Madeline Gail Kahn (''
née
A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...
'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian and singer, known for comedic roles in films directed by
Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian.
One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...
and
Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
, including ''
What's Up, Doc?'' (1972), ''
Young Frankenstein
''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...
'' (1974), ''
High Anxiety
''High Anxiety'' is a 1977 American satirical comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead. This is Brooks' first film as a producer and first speaking lead role (his first lead role was in ''Silent Movie''). Veteran ...
'' (1977), ''
History of the World, Part I
''History of the World, Part I'' is a 1981 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and ...
'' (1981), and her
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
–nominated roles in ''
Paper Moon'' (1973) and ''
Blazing Saddles'' (1974).
Kahn made her Broadway debut in ''
Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968'', and received
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
nominations for the play ''
In the Boom Boom Room
''In the Boom Boom Room'' is a play by David Rabe. The play follows a young go-go dancer who has a difficult relationship with her parents.
Plot summary
Chrissy arrives in 1960s Philadelphia with the dream of becoming a successful dancer. Despe ...
'' in 1974 and for the original production of the musical ''
On the Twentieth Century
''On the Twentieth Century'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play ''Twentieth Century'' and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce an ...
'' in 1978. She starred as Madeline Wayne on the short-lived sitcom ''
Oh Madeline
''Oh Madeline'' is an American sitcom television series starring Madeline Kahn that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 27, 1983 to March 13, 1984. It was based on the British sitcom ''Pig in the Middle'' that aired on ITV ...
'' (1983–84) and won a
Daytime Emmy Award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
in 1987 for an ''
ABC Afterschool Special
''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presen ...
''. She received a third Tony Award nomination for the revival of the play ''
Born Yesterday'' in 1989, before winning the 1993
Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre. The award is given to actresses for quality leadi ...
for the comedy ''
The Sisters Rosensweig
''The Sisters Rosensweig'' is a play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play focuses on three Jewish-American sisters and their lives. It "broke theatrical ground by concentrating on a non-traditional cast of three middle-aged women." Wasserstein receive ...
''. Her other film appearances included ''
The Cheap Detective
''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore.
It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody of Bogart films such as '' Casablan ...
'' (1978), ''
City Heat
''City Heat'' is a 1984 American buddy-crime-comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, written by Blake Edwards, and directed by Richard Benjamin. The film was released in North America in December 1984.
The pairing of Eastwood and ...
'' (1984), ''
Clue
Clue may refer to:
People with the name
* DJ Clue (born 1975), mixtape DJ
* Arthur Clues (1924–1998), Australian rugby league footballer
* Ivan Clues
* Tim Cluess
Arts, entertainment, and media ''Clue'' entertainment franchise
* ''Cluedo ...
'' (1985), and ''
Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
'' (1995).
Early life and education
![Madeline Kahn Hofstra University Yearbook Photo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/68/Madeline_Kahn_Hofstra_University_Yearbook_Photo.jpg)
Kahn was born in Boston, the daughter of Bernard B. Wolfson, a garment manufacturer, and his wife Freda (née Goldberg).
She was raised in a nonobservant
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family. Her parents divorced when Kahn was two, and she moved with her mother to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 1953, Freda married Hiller Kahn, who later adopted Madeline; Freda eventually changed her own name to Paula Kahn.
Madeline Kahn had two half-siblings: Jeffrey (from her mother's marriage to Kahn) and Robyn (from her father's second marriage).
[Biography]
tvguide.com, accessed February 16, 2015
In 1948, Kahn was sent to the progressive
Manumit School
The Manumit School was a progressive Christian socialist boarding school located in Pawling, New York, between 1924 and 1943, and from 1944 to 1958 in Bristol, Pennsylvania.
Founded on purchased farm land by Rev. William Fincke and his wife Hele ...
, a boarding school in Bristol, Pennsylvania. During that time, her mother pursued her acting dream. Kahn soon began acting herself, and performed in a number of school productions.
