Madeline Kahn Was an Alien Freak in “Slapstick of Another Kind,” with Jerry Lewis

She was a comedy film queen throughout the seventies, but in the eighties she misfired with this sci-fi adaptation.

by Rich Watson 

This post is part of the So Bad It’s Good Blogathon, a blog event for bad movies with cult followings. At the end I’ll tell you where you can find more posts like this.

Madeline Kahn was a hilarious comic and a talented singer, who died too early, at age fifty-seven. Before that, though, she appeared in some of the funniest films of the seventies: Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, High Anxiety and History of the World Part I by Mel Brooks, and Paper Moon and What’s Up Doc? by Peter Bogdanovich.

Unfortunately, she also made a few stinkers. One of them was a sci-fi movie with Jerry Lewis called Slapstick of Another Kind, based on a Kurt Vonnegut novel.

That Time When Gracie Allen “Ran” For President

The 1940 presidential campaign was turned upside down when the radio star threw her hat into the ring—sort of.

by Rich Watson 

Gracie Allen was one half of a comedy duo with her husband, George Burns. She was the ditzy one to Burns’ straight man. Their career spanned vaudeville, radio, TV and film for over thirty years.

In 1940, their popularity hit a peak when they engaged in an unusual stunt: Allen ran for president.

Moms Mabley, In Vaudeville and On Stage

After a difficult childhood, this comedic icon got her start in vaudeville and the stage before TV helped make her a mainstream star.

by Rich Watson 

It has been suggested that Moms Mabley might have been the first successful stand-up comic. Her heyday was the vaudeville era. She achieved her fame by playing in front of live audiences. She also performed in theater.

With television, Mabley was rediscovered. Even today, her memory has been kept alive.