Grace Anderson | Episode: "More Stately Mansions"[44][45] |
| Dr. Seuss Video Classics: Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book | Narrator | VHS special | |
| 1995 | New York News | Nan Chase | 13 episodes |
| 1996 | Ivana Trump's For Love Alone | Sabrina | TV movie |
| London Suite | Sharon Semple | TV movie[46] | |
| 1996–1999 | Cosby | Pauline Fox | 84 episodes |
| 1999 | Little Bill | Mrs. Shapiro (voice) | Ep: "Just a Baby/The Campout" |
| Year | Production | Role | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Kiss Me, Kate | Chorister | Concert, Off-Broadway |
| Just for Openers | Performer | Upstairs at the Downstairs, Off-Broadway[47] | |
| 1966 | Mixed Doubles | ||
| Below the Belt | |||
| 1967 | How Now, Dow Jones | Performer (replacement) | Lunt-Fontaine Theatre, Broadway |
| 1968 | Candide | Cunegonde | New York Concert, Off-Broadway |
| New Faces of 1968 | Performer | Booth Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1969 | Promenade | Servant | Promenade Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1970 | Two by Two | Goldie | Imperial Theatre, Broadway |
| 1973 | In the Boom Boom Room | Chrissy | Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway |
| 1977 | She Loves Me | Amalia Balash | Town Hall Concert |
| 1978 | Marco Polo Sings a Solo | Dianna McBride | The Public Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| On the Twentieth Century | Lily Garland | St. James Theatre, Broadway | |
| 1983 | Blithe Spirit | Madame Arcati | Santa Fe Festival Theater[48] |
| 1985 | What's Wrong with this Picture? | Shirley | Manhattan Theatre Club, Broadway |
| 1989 | Born Yesterday | Billie Dawn | 46th Street Theatre, Broadway |
| 1992 | Hello, Dolly! | Dolly | Limited Tour[49] |
| Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall | Performer | Concert atCarnegie Hall[50] | |
| 1993 | The Sisters Rosensweig | Gorgeous Teitelbaum | Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway |
| 1995 | Anyone Can Whistle | Cora | Concert at Carnegie Hall |
| 1998 | Dear World | Gabrielle | Roundabout Theatre Company Workshop[51] |