[ In 1960, she graduated from ]Martin Van Buren High School
Martin Van Buren High School (MVBHS) is a public high school in Queens Village, New York. The school is operated by the New York City Department of Education.
Academics
The high school is accredited by the New York State Board of Regents. in Queens, New York, and then earned a drama scholarship to Hofstra University
Hofstra University is a private university in Hempstead, New York. It is Long Island's largest private university. Hofstra originated in 1935 as an extension of New York University (NYU) under the name Nassau College – Hofstra Memorial of Ne ...
on Long Island. At Hofstra, she studied drama, music, and speech therapy. Kahn graduated from Hofstra in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy.[ She was a member of a local sorority on campus, Delta Chi Delta. She later studied singing in New York City with Beverley Peck Johnson.]
Career
When asked on television by Kitty Carlisle
Kitty Carlisle Hart (born Catherine Conn; September 3, 1910 – April 17, 2007) was an American actress, singer, and spokeswoman for the arts. She was the leading lady of the Marx Brothers movie '' A Night at the Opera'' (1935) and was a regular ...
and Charles Nelson Reilly
Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was "f ...
how she began the opera 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.
To earn money while a college student, Kahn was a singing waitress at a Bavarian restaurant named Bavarian Manor, a '' Hofbräuhaus'' in New York's Hudson Valley. She sang musical comedy numbers during shows.[ (''video clip'')]
There was a really important customer there, a big Italian man, who shouted out to me 'Sing ''Madame Butterfly
''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa.
It is based on the short story " Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Lut ...
, 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 was ''Candide
( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...
'' for Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
's 50th birthday at Philharmonic Hall—at the time that's what it was called. And I don't know if that was an opera, but it was very hard to sing. I actually have done Musetta in ''La Bohème
''La bohème'' (; ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions ''quadri'', ''tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe G ...
'' a long time ago in Washington, DC. I mean, utterly terrifying. I mean basically I feel as though I was asked to do it and I did it.
1960s
Kahn began auditioning for professional acting roles shortly after her graduation from Hofstra; on the side, she briefly taught public school.[ Just before adopting the professional name Madeline Kahn (Kahn was her stepfather's surname), she made her stage debut as a chorus girl in a revival of '']Kiss Me, Kate
''Kiss Me, Kate'' is a musical written by Bella and Samuel Spewack with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The story involves the production of a musical version of William Shakespeare's ''The Taming of the Shrew'' and the conflict on and off-s ...
'',["Kahn Milestones"]
tcm.com, accessed February 13, 2015 which led her to join Actors' Equity
The Actors' Equity Association (AEA), commonly referred to as Actors' Equity or simply Equity, is an American labor union representing those who work in live theatrical performance. Performers appearing in live stage productions without a book ...
. Her part in the flop ''How Now, Dow Jones
''How Now, Dow Jones'' is a musical comedy by Academy Award winner Elmer Bernstein, Tony Award nominee Carolyn Leigh and Max Shulman. The original Broadway production opened in December 1967. A critically acclaimed revised version premiered Off-Br ...
'' was written out before the 1967 show reached Broadway, as was her role as Miss Whipple in the original production of '' Promises, Promises''.
In 1968, Kahn performed her first professional lead in a special concert performance of the operetta ''Candide
( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...
'' in honor of Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
's 50th birthday.["Kahn Biography"](_blank)
masterworksbroadway.com, accessed February 13, 2015 She made her Broadway debut in 1968 with '' Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968'' and also appeared Off-Broadway
An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...
in the musical ''Promenade''.
1970s and 1980s
Kahn appeared in two Broadway musicals in the 1970s: a featured role in Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers (June 28, 1902 – December 30, 1979) was an American Musical composition, composer who worked primarily in musical theater. With 43 Broadway musicals and over 900 songs to his credit, Rodgers was one of the most ...
