Quad Cities Screening of Gilda Radner Documentary Set

Fans of Comedian and Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner will have one chance to see the new documentary "Love, Gilda" in the Quad Cities. The film will be screened at the Putnam Museum on Sunday November 18 at 2PM CT in the giant screen theater. Admission will be $5.

The film's screening was set up by the Quad Cities chapter of Gilda's Club in conjunction with Magnolia Pictures. Gilda's Club, if you don't know, was founded by Radner's husband Gene Wilder in 1984. The group provides free support, education and hope to all people affected by cancer. This screening is not a Gilda's Club fundraiser, however, free will donations will be accepted.

Gilda’s Club program director Kelly Hendershot recently saw the film and told the Quad City Times: “It’s equal parts Gilda growing up, becoming famous, falling in love with Gene and her cancer story.”

I'm interested in seeing "Love, Gilda" for a few reasons. One, I've always admired Gilda Radner's comedy. Two, I've been a fan of Gene Wilder since he paired with Richard Pryor in "Silver Streak". And most importantly, I'm interested in Gilda's cancer story. It's something my wife and I have in common with Gilda and Gene.

My wife Kathy is a cancer survivor. We're blessed by that; and we are blessed that the doctors' caught the cancer early. It still changed our lives and our story. Kathy still deals with the emotions from how cancer changed our lives. There's still sadness, sometimes anger, frustration. The question of why her? And why did it alter our lives. Sometimes, those emotions creep up on me too when I'm least thinking of it.

A lot of times people don't want to hear the cancer story. They want to know the doctors' got all the cancer, life will move on, and that everything will be normal again. They want to think of cancer like a cold. Yet, it's not, there's a whole emotional aspect to the disease that the survivor sometimes needs to share with friends and family members.

Radner passed away at age 42 from Ovarian Cancer, but not before sharing stories of her illness with her friends, fans and others going through something similar. I was a teenager then and while I was aware that her actions seemed brave I wasn't paying it a lot of attention. Now, as a husband of a cancer survivor, I'd like to listen to her story.

You can learn more about the screening and Gilda's Club of the Quad Cities in this article from the Quad City Times. The Quad Cities Gilda's Club website is here.