Gilda Radner honored by Jane Curtin, Laraine Newman
Remembered in 8H.
The “Saturday Night Live” 50th anniversary special on NBC included a moment where original cast members Jane Curtin and Laraine Newman paid tribute to their late co-star Gilda Radner.
During the show’s goodbye, Curtin and Newman, who were squeezed in the massive crowd on the stage, held up a framed photo of Radner, who died at age 42 in 1989.
Curtin, 77, Newman, 72, and Radner were the only women in the OG “SNL” cast, which also included Chevy Chase, Garrett Morris, Dan Aykroyd and the late John Belushi.
Radner was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1986 and died three years later. She was on “SNL” for the first five seasons and was beloved for playing characters like Roseanne Roseannadanna and Baba Wawa.
She famously dated “SNL” alum Martin Short and was married to “SNL” musician G.E. Smith from 1980 to 1982 and Gene Wilder from 1984 to 1989.
The special also featured a performance by Sandler to a song called “50 Years,” where he honored five decades of “SNL.” His song included mentions of late “SNL” alums Chris Farley and Norm Macdonald.
“Six years of our boy Farley and five of our buddy Norm/ 50 Years of one of us getting to say/ ‘Live from New York, it’s Saturday night’/ 50 years of standing on home base/ waving goodnight and goodbye/ 50 years of the best times of our lives,” Sandler sang.
Farley was one of the biggest stars to come out of “SNL.” He joined the cast in 1990 and played iconic characters including motivational speaker Matt Foley and a morbidly obese Chippendale’s dancer. The comedian left the show in 1995 to pursue his film career.
Farley died Dec. 18, 1997, at the age of 33. He overdosed on cocaine and morphine, which is commonly known as a “speedball.”
Sandler previously paid tribute to Farley when he returned to “SNL” to host an episode in 2019. They were on the show together and became good friends.
Macdonald’s death in 2021 shocked the “SNL” cast and viewers. He passed away after a private nine-year battle with leukemia. He spent five seasons on the show.
“SNL” paid tribute to Macdonald after his death during a “Weekend Update” segment with Colin Jost and Michael Che.
Other “SNL” stars who have passed include Danitra Vance, Michael O’Donoghue, Phil Hartman, Charles Rocket, Tom Davis, Jan Hooks, Tony Rosato, Gilbert Gottfried and George Coe.
Belushi, who was Farley’s idol, was also 33 when he died of a cocaine and morphine overdose at Los Angeles’ Chateau Marmont in 1982. He had a long history of alcohol and drug abuse. He was the first “SNL” star to die.
Belushi was one of the original cast members. He left the show after four seasons in 1979. His brother Jim Belushi, 70, is a fellow “SNL” alum and was in attendance on Sunday night.
Gottfried died at age 67 in 2022. He suffered from myotonic dystrophy type two. The comedian was on the show for only one season.
Vance, the first African-American woman to join the “SNL” cast, died of breast cancer in 1994 at age 40.
That same year, O’Donoghue, who was “SNL’s” first head writer, died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 54. He was on the show for three years and won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Comedy-Variety or Music Series.
Hartman has had arguably the most troubling death of all the late “SNL” stars. He was 49 when he was murdered by his third wife, Brynn Hartman, a drug addict, in 1998. He was shot to death while he was sleeping. Brynn then shot and killed herself.
“SNL50: The Anniversary Special” reunited dozens of the show’s alums including Sandler, Chris Rock, Fred Armisen, Molly Shannon, Pete Davidson, Will Ferrell, Tracy Morgan, Kate McKinnon, Maya Rudolph, Chevy Chase and Tina Fey.
Other celebs made appearances including Adam Driver, Bad Bunny, Kim Kardashian, Short, Miley Cyrus, Paul McCartney, Pedro Pascal, Robert De Niro, Sabrina Carpenter and Steve Martin.
