A biography for Madeline Kahnhasn’t been written yet.
“Laughter is a strange response. I mean, what is it? It's a spasm of some kind! Is that always joy? It's very often discomfort. It's some sort of explosive reaction. It's very complex.”
“My mother was a Bohemian - in the good sense of the word. A searcher. And she investigated various religions.”
“From inside where I live, I feel like I just perceive events in a certain rational way. I often find it sad or poignant, and it may not make me laugh a bit. But I don't mind inventing a portrait that allows others to laugh if that's what they want to do.”
“Fun is carefree. I am not carefree.”
“In Hollywood I thought I was large and klutzy, like the characters I played.”
“I find being funny very hard work. I am always asked about it, and I feel guilty saying that, but it's the truth. I love my work, but it ain't easy.”
“Comedy is created when someone is trying very earnestly to do what he feels is the right thing to do at that moment.”