' 1970 Noah's Ark-themed show '' Two by Two''[ (singing a high C)][ and a leading lady turn as Lily Garland in 1978's '']On the Twentieth Century
''On the Twentieth Century'' is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Based partly on the 1932 play ''Twentieth Century'' and its 1934 film adaptation, the musical is part operetta, part farce an ...
''.[ She left (or, reportedly, was fired from) the latter show early in its run, yielding the role to understudy ]Judy Kaye
Judy Kaye (born October 11, 1948) is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals ''The Phantom of the Opera'', ''Ragtime'', '' Mamma Mia!'', and ...
. She starred in a 1977 Town Hall semi-staged concert version of ''She Loves Me
''She Loves Me'' is a musical with a book by Joe Masteroff, music by Jerry Bock, and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick.
The musical is the third adaptation of the 1937 play '' Parfumerie'' by Hungarian playwright Miklós László, following the 1940 fil ...
'' (opposite Barry Bostwick
Barry Knapp Bostwick (born February 24, 1945) is an American actor. He is best known for portraying Brad Majors in the musical comedy horror film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975) and Mayor Randall Winston in the sitcom ''Spin City'' (199 ...
and original London cast member Rita Moreno
Rita Moreno (born Rosa Dolores Alverío Marcano; December 11, 1931) is a Puerto Rican actress, dancer, and singer. Noted for her work across different areas of the entertainment industry, she has appeared in numerous film, television, and thea ...
).[
Kahn's film debut was in the 1968 short '' De Düva (The Dove)''. Her feature debut was as ]Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal (born April 20, 1941) is an American actor and former boxer. He trained as an amateur boxer before beginning his career in acting in 1960. In 1964, he landed the role of Rodney Harrington on the ABC nighttime soap opera '' Peyton Place ...
's character's hysterical fiancée in Peter Bogdanovich
Peter Bogdanovich (July 30, 1939 – January 6, 2022) was an American director, writer, actor, producer, critic, and film historian.
One of the "New Hollywood" directors, Bogdanovich started as a film journalist until he was hired to work on R ...
's screwball comedy '' What's Up, Doc?'' (1972) starring Barbra Streisand
Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers List ...
. Her film career continued with '' Paper Moon'' (1973), for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[
Kahn was cast in the role of Agnes Gooch in the 1974 film '']Mame
MAME (formerly an acronym of Multiple Arcade Machine Emulator) is a free and open-source emulator designed to recreate the hardware of arcade game systems in software on modern personal computers and other platforms. Its intention is to preserve ...
'', but star Lucille Ball
Lucille Désirée Ball (August 6, 1911 – April 26, 1989) was an American actress, comedienne and producer. She was nominated for 13 Primetime Emmy Awards, winning five times, and was the recipient of several other accolades, such as the Golden ...
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 of '' Blazing Saddles'', a film about to go into production; however, Kahn stated in a 1996 interview with Charlie Rose
Charles Peete Rose Jr. (born January 5, 1942) is an American former television journalist and talk show host. From 1991 to 2017, he was the host and executive producer of the talk show '' Charlie Rose'' on PBS and Bloomberg LP.
Rose also co-an ...
that she was fired.)
A close succession of comedies — '' Blazing Saddles'' (1974), ''Young Frankenstein
''Young Frankenstein'' is a 1974 American comedy horror film directed by Mel Brooks. The screenplay was co-written by Brooks and Gene Wilder. Wilder also starred in the lead role as the title character, a descendant of the infamous Dr. Victor F ...
'' (1974), and ''High Anxiety
''High Anxiety'' is a 1977 American satirical comedy film produced and directed by Mel Brooks, who also plays the lead. This is Brooks' first film as a producer and first speaking lead role (his first lead role was in ''Silent Movie''). Veteran ...
'' (1977) — were all directed by Mel Brooks
Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began h ...
