[MADtv] Daniele Gaither

[Mo4ever]

R.I.P. Dan Gaither

[Pool Girl]

Originally posted by MJB12
Uh oh...I found out what happened.

Former St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center orthopedic surgeon Dan Gaither was shot and killed by his estranged wife Evangeline (Van) on Jan 17, 1994. Van then turned the weapon on herself. Biographies of the two once prominent African American Twin Citizens are presented.

They only mention "their two daughters" in the article.

That's terrible.

[Dark Monarch]

My God, that's horrible.

My thoughts and prayers are with the children, even though this took place over 10 years ago.

[MJB12]

I'm just glad that Daniele seems to be a very strong person after all this, and is a very funny person.

I read in another article I found (an interview with her) that she has a character named Dorkma that she enjoys playing. Hmm...

[Dartanian]

Yeah she mentioned her in the radio interview I posted a few pages back. You should listen to it, it's a good interview. She has a few other characters listed in her Groundlings bio along with DorkMom; the loveable Hustler and Cricket. You'd think that since she was a member of the Groundlings that MADtv would have played some of her character by now. Can you post the other article, or was it a transcript of NPR interview?

[crushonmary]

i think that Yvoone Criddle shoud be a regular character next season...

[bellady]

Originally posted by Dartanian

Oh! i see now I am informed! thanks!

[potroastpig]

Was Yvoone Criddle the old lady in the Condo Report?

Well, anyways...I have one thing tosay about Danielle Gaither....she is fricken amazing. She is halarious. I'll be honest....I really don't like this season of MADtv...I feel the cast has gotten weaker..or the writers have...one of the two..but Danielle is just halarious. Her and Nicole Parker are my favorites left (since Steph. W isn't on much ) I loved her in the Condo Report in Season 10 and the big boobed/butt lady in the 200th Episode in the Real M***** ******* Talk. But she is amazing. Ok, just wanted to say that. lol.

[MysterE]

Originally posted by potroastpig
Was Yvoone Criddle the old lady in the Condo Report?

1010 The Peoples Court: Loves 'Em and Piles of Leaves 'Em

[potroastpig]

Yvoone Criddle
how many times did she play it. was it only in this sketch:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lC3lH...d%2Btv%2Bcourt in People's court. It was funny. I think it would of been cool to see her again.

[potroastpig]

and is anyone else mad they fired her?!?!?!?!

[Sharonite]

Here is the full text of that article you talked about earlier. Sorry it's so late, but I'm new here:

Comic Relief;
Laughter has indeed been the best medicine for St. Paul performer Daniele Gaither.

Neal Justin, Minneapolis-St. Paul Tribune Staff Writer
(October 27, 2000)
Daniele Gaither is a fearless performer. As naturally as most of us flip TV channels, she can conjure up Patti LaBelle, Missy Elliot, Tina Turner or Della Reese, an ability that earned her a spot on the WB's new sketch-comedy series "Hype."

But while she's quite comfortable on stage and on the small screen, there is one place that makes Gaither uneasy: her hometown of St. Paul.

In January 1994, her father, Dr. Daniel Gaither, chief orthopedic surgeon at what was then St. Paul-Ramsey Medical Center, was visiting the home of his estranged wife, Evangeline. Gaither's parents had been living apart for several years, but were still married. Evangeline entered the kitchen area and fatally shot her husband. She then went to her bedroom and killed herself.

Since then, Gaither has rarely returned to the city.

"I miss the river, the air, the wide streets, the quietness of it," she said this past summer. But for me, it's more like I'm running from my family or running from my past, which doesn't really exist."

When chatting, Gaither fills the conversation with uninhibited laughter, the kind that could drown out Fran Drescher. But her voice becomes quiet when discussing her parents' deaths and the fact that she seldom talks to her older sister, Thea, who still lives in the Twin Cities.

