Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Gilda Radner as Emily Litella with an Editorial Response on Violins on TV

Thursdays are special days at Jewish Humor Central because we try to bring you a golden oldie as a throwback to the days when TV comedy skits were creative and funny and clean.
 
Today's throwback skit goes back 43 years to 1976 when the late, great Gilda Radner was riding high on Saturday Night Live with her brilliant cast of invented characters. 

One of our favorites was Emily Litella, an elderly woman with a hearing problem who appeared 26 times on SNL's Weekend Update op-ed segment in the late 1970s.

Attired in a frumpy dress, sweater and Lisa Loopner glasses, Litella was introduced with professional dignity by the news anchors, who could sometimes be seen cringing slightly in anticipation of the malapropisms they knew would follow. These sketches were, in part, a parody of the Fairness Doctrine, which at the time required broadcasters in the United States to present opposing viewpoints on public issues.

In this skit, Radner gives an editorial response about parents objecting to violins on television. Finally, Chevy Chase informs her the story was actually about the "violence" on televisions, not violins. 

Enjoy!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.



#Throwback Thursday       #TBT

Throwback Thursday Comedy Special: Gilda Radner as Emily Litella in "Saving Soviet Jewelry"

Today's Throwback Thursday special takes us back 40 years to the days when Saturday Night Live could be counted on to have an Emily Litella segment featuring Gilda Radner.

Emily Litella was portrayed as an elderly woman with a hearing problem who appeared 26 times on SNL's Weekend Update op-ed segment in the late 1970s. Attired in a frumpy dress, sweater and Lisa Loopner glasses, Litella was introduced with professional dignity by the news anchors, who could sometimes be seen cringing slightly in anticipation of the malapropisms they knew would follow.

Gilda Radner (as Litella) would peer through her reading glasses and, in the character's trademark high-pitched, warbly voice, would read a prepared statement in opposition to an editorial that the TV station had supposedly broadcast. These sketches were, in part, a parody of the Fairness Doctrine, which at the time required broadcasters in the United States to present opposing viewpoints on public issues.

Litella would become increasingly agitated as her statement progressed. Midway in her commentary, it became apparent that she had misheard and/or misunderstood the subject of the editorial to which she was responding.

In this video clip, Weekend Update news anchor Chevy Chase introduces Litella to respond to an editorial about saving Soviet Jewry. 

Enjoy...and never mind!

A SPECIAL NOTE FOR NEW EMAIL SUBSCRIBERS:  THE VIDEO MAY NOT BE VIEWABLE DIRECTLY FROM THE EMAIL THAT YOU GET EACH DAY ON SOME COMPUTERS AND TABLETS.  YOU MUST CLICK ON THE TITLE AT THE TOP OF THE EMAIL TO REACH THE JEWISH HUMOR CENTRAL WEBSITE, FROM WHICH YOU CLICK ON THE PLAY BUTTON IN THE VIDEO IMAGE TO START THE VIDEO.




#Throwback Thursday   #TBT