MIRTHMAKERS ~ Gilda Radner & Tracey Ullman

Spotlighting female comedians today. I'm not using the term "comediennes" because to my mind the word adds a layer of uncalled for differentiation.

My husband was a great fan of "the old" Saturday Night Live. Nowadays it appears to have lost its early sparkle (and that's putting it kindly!) The late Gilda Radner was one of their brightest stars, I've seen most of her contributions to the show via DVD. Watching Gilda perform, I'm continually reminded of Tracey Ullman.





These two comedians were born some 13 years and 5,000 miles apart. It's possible that Tracy Ullman got her inspiration from watching Gilda Radner's performances. The ability to invent hilarious characters and play them with consistent brilliance and humour is the mainstay of both gals' acts.

Gilda Radner's regular characters included Rosanne Rosannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa. Tracy Ullman slipped from one crazy character to another in her shows, characters such as Carmel Pinkum, a lady who's "different" , Nadia, the Russian trapeze artist, Dr. Jillian Smalls, radio psychologist, Kiki Howard-Smith, pro golfer from Australia, Ariel, a singer (her big hit was "Slit My Wrists").

Gilda Radner born 28 June 1946, Detroit, Michigan (12 noon chart below, as no time of birth available).




Tracy Ullman born 30 December 1959, Burnham, near Slough UK at 3:15 am.(Astrodatabank)




Any similarities ?

1. Both have Sun, Moon and Saturn within a 30* span.

2. Both have all planets within one half of the chart.

3. Both have Jupiter trine Uranus.

5. Radner has Mercury sextile Neptune, Ullman has Mercury trine Uranus.

6. Their Suns lie opposite each other within 2 degrees, in cardinal signs, Cancer/Capricorn.

Strange!

Closely grouped planets, a pattern common to both charts indicates intense focus in certain areas. It's obvious that to achieve the kind of success these ladies enjoyed, focus and dedication was a necessity!

Jupiter trine Uranus - Jupiter expands things, Uranus likes the eccentric or unexpected. Both ladies created larger than life eccentric characters, aided and abetted by their Mercury placements harmonious with Uranus or Neptune.

I'm not sure what the Sun/Moon/Saturn within 30* in both charts reveals. It's a definite similarity though. Symbolically it might mean that heart and soul went into their work ? I don't know.

Tragically, Gilda Radner died from ovarian cancer in 1989.


On the day of her death, 20 May 1989, it is remarkable that Uranus, Neptune and Saturn at 4*, 12* and 13* Capricorn, (all retrograde) opposed her natal Sun at 6* Cancer.

And.....those three planets on the same day were conjunct Tracey's Sun/Saturn/Moon.
That is spooky!

(Edited version of a post first published here on 1 January 2007)

Tracey Ullman & "State of the Union"

Last night's State of the Union-ish speech by President Obama was inspiring, I thought. Have we got a President or have we got a President!! At last!..... What follows is quite unrelated to last night's speech, apart from the title. We missed Tracey Ullman's series, "State of the Union" on Showtime channel last year, but coincidentally had rented a DVD of the series last weekend. It turned out to be one of our best ever choices.

Tracey Ullman is nothing short of genius when it comes to impersonation, her makeup artist is top notch too. In this series of shows she impersonates a collection of well-known American personalities, along with some fictional stereotypical American characters. Each segment forms "A Day of Life in America" for people such as Arianna Huffington, Renee Zellweger, Laurie David, Campbell Brown, a woman from Nebraska, a loopy prison visitor, sports coach from Oklahoma, and many more. There's a review of the series at USA Today, HERE.

I found her humor particularly appealing because, as a fellow Brit, I see the funny side of the same things as she seems to do. She's clever but never cruel, honest without being crude. Her versatility is impressive.

I have written a little about Tracey in ther past, when I compared her chart with that of the late Gilda Radner (see here). Using Tracey's time of birth as stated at Astrotheme, I've re-set her natal chart to take another look.




Without having seen her chart I'd have expected Gemini to feature strongly, but there are no planets in that sign. What we have is a cluster split between Sagittarius and Capricorn; it includes all personal planets except Venus, which is in Scorpio. If this birth time is accurate, then Neptune is slap bang on a Scorpio ascendant. Methinks this is a little convenient, and makes me wonder whether this time of birth is a rectification. Maybe not though, Neptune right on the ascendant angle, the strongest position in the chart, does account for her vivid imagination and creative talent. Whatever her birth time though, Sun and Saturn sextile Neptune in Scorpio, which though not as intense as Neptune on the ascendant, would still provide a harmonious link between her more serious, business-like self and Neptune's imagination and creativity.

