Go go support the LOVE Gilda documentary on Gilda Radner on Indiegogo

Director Lisa D’Apolito was halfway through production of a documentary on the late Gilda Radner when she ran out of funds, so she turned to Indiegogo for help.

She’s raised just more than half of the $50,000 she needs to finish LOVE Gilda — The Legacy of Gilda Radner. D’Apolito has until Jan. 21, 2015, to reach the goal. Let’s help her achieve that. D’Apolito writes:

Five years ago I was working as a producer in an advertising agency that had agreed to do a pro bono video for Gilda’s Club NYC.  While I didn’t know much about the organization .  I remembered watching Gilda Radner on SNL  when I was a kid. As soon as I  stepped through  the red doors of the clubhouse on Houston Street, I felt an overpowering emotion that I  still find difficult to fully articulate.

Instead of sad, somber cancer patients, I was greeted with murals of fun and laughing images of Gilda.  Since then I have I  continued to volunteer at Gilda’s Club, and have gained a deep admiration for the staff and the members.

One summer while volunteering at Camp Sparkle, a day camp for kids whose families are affected by cancer, (named after Gilda’s dog Sparkle), a little girl named Ruth from Saint Lucia was drawing a picture.  I asked her what she was drawing and she replied, “This is Gilda.” I was moved by this example of how Gilda’s spirit lives on 25 years later through so many individuals who never met her, including Ruth.

I decided to go on what I call my Gilda journey, to learn more about her and about the people inspired by her. What I learned is that Gilda used her humor through out her life, even during the hardest of times. I have met interviewed her family and closest friends, all of whom are not only share Gilda’s gift for humor, but are all equally dedicated to helping people living with cancer.  I have also met so many  people through out  the U.S. and Canada impacted by cancer who draw strength from Gilda’s story.  Their stories are as inspiring as Gilda’s.

Here’s Alan Zweibel, friend and colleague of Radner’s as a writer/performer on SNL:

Your donations through Indiegogo can earn you prizes, including obviously digital downloads of the completed film, but also key chains, T-shirts, comedy show tickets, producing credits, and even walking/limo tours of Toronto and NYC, where Radner had lived and performed.

D’Apolito says she’ll use the money to create a short version of the film in time for the 20th Anniversary of the first Gilda’s Club in NYC June 2015. “Any additional money raised will go towards expanding LOVE Gilda into a feature length documentary,” she says, filming additional interviews, post-production and editing.

LOVE Gilda-The Legacy of Gilda Radner is fiscally sponsored by New York Women in Film and Television and donations are tax-deductible.

And here’s where you can also directly help or find help through Gilda’s Clubs across North America:

Cancer Support Community https://www.cancersupportcommunity.org
Gilda’s Club NYC https://www.gildasclubnyc.org
Gilda’s Club Chicagohttps://www.gildasclubchicago.org
Gilda’s Club Westchester https://gildasclubwestchester.org
Gilda’s Club North NJ https://www.gildasclubnnj.org
Gilda’s Club Detroit https://www.gildasclubdetroit.org
Gilda’s Club Desert Cities https://www.gildasclubdesertcities.org
Gilda’s Club South Florida  https://gildasclubsouthflorida.org
Gilda’s Club Evansville https://www.gcevv.org
Gilda’s Club Quad Cities https://gildasclubqc.org
Gilda’s Club Louieville https://www.gildasclublouisville.org
Gilda’s Club Grand Rapids https://www.gildasclubgr.org
Gilda’s Club Twin Cities https://www.gildasclubtwincities.org
Gilda’s Club Kansas City https://www.gildasclubkc.org
Gilda’s Club South Jerseyhttps://gildasclubsouthjersey.org
Gilda’s Club Rochester https://www.gildasclubrochester.org
Gilda’s Club Delaware Valley https://gildasclubdelval.wordpress.com
Gilda’s Club Nashville https://www.gildasclubnashville.org
Gilda’s Club Seattle https://www.gildasclubseattle.org/
Gilda’s Club Madison https://www.gildasclubmadison.org
Gilda’s Club Torontohttps://www.gildasclubtoronto.org
Gilda’s Club Simcoe Muskoka https://gildasclubsimcoemuskoka.org
Halifax-Friend of Gilda’s Society  https://friendsofgildasns.wordpress.com

Gilda’s Laughfest https://www.laughfestgr.org/

Sean L. McCarthy

Editor and publisher since 2007, when he was named New York's Funniest Reporter. Former newspaper reporter at the New York Daily News, Boston Herald and smaller dailies and community papers across America. Loves comedy so much he founded this site.

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