Madeline Kahn (September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress of movie, television, and theater.

Kahn was born in Boston, Massachusetts, as Madeline Gail Wolfson to a Jewish family. Her mother Paula was 17 when Madeline was born. Although Kahn's parents were high school sweethearts, they divorced when Madeline was 2. After the divorce was finalized, Kahn and her mother moved to New York City. A few years later, her mother remarried and this union gave Kahn two half-siblings, Jeffrey and Robyn. In 1948, Kahn was sent to a progressive boarding school in Pennsylvania, where she stayed until 1952. During that time, her mother pursued her ambition as an actress. Kahn soon began acting herself and performed in a number of school productions. In 1960, she graduated from the Martin Van Buren High School in Queens Village, New York, where she earned a drama scholarship to Hofstra University. At Hofstra, she studied music, drama and speech therapy and also performed in several campus productions. After changing her major a number of times, Kahn graduated in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy.

Kahn began auditioning for professional acting roles shortly after her graduation from Hofstra; on the side, she briefly taught public school in Levittown, New York. Just before adopting the professional name Madeline Kahn (Kahn was her stepfather's last name), she made her stage debut as a chorus girl in a revival of Kiss Me, Kate, which led her to join the Actors' Equity. Her part in the flop How Now, Dow Jones was written out before the 1967 show reached Broadway, as did her role as "Miss Whipple" in the original production of Promises, Promises. But she earned her first break on Broadway with New Faces of 1968. That same year, she performed her first professional lead in a special concert performance of the operetta Candide in honor of Leonard Bernstein's 50th birthday. In 1969, she appeared off-Broadway in the revue Promenade.

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Wow. WOW. I'm going all Madeline Kahn over here, flames on the sides of my face etc. My "intern" didn't show for work today.
monokero (Iris) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 12:46:17 -0000
Wow. WOW. I'm going all Madeline Kahn over here, flames on the sides of my face etc. My "intern" didn't show for work today.
ah sweet mstery of life at last ive found you! Madeline Kahn, young frankenstein
apemanb (brian carlin) Fri, 06 Nov 2009 02:12:59 -0000
ah sweet mstery of life at last ive found you! Madeline Kahn, young frankenstein
Barbra Streisand singing Cole Porter + Madeline Kahn's debut + adorable Ryan O'Neal in glasses= where have you been all my life?
razznjazz (Caleb Hopkins) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:08:35 -0000
Barbra Streisand singing Cole Porter + Madeline Kahn's debut + adorable Ryan O'Neal in glasses= where have you been all my life?
listening to "Classic Sesame Street: Sing After Me (Grover/Madeline Kahn)" ♫ http://blip.fm/~fw678
TheJediDoctor (Erin Galbraith) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:55:11 -0000
listening to "Classic Sesame Street: Sing After Me (Grover/Madeline Kahn)" ♫ http://blip.fm/~fw678
listening to "Classic Sesame Street: Sing After Me (Grover/Madeline Kahn)" ♫ http://blip.fm/~fw678
JediDoctorFrys (Erin Galbraith) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 07:55:11 -0000
listening to "Classic Sesame Street: Sing After Me (Grover/Madeline Kahn)" ♫ http://blip.fm/~fw678
@DIYSara Marty Feldman was just inspired in that movie. Oh, not to mention Teri Garr and Madeline Kahn.
Bleubug (Bleubug) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:26:09 -0000
@DIYSara Marty Feldman was just inspired in that movie. Oh, not to mention Teri Garr and Madeline Kahn.

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