,[ who was able to bring out the best of Kahn's comic talents.]["Kahn Biography"]
tcm.com, accessed February 13, 2015 Their last collaboration was 1981's ''History of the World, Part I
''History of the World, Part I'' is a 1981 American comedy film written, produced, and directed by Mel Brooks. Brooks also stars in the film, playing five roles: Moses, Comicus the stand-up philosopher, Tomás de Torquemada, King Louis XVI, and ...
''. For ''Blazing Saddles'', she was again nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[ In the April 2006 issue of ''Premiere'' magazine, her performance in ''Blazing Saddles'' as Lili von Shtupp was selected as number 74 on its list of the 100 greatest performances of all time.
In 1975, Kahn again teamed with Bogdanovich to co-star with ]Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture.
Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
and Cybill Shepherd
Cybill Lynne Shepherd (born February 18, 1950) is an American actress and former model. Her film debut and breakthrough role came as Jacy Farrow in Peter Bogdanovich's coming-of-age drama ''The Last Picture Show'' (1971) alongside Jeff Bridges. ...
in the musical '' At Long Last Love''. The film was a critical and financial disaster, but Kahn largely escaped blame for the failure. In that same year, she again teamed with Gene Wilder
Jerome Silberman (June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016), known professionally as Gene Wilder, was an American actor, comedian, writer and filmmaker. He is known mainly for his comedic roles, but also for his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Won ...
, this time for his comedy ''The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
''The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother'' is a 1975 American musical comedy film with Gene Wilder, Marty Feldman, Madeline Kahn, Dom DeLuise, Roy Kinnear, and Leo McKern.''Variety'' film review; December 3, 1975, page 22. The film was ...
''. In 1978, Kahn's comic screen persona reached another peak with her portrayal of Mrs. Montenegro in Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...
's ''The Cheap Detective
''The Cheap Detective'' is a 1978 American mystery comedy film written by Neil Simon and directed by Robert Moore.
It stars Peter Falk as Lou Peckinpaugh, a parody of Humphrey Bogart. The film is a parody of Bogart films such as '' Casablan ...
'' (1978),[ a spoof of both '']Casablanca
Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
'' and '' The Maltese Falcon'', directed by Robert Moore. That role was followed by a cameo in 1979's ''The Muppet Movie
''The Muppet Movie'' is a 1979 American musical road comedy film directed by James Frawley, produced by Jim Henson, and the first theatrical film featuring the Muppets. A co-production between the United Kingdom and the United States, the fil ...
.''
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's ''In the Boom Boom Room
''In the Boom Boom Room'' is a play by David Rabe. The play follows a young go-go dancer who has a difficult relationship with her parents.
Plot summary
Chrissy arrives in 1960s Philadelphia with the dream of becoming a successful dancer. Despe ...
'' on Broadway and 1977's ''Marco Polo Sings a Solo
''Marco Polo Sings a Solo'' is a play by John Guare. It premiered in 1973 with the Nantucket Stage Company in Nantucket, Massachusetts, and made its Off-Broadway debut in 1977, and was revived Off Broadway in 1999. The play is dedicated to Ralph ...
'' Off-Broadway.
After her success in Brooks' films, Kahn appeared in a number of films in the 1980s. She played Mrs. White in 1985's ''Clue
Clue may refer to:
People with the name
* DJ Clue (born 1975), mixtape DJ
* Arthur Clues (1924–1998), Australian rugby league footballer
* Ivan Clues
* Tim Cluess
Arts, entertainment, and media ''Clue'' entertainment franchise
* ''Cluedo ...
,'' First Lady Constance Link in the 1980 spoof ''First Family
First Family is an unofficial title for the family of a republic's head of state. A first family usually consists of: the head of state, the first spouse and their children.
Related terms
The term ''second family'' is often used to refer to t ...
