Valerie Smaldone to Interview Madeline Kahn Biographer William V. Madison at 92Y

New York City's 92nd Street Y will present a panel on the life and career of Madeline Kahn (1942-99), the Oscar-nominated, Emmy and Tony-winning actress, on January 25, 2016 at 12 noon.

Star of such hit films as BLAZING SADDLES, YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, PAPER MOON and CLUE, and Broadway shows ON THE TWENTIETH CENTURY, THE SISTERS ROSENSWEIG and TWO BY TWO, Kahn is the subject of William V. Madison's biography, MADELINE KAHN: Being the Music • A Life (University Press of Mississippi).

The event will be hosted by frequent 92nd Street Y host and moderator and five-time Billboard Award-winner Valerie Smaldone.

The panel unites Madison with Kahn's colleagues and friends Ally Sheedy (Kahn's co-star in Betsy's Wedding) and Maddie Corman (Kahn's niece on the George C. Scott sitcom Mr. President). Expect more details to be announced soon.

Click here for tickets and more information about the event.

Born in Boston in 1942, MADELINE KAHN "was one of the most popular comedians of her time -- and one of the least understood," Madison writes. She was often ambivalent about a performing career & she complained of typecasting, beginning when she was a college student. Trained as an opera singer, she made her New York debut in nightclub revues before going on to Broadway and Hollywood. Best known for her work with directors Mel Brooks & Peter Bogdanovich, she was nominated for Oscars for best supporting actress in 1973 & 1974 for Paper Moon & Blazing Saddles & won a Daytime Emmy in 1987. Kahn died of ovarian cancer in New York City, on December 3, 1999.

VALERIE SMALDONE is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award-winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market. She has hosted, produced & created several nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with top recording artists such as Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John & Mariah Carey, among others. Having talked with hundreds of celebrities, performers & entrepreneurs, she is an accomplished interviewer who is always interested in procuring each individual's unique story.

WILLIAM V. MADISON is a former producer at CBS News & a former Associate Editor of Opera News. He was also the lone production assistant on the Broadway musical Rags in 1986. A native Texan, Madison is a graduate of Brown University & the Creative Writing Program at Columbia University's School of the Arts.

Following the panel discussion, MADELINE KAHN: Being the Music • A Life will be available for purchase & signing. All proceeds from book sales will go to OCRF.

Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (OCRF) is the oldest & largest charity in the United States funding ovarian cancer research with a mission to fund scientific research that leads to more effective identification, treatment & ultimately a cure for ovarian cancer, as well as related educational & support initiatives. Approximately 22,000 new cases of ovarian cancer are diagnosed in the United States each year & nearly 15,500 women will die of the disease. Since 1998, OCRF has awarded nearly $70 million to ovarian cancer researchers around the country. OCRF also supports Woman to Woman, a national program which in 2015 will be providing support through more than 20 hospitals around the country to women in treatment for any gynecologic cancer, as well as their families, by pairing them with survivor volunteers who offer one-on-one emotional support & mentoring. Visit www.ocrf.org to learn more.

92nd Street Y is a world-class cultural & community center where people all over the world connect through culture, arts, entertainment & conversation. For 140 years, they have harnessed the power of arts & ideas to enrich, enlighten & change lives & the power of community to repair the world.

As a proudly Jewish organization, 92Y enthusiastically welcomes & reaches out to people of all ages, races, faiths & backgrounds while embracing Jewish values like learning & self-improvement, the importance of family, the joy of life & giving back to our wonderfully diverse & growing community, both locally & around the world.