Like too many greats, Gilda Radner left this world far too soon. She was one of the original cast members of Saturday Night Live and was one of the show’s most captivating performers. It may have been a boy’s club but it was Gilda’s show. Then, before her star was done ascending, she was gone. Dead at 42 from that scourge known as cancer. Her husband Gene Wilder kept her legacy alive with a charity in her honor, hoping to help find a cure for the disease that took a brilliant sold too soon.
Now the life and comedy of Gilda Radner is the subject of a new documentary from director Lisa D’Apolito, Love, Gilda and the first trailer for upcoming film has debuted today. Archival footage and unseen personal effects will be used in the film, which features a broad cast of friends, colleagues, and admirers, including Chevy Chase, Bill Hader, Janis Hirsch, Melissa McCarthy, Lorne Michaels, Amy Poehler, Maya Rudolph, Martin Short, and many, many more.
Amazingly, next year will be the 30th anniversary of Gilda Radner’s death, and yet her impact on women in comedy lives on to this day. CNN Films and Magnolia Pictures will be releasing Love, Gilda in theaters on September 21, 2018.
The official synopsis for Love, Gilda:
LOVE, GILDA opens a unique window into the honest and whimsical world of beloved performer Gilda Radner, whose greatest role was sharing her story. Working with the Radner estate, D’Apolito unearthed a collection of diaries and personal audio and videotapes documenting her childhood, her comedy career, her relationships and ultimately, her struggles with cancer. These never-before-seen-or-heard footage and journal entries form the narrative spine of the documentary, allowing Gilda to tell her own story – through laughter and sometimes tears.