'', a twin from outer space in the Jerry Lewis
Jerry Lewis (born Joseph Levitch; March 16, 1926 – August 20, 2017) was an American comedian, actor, singer, filmmaker and humanitarian. As his contributions to comedy and charity made him a global figure in popular culture, pop culture ...
sci-fi comedy ''Slapstick of Another Kind
''Slapstick of Another Kind'' is a 1984 American comic science fiction film starring Jerry Lewis, Madeline Kahn and Marty Feldman. It was filmed in 1982, and released in March 1984 by both The S. Paul Company/Serendipity Entertainment Releasing ...
'' (1982), the love interest of Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor, considered a sex symbol and icon of 1970s American popular culture.
Reynolds first rose to prominence when he starred in television series such as ' ...
in the crime comedy ''City Heat
''City Heat'' is a 1984 American buddy-crime-comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds, written by Blake Edwards, and directed by Richard Benjamin. The film was released in North America in December 1984.
The pairing of Eastwood and ...
'' (1984), and Draggle in the animated film '' My Little Pony: The Movie'' (1986). She voiced the character Gussie Mausheimer in the animated film ''An American Tail
''An American Tail'' is a 1986 American Animated film, animated musical film, musical adventure film directed by Don Bluth from a screenplay by Judy Freudberg and Tony Geiss and a story by David Kirschner, Freudberg and Geiss. The film features t ...
''. According to animator Don Bluth
Donald Virgil Bluth (; born September 13, 1937) is an American film director, animator, production designer, and animation instructor, best known for his animated films, including ''The Secret of NIMH'' (1982), ''An American Tail'' (1986), ''Th ...
, 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.''"
In 1983, Kahn starred in her own short-lived TV sitcom ''Oh Madeline
''Oh Madeline'' is an American sitcom television series starring Madeline Kahn that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from September 27, 1983 to March 13, 1984. It was based on the British sitcom ''Pig in the Middle'' that aired on ITV ...
'',[ which ended after one season due to poor ratings. In 1986, she starred in ABC Comedy Factory's pilot of ''Chameleon'', which never aired on the fall schedule. In 1987, Kahn won a ]Daytime Emmy award
The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
for her performance in the ABC Afterschool Special
''ABC Afterschool Special'' is an American television anthology series that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 4, 1972, to January 23, 1997, usually in the late afternoon on weekdays. Most episodes were dramatically presen ...
''Wanted: The Perfect Guy''.[
Kahn returned to the stage as Billie Dawn in the 1989 Broadway revival of '' Born Yesterday'', and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
]
1990s
Kahn played the mother of Molly Ringwald
Molly Kathleen Ringwald (born February 18, 1968) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. She was cast in her first major role as Molly in the NBC sitcom '' The Facts of Life'' (1979–80) after a casting director saw her playing an or ...
's character in the 1990 film ''Betsy's Wedding
''Betsy's Wedding'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film written and directed by Alan Alda. The film stars Alda, Joey Bishop, Madeline Kahn, Catherine O'Hara, Joe Pesci, Ally Sheedy, Bibi Besch, Burt Young, and Molly Ringwald. It was theatr ...
'', and shortly after she recorded a voice for the unreleased animated movie ''The Magic 7
''The Magic 7'' is an animated television film written and directed by Roger Holzberg. It was slated to air on Earth Day (April 22) in 1997, but was postponed. After later plans for a 2005 release, the film was again suspended.
Plot
The film c ...
''. In 1994, she portrayed suicide hotline worker Blanche Munchnik in the holiday farce ''Mixed Nuts
Mixed nuts are a snack food consisting of any mixture of mechanically or manually combined nuts. Common constituents are peanuts (actually a legume), almonds, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts ( filberts), and pecans.NARA (April 2005). ...
''. Kahn played the corrupt mayor in a benefit concert performance of ''Anyone Can Whistle
''Anyone Can Whistle'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by Arthur Laurents. Described as "a satire on conformity and the insanity of the so-called sane," the show tells a story of an economically depressed town w ...
'' in 1995. She appeared in ''Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
'' as Martha Beall Mitchell (1995).