"I never lost my sense of humor through that whole thing," she said. "It was hard and I did go through some dark times, but my dad always said, 'Life goes on. You have to use your gifts and do what you're going to do.' "

Gaither had already started her comedy career at the time of the murder-suicide. She performed in shows at Northwestern University in Chicago, from which she graduated in 1993, and honed her craft with the Groundlings, an acclaimed Los Angeles improv troupe.

It was there that "Hype" producers discovered Gaither as they were assembling a cast of unknowns with an endless supply of impressions. Co-creator Terry Sweeney said it was a Groundlings sketch about how black people let down their guard when white co-workers aren't around that got them interested in Gaither.

"At the audition, we would suggest impressions and she'd say, 'Well, I guess I could do that. About 20 impressions later, she had the job," said Sweeney, a "Saturday Night Live" alum. "She's very casual and laid back. She's not like, 'I'm a big superstar, I'm a big diva,' but she can do anything."

The bit that may have put her over the top: an Oprah Winfrey who sings everything out ("These are my pajaaaaaaaamas!") _ unless she's breaking into tears.

Fellow cast member Nadya Ginsburg said Gaither has the innate curiosity that every great impressionist needs. "It's like being an anthropologist," she said. "It takes some intelligence to see how people tick, and a sense of the absurd."

Gaither said she started doing characters at age 5, mimicking her parents and answering the age-old "how was your school day" question by re-creating her classmates and teachers. She relayed phone messages to her father in the voices of the callers.

"My mom would say, 'When you were little, you had so many voices, I thought you were from 'The Exorcist,' ' " she said.

Gaither hopes to reconnect with her hometown. She made a difficult visit last year for a high-school reunion and it went better then she expected, although it's obvious that many painful memories remain.

In the meantime, she has her sense of humor.

"Everybody has an inner life force," she said. "Even if there are 99 voices in your head that say life really sucks, you have to have one thing that makes life worth living. For me, that was performing. And if I didn't have that, I wouldn't have been able to wake up every morning."

[ef_7]

wow, thanks for posting that


that's just so crazy. i have unending respect for Daniele.

[potroastpig]

it says on the main page she impersonated Raven.....how did I miss this??!?!? What episode was this in!?!?

[ClintDogg]

Originally Posted by potroastpig

and is anyone else mad they fired her?!?!?!?!

whaaaat?

she got fired?

[potroastpig]

Originally Posted by ClintDogg

whaaaat?

she got fired?

She was let go at the end of season 11. Stupid mistake, she was amazing. Her and NRJ worked well together! Plus Yyvonne Criddle was amazing.


Back to my question, anyone know when she played Raven?

[nick]

I want to say the sketch was in Season 10 on the big purple stage... it was a Cosby reunion. She didn't say much as Raven, and it also wasn't a very good impression. Hope my unhelpful hints help out.

[ClintDogg]

She was the bom

[tvmanismadformad]

To be honest, I didn't really like Daniele Gaither. She just didn't do for me what the other woman castmembers did to my comedy mind, and Yyvonne Criddle just seemed to me like a copy of a Debra Wilson character. I do agree that she should have at least been allowed to finish off her 5 year contract, but let me just say, I'm not going to miss her as much as I miss Nicole Sullivan, or Mo Collins.

[tvmanismadformad]

I think the problem with Daniele Gaither is that she was suppose to be the woman Michael McDonald. She had been taught by him, and graduated at the top of the class in the Groundlings (which was taught by him). She was probably going to remain on the show for a Michael McDonald type tenure. The problem was that she was not creating the characters that she was suppose to be, and I think was mearly moving along because (and don't take this the wrong way) Debra Wilson had left, and they needed a black castmember. Why I think this is because in Season 11 Nicole Randall Johnson came in, and it was Fox saying that they were going to make a choice between her, and Daniele. It was like a rookie season for her, she had to prove herself, or be dumped. Well NRJ did better, and they favoured her over Daniele. I feel that if Daniele had shown more inishitive, she would still be there for season 13, and contemplating leaving like the great castmembers introduced in season 9.