Madeline Kahn (September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an Academy Award-nominated Jewish American actress of movie, television and theater distinguished by an unusual gift for comedy.
Sourced
- I don't like to be my own audience, I find that being my own audience, being in the audience, makes me self-conscious, basically. So I tune in sometimes, with the sound off, to check it out and I back up to it. In the future I will look at it when some time has passed.
- I can't even really tell a joke. I find being funny very hard work. I am always asked about it and I feel guilty saying that, but it's the truth. I love my work but it ain't easy.
- Me, as myself, I don't think I'm particularly funny. But I've noticed that people in my life always have found me amusing. Which, when I was little, really bothered me.
- Mel is sensual with me. He treats me like an uncle - a dirty uncle. He's an earthy man and very moral underneath. He has traditional values.
- Paul D. Zimmerman, (February 17, 1975) "The Mad Mad Mel Brooks", Newsweek
Attributed
- How can I believably be a dumb blonde. I'm the furthest thing from it. I am intelligent. I don't mean I have a great IQ. I just mean there's always an intelligence present in what I do.
- Reported in Terry Byrne, (December 7, 1999) "Appreciation - Comedy was no laughing matter to Kahn", Boston Herald
- What's wrong with musicals now is all the gifted men who've died of AIDS—who would otherwise be here today creating great theater.
- Reported in Boze Hadleigh, (2007) Broadway Babylon: Glamour, Glitz, and Gossip on the Great White Way, Back Stage Books, ISBN 0823088308, p. 95.
- Laughter is a strange response. I mean, what is it? It's a spasm of some kind! Is that always joy? It's very often discomfort. It's some sort of explosive reaction. It's very complex.
About
- She is one of the most talented people that ever lived. I mean, either in stand-up comedy, or acting, or whatever you want, you can't beat Madeline Kahn.
External links
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Madeline Kahn