Slashdot Mirror
Actress Madeline Kahn Dead at 57
jjohn writes "CNN is reporting that actress Madeline Kahn, star of many Mel Brooks films, has died of ovarian cancer. She will be missed." Perhaps not news for all nerds, but a sad moment for anyone who enjoyed Young Frankenstein, Blazing Saddles, or any of the many other fine movies Ms. Kahn brightened.
She will be missed.
And to the people screaming, "this doesn't belong on
www.mp3.com/Undocumented
She was a talented actress, who starred in many of the films that occupy my movie collection. Comedies (what nerd doesn't watch Mel Brooks movies?) are one of the few genres that I really watch, because I usually am doing something else at the time.
Without this article, I wouldn't have known that she died. While not having a big impact on my life, this is knowledge that I am glad to have. She'll be missed because she played fun roles in movies that can't attract "big names," yet her talent made them better. She helped make Blazing Saddles and History of the World Part I, two of my favority movies.
Alex
I'm rather irked that I feel I have to say this,
but I think noting Ms. Kahn's death was entirely
appropriate for this site. I know there are geeks
out there who don't think Mel Brooks' stuff is
part of "geek cvltvre" (but who mysteriously do
think that Monty Python is; well, Monty Python
is, but no more or less than Mel Brooks, IMHO),
or that noting her passing is somehow horribly
elitist, to which I'd point out: she helped
make cultural artifacts that brought people
together rather than apart. That should be enough.
(currently testing something about signatures here)
For people like me, that know who she is (or don't), but don't know a whole lot about the movies she played a role in, www.imdb.com is pretty handy.
For a list of all film and notable TV appearances, click here.
For a brief biography, click here.
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If a tree falls on an anonymous coward yelling 'first post' in the forest, does anybody hear?
I completely agree. This is beyond my simple nerd-movie knowledge. I guess I expect the film category to be the standard "popular film review" that it always has been, which we accept provided it's a film for nerds that we might want to see. (The Matrix Roolz D00d! Something like that.)
:)
;)
:)
I don't think "celebrity obituary" really counts. And I didn't even recognize this one. Even if you had said Gilda Radner, back in the day, I would have said "Oh yeah", and then looked at you, puzzled, saying "Why is this in Byte?"
So. Note to slashdot. I'll handle the movie stars. Just let me know if DMR, RMS, ESR, or any hacker with a three-letter name dies.
Or Natalie Portman, otherwise grits-boy would freak.
(I would be PDB if I ever got famous. But since I'm pb now, thanks to slk, I'll never be famous, but he might be! Oh, the agony!
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pb Reply or e-mail rather than vaguely moderate.
pb Reply or e-mail; don't vaguely moderate.
Off on a tangent, is there anybody other than me who is starting to get the impression that Martians don't like tourists?
It looks as if their air defense took out two in a row now. BBC News Story.
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If a tree falls on an anonymous coward yelling 'first post' in the forest, does anybody hear?
Personally, even though a bunch of posts seem to complain about this article, I think it's a refreshing change of pace from the usual anti-microsoft and 'linux can do no wrong' fare (although that sounds incredibly morbid).
And like some other guy said, there's a 'stuff that matters' tag on the end of the title, and this matters to me. If you've ever seen Blazing Saddles or History of the World Part 1 then you know how incredibly funny Madeline Kahn was. Also, it's not like she was some enormous celebrity whose face floods the stupid news shows dedicated to providing celebrity gossip 24/7. She was a really good actress who was known by her own merits
Roblimo, please remember the strength you hold in your position on slashdot. Lots of people read this site. As best I can tell, the reason these people read this site en mass is because we generally agree on and aprove of the particuliar biased slashdot puts on the news. This seems reasonable, does it not? When I am in the mood for news for nerds, I come to slashdot. When I want to hear about celebrities, well, I'm sure there are sites for such an interest. The problem I have noticed recently is that I'm getting less and less news for nerds coming showing up on slashdot. And ultimately, when slashdot no longer represents a news filter that corresponds with my interests, I stop reading it.
Consequently, I am not going to stop reading slashdot because someone posted a story about the death of some celebrity I had never heard of. However, unless you can show me otherwise, I do not believe this story should have appeared on slashdot.
--Yek401
Personally, I enjoy Slashdot's amazingly diverse readership. I love the way so many people with so many different tastes in everything from movies to news to politics to programming languages have united under the Linux and Open Source banners - and that all these people (including you) feel free to share their opinions with each other here.
- Robin
Typically, when someone famous contracts or dies from cancer, public awareness of these diseases is raised (if only briefly). Considering that more than 8.2 million Americans alive today have a history of cancer, ./ers almost certainly know, or will know, someone who has had cancer. Prehaps more importantly, statistically 25% of /.ers are likely to eventually die from cancer. Any who are interested in learning more about cancer may want to check out some of these American Cancer Society links.
Basic cancer facts.
Leading New Cancer Cases
Ovarian Cancer Information
Graph of Cancer Deaths in Women"
Graph of Cancer Deaths in Men"
Madeline Kahn was one of my favorite actresses, and Mel Brooks is (usually) brilliant.
Now, about the "why is this here" posts:
On one hand, it gratifies me as someone of Latin American descent that so many of these posters are supporting the fragile economy of the Andes by their purchase and consumption of large quantities of crack cocaine. It gratifies me to see the support given to the hardworking narcotraffickers of Colombia.
That said, *look at the icon, people..* It's a clapboard! That means that it's on the MOVIE (and media) topic! Like Pi and Star Wars and The Truman Show! An actor whose work is popular among geeks has died, and we celebrate her work.
Is geek cinema only science fiction? (And fantasy?) Feh. I like a lot of science fiction cinema, but that's hardly enough. 1. Most science fiction cinema isn't interesting. 2. Most intellectually engaging cinema isn't science fiction. I share an above poster's view that I think History of the World is much more geekworthy than Episode 1 was.
And here's the BIG rub - a notice about an actor's passing, even IF it weren't NFN-STM, is a LOT less invasive to attention than complaints about the same in the following discussion. You ACTUALLY posted on an obituary and BOTHERED to comment on how it didn't belong here.
WOW. The peace-loving coca growers of the Andes owe you a huge debt.
"Do I have any openings that this man might fit?"
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