Emily Litella

Emily Litella
Saturday Night Live character
Radner dressed as Emily Litella with Raquel Welch during a 1976 SNL rehearsal
First appearance	segment "Looks At Books" SNL Mid 70s
Created by	Gilda Radner
Portrayed by	Gilda Radner
Information
Based on	Real-life person: Elizabeth "Dibby" Clementine Gillies

Emily Litella is a fictional character played by legendary comedian Gilda Radner in a series of appearances on Saturday Night Live. Based on a person in her early life, Emily Litella is a popular character in Radner's comedy repertoire.

Emily Litella is an elderly woman with a hearing problem who appeared 26 times on SNL's Weekend Update op-ed segment in the late 1970s. Attired in a frumpy dress, sweater and Lisa Loopner glasses, Litella was introduced with professional dignity by the news anchors, who could sometimes be seen cringing slightly in anticipation of the malapropisms they knew would follow.

Gilda Radner (as Litella) would peer through her reading glasses and, in the character's trademark high-pitched, warbly voice, would read a prepared statement in opposition to an editorial that the TV station had supposedly broadcast. These sketches were, in part, a parody of the Fairness Doctrine, which at the time required broadcasters in the United States to present opposing viewpoints on public issues. Litella would become increasingly agitated as her statement progressed. Midway in her commentary, it became apparent that she had misheard and/or misunderstood the subject of the editorial to which she was responding. A typical example:

What is all this fuss I hear about the Supreme Court decision on a "deaf" penalty? It's terrible! Deaf people have enough problems as it is!

The news anchor would interrupt Litella to point out her error, along the lines, "That's death penalty, Ms. Litella, not deaf ... death." Litella would wrinkle her nose, say, "Oh, that's very different...." then meekly turn to the camera and say, "Never mind." When Litella played against news anchor Chevy Chase (whom she often called "Cheddar Cheese"), he would be somewhat sympathetic to her. But when Jane Curtin took over the anchor role, she would scold Litella, "Every week you come on and you get it wrong," to which Litella would reply, "Bitch!"

Other misheard topics to which Litella responded included "saving Soviet jewelry" [Jewry], "endangered feces" [species], "sax and violins on television" [sex and violence], "presidential erections" [elections], "conserving natural racehorses" [natural resources], "firing the handicapped" [hiring], and "making Puerto Rico a steak" [state]. About the last of these topics, she complained, "Next thing you know, they'll want a baked potato with sour cream!"