#Bill Radner

[scottwellsmagic]

867: John Cox - What's New With Houdini?

As we end our “Month of Boo'“ on The Magic Word Podcast, we close it out on the 98th anniversary of the death of Harry Houdini who passed on Halloween (October 31st), 1926. It is fitting that we have a chat with the internationally noted expert on “all things Houdini,” John Cox. John is the blogger of “Wild About Houdini” which is a daily blog about the master of escapes. He always seems to find some interesting nugget about Houdini’s life that has been long overlooked or “escaped” his attention.

This week, John Cox talks about the many variations of the “Houdini Seance” since the first one by Bess Houdini first held on the year following Harry’s death. These modern day seances includes the current “Official” one hosted by Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brookz and the “Original” one hosted by Tom Boldt and Bill Radner. John also tells us some details about Houdini’s trial in Germany, plus he updates us on the books he is writing including the elucidation on Houdini’s diary from his early years before he rose to his legendary status.

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[citizenscreen]

Gilda Radner and Bill Murray enjoying the ‘I Love New York’ party at Studio 54 in 1978.

[oldshowbiz]

Recording the National Lampoon Radio Hour with Bill Murray, Harold Ramis, and Gilda Radner

[coeurdeverre82]

[labyrinthofstreams]

Rolling Stone Visits Saturday Night Live, 1979

Laraine as Christie Christina, Garrett's Idi Amin, Gilda as Emily Litella and John's Samurai.

Bill as Nick, the lounge host, Dan's Tom Snyder, Jane as the Update anchorperson and Chevy as the Land Shark from Jaws.

[Opposite:] Nerds Lisa Loopner, Todd DiLamuca & Mrs. Loopner (Gilda, Bill & Jane)

[This page:] Coneheads Connie, Beldar, Merkon & Prymaat (Laraine, Dan, Garrett & Jane), with Elliott Gould; wild & crazy guys Jorge & Yortuk Festrunk, (Dan with Steve Martin); Killer Bees, with Gould.

SNL First Families. [This page:] Dan as Jimmy Carter with daughter Amy (Laraine), Dan as "The New Dick Nixon" with Bill and Gilda as David and Julie Eisenhower.

[Opposite:] John as Kissinger, Dan as Nixon, kneeling in prayer.

Ron Nessen with Chevy as Gerald Ford; Betty Ford (Jane) does a "Dance to the Nation."

[postmodern-blues]

Being a comedy freak will have you saying shit like “i can’t believe bill murray and gilda radner stole the Nerds from jerry lewis and carol burnett.” And then being surprised when no one knows what the hell you’re talking about

[histonics]

[rolloroberson]

Bill Murray and Gilda Radner

[classicajays]

[aiiaiiiyo]

[erstwhile-punk-guerito]

[citizenscreen]

Paula Prentiss and Richard Benjamin on #SNL performing with original cast members in 1980.

[oldshowbiz]

Saturday Night Live at 10:30 on Channel 28

[coeurdeverre82]

ratketeers

[murrayseinfeld]

I think about this story all the time it makes me feel so upset

Bill Murray on Gilda Radner:

“Gilda got married and went away. None of us saw her anymore. There was one good thing: Laraine had a party one night, a great party at her house. And I ended up being the disk jockey. She just had forty-fives, and not that many, so you really had to work the music end of it. There was a collection of like the funniest people in the world at this party. Somehow Sam Kinison sticks in my brain. The whole Monty Python group was there, most of us from the show, a lot of other funny people, and Gilda. Gilda showed up and she’d already had cancer and gone into remission and then had it again, I guess. Anyway she was slim. We hadn’t seen her in a long time. And she started doing, “I’ve got to go,” and she was just going to leave, and I was like, “Going to leave?” It felt like she was going to really leave forever. So we started carrying her around, in a way that we could only do with her. We carried her up and down the stairs, around the house, repeatedly, for a long time, until I was exhausted. Then Danny did it for a while. Then I did it again. We just kept carrying her; we did it in teams. We kept carrying her around, but like upside down, every which way—over your shoulder and under your arm, carrying her like luggage. And that went on for more than an hour—maybe an hour and a half—just carrying her around and saying, “She’s leaving! This could be it! Now come on, this could be the last time we see her. Gilda’s leaving, and remember that she was very sick—hello?” We worked all aspects of it, but it started with just, “She’s leaving, I don’t know if you’ve said good-bye to her.” And we said good-bye to the same people ten, twenty times, you know.  And because these people were really funny, every person we’d drag her up to would just do like five minutes on her, with Gilda upside down in this sort of tortured position, which she absolutely loved. She was laughing so hard we could have lost her right then and there. It was just one of the best parties I’ve ever been to in my life. I’ll always remember it. It was the last time I saw her.”

- from Live from New York: an Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live