Later in her career, Kahn played Dr. Gorgeous in Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 fo ...
's 1993 play (on Broadway) ''The Sisters Rosensweig
''The Sisters Rosensweig'' is a play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play focuses on three Jewish-American sisters and their lives. It "broke theatrical ground by concentrating on a non-traditional cast of three middle-aged women." Wasserstein receive ...
'', a role for which she earned a Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...
for Best Actress in a Play.
["Madeline Kahn, Credits and Awards"](_blank)
playbillvault.com, accessed February 13, 2015 Her most notable role at that time was on the sitcom '' Cosby'' (1996–1999) as Pauline, the eccentric friend. Kahn participated in a workshop reading of ''Dear World
''Dear World'' is a musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the first composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broa ...
'' at the Roundabout Theatre Company in June 1998, reading the part of Gabrielle. She also voiced Gypsy the moth in ''A Bug's Life
''A Bug's Life'' is a 1998 American computer-animated comedy film produced by Pixar Animation Studios for Walt Disney Pictures. It was the second feature-length film produced by Pixar. Directed by John Lasseter and co-directed by Andrew Stant ...
'' (1998).
Kahn received good reviews for her Chekhovian turn in the 1999 independent movie ''Judy Berlin
''Judy Berlin'' is a 1999 American independent drama film directed by Eric Mendelsohn. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1999 Cannes Film Festival. Mendelsohn won the directing prize for ''Judy Berlin'' at the 1999 Sundance ...
'', her final film. Before her passing, she also worked on the first two episodes of ''Little Bill
''Little Bill'' is an American animated educational television series created by Bill Cosby. It is based on the ''Little Bill'' book series, written by Cosby with illustrations by Varnette P. Honeywood. Cosby also composed some of the theme mu ...
'', voicing Mrs. Shapiro. The second episode ("Just a Baby" / "The Camp Out"), the final installment for which she voiced Mrs. Shapiro, was dedicated to her memory. Kathy Najimy
Kathy Ann Najimy ( ; ar, كاثي ان نجيمي ; born February 6, 1957) is an American actress and activist. She is best known for her roles in the films ''Soapdish'' (1991), ''Sister Act'' (1992), '' Hocus Pocus'' (1993), ''Hope Floats'' (1 ...
succeeded her in the role of Mrs. Shapiro following Kahn's death.
Illness and death
Kahn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer
Ovarian cancer is a cancerous tumor of an ovary. It may originate from the ovary itself or more commonly from communicating nearby structures such as fallopian tubes or the inner lining of the abdomen. The ovary is made up of three different c ...
in 1998. She underwent treatment, continued to work on '' Cosby'', and married John Hansbury in October 1999. However, the disease spread rapidly, and she died on December 3, 1999, at age 57.
She was cremated
Cremation is a method of final disposition of a dead body through burning.
Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India and Nepal, cremation on an open-air pyre i ...
on December 6, 1999, at Garden State Crematory in North Bergen, New Jersey
North Bergen is a township in the northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a total population of 63,361. The township was founded in 1843. It was much diminished in territory by a ...
. A bench dedicated to her memory was erected in Central Park by her husband John and her brother Jeffrey. The bench is located near the reservoir
A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation.
Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...
on West 87th St.
Filmography
Film
Television
Theater
Awards and nominations
*Year given is year of ceremony
References
External links
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Madeline Kahn, a retrospective
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kahn, Madeline
1942 births
1999 deaths
American film actresses
American musical theatre actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
American voice actresses
Daytime Emmy Award winners
Drama Desk Award winners
Hofstra University alumni
Jewish American actresses
Martin Van Buren High School alumni
Deaths from ovarian cancer
Actresses from Boston
Actresses from New York City
American women comedians
Deaths from cancer in New York (state)
Tony Award winners
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American comedians
20th-century American singers
Comedians from New York City
Jewish American female comedians
20th-century American women singers
20th-century American Jews