Madeline Kahn

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Madeline Gail Kahn (born September 29, 1942 as Madeline Gail Wolfson in Boston , Massachusetts , † December 3, 1999 in New York ) was an American film , television and theater actress .

Life

She was born to a Jewish family and was named Madeline Gail Wolfson . Her mother Paula was 17 years old when Madeline was born. Her parents, whose marriage was the result of a childhood love, divorced when she was two years old. She then moved to New York with her mother. The mother remarried a few years later, and Madeline grew up with two stepbrothers, Jeffrey and Robyn. In 1948 she was sent to boarding school in Pennsylvania , where she stayed until 1952. During this period, the mother encouraged her aspirations to become an actress, and Kahn appeared in a few school plays. In 1960 she graduated from Van Buren High School in Queens Village (New York) and received a scholarship to Hofstra University . There she studied music, acting and speech therapy and took part in several theater performances. In 1964 she graduated with a diploma in speech therapy.

First stage roles

Shortly after graduating from Hofstra University, Kahn began auditioning for roles; She also taught at private schools in Levittown (New York). Shortly before she took her stage name Madeline Kahn (“Kahn” was her stepfather's last name), she had made her theatrical debut in a new production of Kiss Me, Kate and immediately joined the actors' union. Her role in How Now, Dow Jones was cut before the play hit Broadway in 1967 , as was her role as "Miss Whipple" in Promises, Promises . She had her breakthrough on Broadway with New Faces of 1968; in the same year she received her first leading role in the operetta Candide on the occasion of Leonard Bernstein's 50th birthday . In 1969 she appeared in the off-Broadway production Promenade .

In the 1970s she appeared in two Broadway musicals, in a minor role in Richard Rodgers Two by Two (1970) and in the lead role as Lily Garland in On the Twentieth Century (1978). In the latter, however, she was released after a short time, and her understudy Judy Kaye took over the role, which gave her career a huge boost. Kahn then also had a bigger role in the new production of She Loves Me , alongside Barry Bostwick and the original cast from London, Rita Moreno .

Film rolls

She made her film debut in De Düva in 1968 and played her most popular roles in the 1970s. Her breakthrough came in 1972 with the portrayal of Eunice Burns, Howard Bannister's ( Ryan O'Neal ) hysterical fiancé, in Peter Bogdanovich's screwball comedy Is' was, Doc? with Barbra Streisand . This was followed by Paper Moon (1973) and Mel Brooks comedies Frankenstein Junior (1974), Is' was, Sheriff? (1974) and Höhenkoller (1977). Brooks was alleged in Hollywood that he was able to bring out the best in her comedic talent. Their last collaboration was with Mel Brooks - The Crazy Story of the World (1981). For her appearances on Paper Moon and Is' Was, Sheriff? (The wild, wild west) the actress received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress. In 1974 she was cast in the role of Agnes Gooch in the film adaptation of the musical Mame . Due to artistic differences with Lucille Ball , who impersonated the title role, she was fired.

Kahn's roles were mostly comedic and less dramatic in nature, although she also appeared in two films that combined the two, In the Boom Boom Room (1974) and Marco Polo Sings a Solo (1977). After her success with Brooks' films, she starred in far less successful films in the 1980s, such as Mrs. White in Clue: The Movie ( All Murderers Are Here ) .

Later years

Towards the end of her career she returned to the stage, initially in 1989 for the resumption of Born Yesterday . She received a Tony Award in 1993 for her role as “Dr. Gorgeous ”in The Sisters Rosensweig by Wendy Wasserstein. She played Angela Lansbury's role in a CD recording of Anyone Can Whistle .

In the early 1990s, Kahn's voice was heard in the animated film The Magic 7 starring John Candy . Most recently she had a role on the sitcom Cosby and took on the voice of the moth Gypsy in The Great Crawl .

In 1998 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. She died on December 3, 1999 at the age of 57.

theatre

  • Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968 (1968)
  • Two by Two (Musical) (1970)
  • Boom Boom Room (1973)
  • On the Twentieth Century (1978)
  • Born Yesterday (1989)
  • The Sisters Rosensweig (1993)

Filmography (selection)

Feature films

TV Shows

  • 1970: Comedy Tonight
  • 1972: Harvey
  • 1977: The Muppet Show
  • 1983: Oh Madeline
  • 1986: Wanted: The Perfect Guy
  • 1987: Mr. President
  • 1991: Welcome to the Monkey House
  • 1991: Lucky Luke
  • 1992: For Richer, For Poorer
  • 1995: New York News
  • 1996: London Suite
  • 1996-1999: Cosby

Web links

Commons : Madeline Kahn  - Collection of Images
personal data
SURNAME Kahn, Madeline
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Wolfson, Madeline Gail (maiden name); Kahn, Madeline Gail (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION US-american actress
DATE OF BIRTH September 29, 1942
PLACE OF BIRTH Boston , Massachusetts , United States
DATE OF DEATH December 3, 1999
Place of death New York City , New York , United States