Madeline Kahn was one of the most talented comedic artists ever. She did more with subtle facial expressions than anyone else, and showed that classical operatic training doesn't necessarily kill the punch line.
Kahn graduated from Hofstra University in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy. 8 years later, she made her feature film debut as the hysterical Eunice Burns in the Peter Bogdanovich film What's Up, Doc? (1972), which co-starred Ryan O'Neil and Barbra Streisand. She totally stole the show from La Streisand... no mean feat.
Kahn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 1999. She died in December of that year, two months after marrying her longtime partner, John Hansbury.
In the above clip, she sings the role of Amy in Stephen Sondheim's Company. This was from a 1993 performance featuring Sondheim's work.
Madeline Kahn was smart, subtle, and utterly hysterical. A wonderful and highly effective mix of high-brow and low-brow art, I still miss seeing her work. No one will ever do it better.
2 comments:
Oh, that was LOVELY!
"Bless this bride....totally insannnnnnnne"
I loved the part where she warned the congregation of her impending hepatitis diagnosis.
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