Gilda Radner as Candy Slice with Paul Schaffer on keys.I remember laughing my head off when this first came out in the late seventies. I was in high school and knew little to nothing about Patti Smith at that time. I don’t think I’ve ever watched any Patti Smith vids from that era so I can’t state how accurate Gilda Radner’s portrayal is of a too drunk to stand up Patti. I saw Patti about a decade ago and she was nothing like that. She was “grown up” and very subdued, for lack of a better word. She put on a great show, but she was hardly as crazy and energetic as Gilda portrays here in this video.
As for Gilda, she was a comic genius and was taken from us way too soon. Whether Gilda’s portrayal of Patti is accurate or not, her performance is nothing less than genius and the first five seasons of SNL remain some of the most ingenious and creative programs ever.
