This week in 1979, Gilda Radner premiered her live show "Gilda Radner: Live From New York" on Broadway. The show would eventually be captured on film for release as a major motion picture, with a live album also released, completing a three-pronged attempt at capitalizing on Gilda's popularity and pushing her (and Saturday Night Live) even further into the public spotlight.

The show, which ran for over 50 performances in the fall of 1979, was primarily made up of recurring characters and sketches from Gilda's SNL repertoire. Father Guido Sarducci was also on hand to help transition between sketches and give Gilda time to change from character to character. The live show was produced and directed by Lorne Michaels, while the film adaptation would be directed by Mike Nichols.

While we focus mostly on the film, we go back to cover the complete story of the "Gilda Live" project—from its inception and the failed attempt at originally recording a live album, to the successful (and extended) Broadway run, and up to the less-than-successful film adaptation that followed.

From Broadway triumph to Hollywood disappointment—we look back and revisit what happened when the last bright star of SNL's original era tried to take her shot at superstardom.

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