In a report of an interview conducted back in 1989 (HERE) Tracey is described as:

"a serious workaholic, a relentless craftsman out to create the best television the world has ever seen."

Sun, Moon and Saturn in Capricorn reflect what was said: Capricorn is a workhorse, ruled by Saturn and that planet joins the Sun and Moon in its home sign. I'm not a bit surprised to see her described as "workaholic".

QUOTE: Work is important to me. I want to do things for principle, not just for the sake of doing them.
(Tracey Ullman)

The other set of planets in neighbouring Sagittarius bring in the lightness Capricorn can lack. Mars and Jupiter are exactly conjoined with Mercury just 4 degrees away, all in Sagittarius - a mutable, happy-go-lucky sort of sign, ruled by Jupiter (so here's another planet in its home sign).

If birth time is correct, Uranus would lie at mid-heaven, the area of the chart relating to career and public standing. Uranus is inventive and a bit off-the-wall, which well describes her on-stage presence.

Again, if time of birth is correct, five of the six clustered planets are squeezed into 2nd house of earnings, possessions and property. Tracey's fortune was assessed at $75 million, some years ago. Emphasis on 2nd house seems appropriate. Her natal blend of Sagittarius and Capricorn reflects so well the talented creative yet business savvy lady Tracey so clearly is.

Two Funny Ladies and Their Astrological Link

My husband was a great fan of "the old" Saturday Night Live. Nowadays it appears to have lost its early sparkle (and that's putting it kindly!). He wanted to convince me of SNL's former glories, so bought a DVD featuring Gilda Radner's contributions to the show. We watched it the past few evenings. She certainly WAS a brilliant comedienne. As I watched I was continually reminded of Tracy Ullman.

The two comediennes were born some 13 years and 5,000 miles apart. It's possible that Tracy Ullman got her inspiration from watching Gilda Radner's performances. The ability to invent hilarious characters and play them with consistent brilliance and humour is the mainstay of both performers' acts. Gilda Radner's regular characters included Rosanne Rosannadanna, Emily Litella, and Baba Wawa. Tracy Ullman slipped from one crazy character to another in her shows, characters such as Carmel Pinkum, a lady who's "different" , Nadia, the Russian trapeze artist, Dr. Jillian Smalls, radio psychologist, Kiki Howard-Smith, pro golfer from Australia, Ariel, a singer (her big hit was "Slit My Wrists") .

Gilda Radner born 28 June 1946, Detroit, Michigan
Tracy Ullman born 30 December 1959, Slough, England
No times known. I looked at 12 noon charts for both women, wondering if I'd find any similarities.

1. Both have Sun, Moon and Saturn within a 30* span.
Radner Moon 29.53* Gemini, Sun 6* Cancer, Saturn 25* Cancer
Ullman Sun 8*Capricorn, Saturn 9*Capricorn, Moon 17* Capricorn.

2. Both have all planets within one half of the chart.

3. Both have two stelliums

4. Both have Jupiter trine Uranus -Radner 17 Libra/18 Gemini. Ullman 18 Sag./20 Leo

5. Radner has Mercury sextile Neptune, Ullman has Mercury trine Uranus.

6. Their Suns lie opposite each other within 2 degrees, in cardinal signs, Cancer/Capricorn.

Strange!

Closely grouped planets including stelliums indicate intense focus in certain areas. It's a pity I couldn't find times of birth. Even without times though, it's obvious that to achieve the kind of success these ladies enjoyed, focus was a necessity!

Jupiter trine Uranus - Jupiter expands things, Uranus likes the eccentric or unexpected. Both ladies created larger than life eccentric characters, aided and abetted by their Mercury placements harmonious with Uranus or Neptune.

I'm not sure what the Sun/Moon/Saturn within 30* in both charts reveals. It's a definite similarity though. Symbolically it might mean that heart and soul went into their work ? I don't know.

Tragically, Gilda Radner died from ovarian cancer in 1989. On the day of her death, 20 May 1989, it is remarkable that Uranus, Neptune and Saturn at 4*, 12* and 13* Capricorn, (all retrograde) opposed her natal sun at 6* Cancer. And.....those three planets on the same day were conjunct Tracy Ullman's Sun/Saturn/Moon.

That IS spooky!