Emily Litella

Emily Litella, created and portayed by the late comedienne Gilda Radner (1946-1989)

Emily Litella was a fictional character played by comedienne Gilda Radner (1946-1989) on Saturday Night Live (SNL), a weekly late-night ninety-minute live comedy-variety show on the American NBC network.

Emily Litella was an elderly woman with a hearing problem seen on the op-ed "Weekend Update" segment in the late 1970s Dressed in a simple dress and a sweater, "Miss Emily Litella" was introduced with professional dignity by the news anchors, who could be sometimes seen cringing slightly in anticipation of the faux paux which they knew would be inevitable as their "guest" would launch into tirades on various topics.

Radner's character peered through her bifocals and read a prepared letter addressing some public issue, becoming increasingly agitated as her statement progressed, only to discover in the middle of her report that she had gotten the theme of her story wrong. 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" When the on-air reporter interrupted to point out her error (Death vs. deaf), she would crinkle her nose, usually say, "Oh, that's very different...", and then humbly say to the audience "Never Mind!"

Other misunderstood topics included Soviet Jewelry, Endangered Feces, Making Puerto Rico a Steak, Presidential Erections, Pouring Money into Canker Research, the Eagle Rights Amendment, Busting School Children and Violins on Television.

Emily's answering machine message said: "Hello, This is Emily Litella. I'm not home right now, but I will call you back as soon as possible. Just leave your name, number and what time you called after you hear the sound of the Jeep."

When Radner was a child, she knew a woman who sometimes said "Never mind". Radner imitated her in creating the Litella character. The line "Never mind" became a light-hearted slang phrase of the era.