The Name Game

There is no one Gilda's Club. There are many all over the place and they all have the same mission. They're support groups where people battling cancer can supplement their medical efforts with social ones, lending a shoulder or advice to one another. They were named for the late comedienne Gilda Radner, who died from the Big "C" back in 1989. In her last years as she dealt with the disease, she demonstrated uncommon good humor and honesty, confronting her problems with optimism but not of the unrealistic kind. She was and still is a much-loved individual.

Recently, a couple of Gilda's Club outlets said something about changing their name because "nobody knows who Gilda Radner is." This prompted an outcry from folks who did know…and I gather those who considered the change are now unconsidering it. In any case, Gilda's longtime collaborator Alan Zweibel wrote this Facebook post about how he views the whole matter.