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While atSNL, Matthius worked alongside a number of future comedy household names like Murphy andGilbert Gottfried.
It was a lot of pressure that I didnt even realize at the time.
I was just like,Oh, this is how it is.
How did you get onSNL?Way before I came to Hollywood, I had this job.
My husband, who was my boyfriend at the time, had already gone to L.A.
I would sit on farmers laps, singingDont It Make My Brown Eyes Blue.
At some point, the dear, departedLotus Weinstockrecommended me to theSNLpeople, who were on the hunt.
This was a year or so later probably spring of 80, maybe June.
They saw me do my stand-up, then they wanted to see me in my improv group.
I knew I was getting closer and closer.
I was getting the stink eye from other women, so I knew that maybe something was up.
I definitely remember Joe Piscopo.
Your uncle is Tony nomineeSwen Swenson, who appeared on things likeYour Show of Shows.
I remember watching that with my mother.
Shes going, My brothers going to be on.
Sit down, kids!
He was the glamorous Broadway dancer-actor from New York, and hed bring his Yorkies.
It was a big deal when he would come to Sioux Falls.
When I was in New York, he was living there, and I absolutely pulled him in.
Possibly the first time I was riding in a limousine, and I said, Come on, Swen.
Youre gonna come with me!
At the time, it just seemed like he was being a Debbie Downer.
He said, Yeah, youre riding high now.
But just you wait.
I was like [Vicki voice] God, sour grapes.
Youre the first person who appears at the start ofSNLseason six.
And have Denny at our feet.
You got a lot of play in that first episode.
I think Vicki debuted in that one, and you did the breast-cancer-awareness sketch.I gotsuchblowback about that breast-exam thing.
The cancer-awareness people were like, Ugh, youre offending us all.
And I just was like,Im just going with it.
Youre giving me a sketch.
You had already developed Vicki, right?
How about Roweena?Vicki was in my stand-up act.
She was based on my mothers hairdresser.
Her name was not Roweena thats a small town in South Dakota.She wasnt quite so charactery.
I always associate Don Pardo with your time on the show.
He was a teddy bear.
A lovely, lovely man.
There were also two of the writers, Mel Green and Billy Brown.
The three of us were hired, but she remained a very dear friend.
Our friendship survived that, but it was very upsetting that we got chosen and she didnt.
Your husband is John Wirth, showrunner for the AMC seriesDark Winds.
Were you dating him at this point?Hes my high-school boyfriend.
We got married when my option was not renewed for the next season.
And weve been married for over 42 years.
He was not in New York with me.
He was super-generous in that he let me go.
But then to do that kind of Tennessee Williams swat?
I just took the lid off.
The lid was off and I just kept slappin.
Just was going for it.
Just being in that scene with her.
Its emblazoned in my memory bank.
So they said, Your sisters here, isnt she?
Would she sit at the desk?
And my sister said, Uh, yeah!
What made them wait to add you against Charles Rocket?[Shrugs.]
We need awomanout there!
It wasnt like I insisted.
She had really good cheese!
It was the first time I ever had Jarlsberg!
Did you audition for Update?No.
They just assigned it: Go ahead, Gail, try this!
I was looking over and heard the response from the live audience.
I went,Oh, yeah, some shit just happened here.
Hes on his way.
It was astounding, because he had such confidence.
Id seen a lot of stand-up at the Improv, etc.
Id seen people kill, and hekilledit.
It was definitely a moment.
Ive seen him a lot of times in subsequent years, and hes always lovely to me.
Last saw him at a Lakers game!
It was like thumbs-up or thumbs-down.
Charlie came out: He was gone.
Gilly came out: He was gone.
It was pretty intense, likeSophies Choice.
Id be remiss to not mention your role inAirplane II.
Would you do this little part?
I was like, Yeah!
It was a favor, a gimme.
I didnt have to audition.
So that must have been a few months after your season wrapped.
You were already back in L.A.?Oh yes I hightailed it home and back to my boyfriends arms.
What just happened?!
Lets start our lives together!
We talked earlier about the origins of Roweena.
What made you channel her later forBobbys World?
You even say Doncha know in aSNLsketch.When I was auditioning forBobbys World, I had my go-to Midwest accent.
Everybody else was speaking in mid-Atlantic.
I said,Well, let me just separate myself from the other people auditioning.
They mightve even suggested it: Do that Midwest character that you do.
And then they were like, Oh God, this is good.
Nobody else in the show speaks like that.
But you do Martha Generic!
So, theDoncha know catchphrase was always part of Roweena?It came from my stand-up act.
She was a Midwesterner those were my people; thats how they talked.
My aunt Blanche talked like that.
That was her phrase.
And she said, Oh my God, get out of my car.
And I went, Yourethe voice Id been doing in my stand-up act in Minneapolis!
Dont say shit around me.
It might end up in my act.
So why get into animated voicework?
Your credits are like a 90s kids dream.Ive had a varied career.
There was theSNLthing, then I came back and got married.
I started to say,Okay, were married now.
Now I want children.
I said,I want a voice-over career because its very manageable hours, and Ive always done voices.
I have that ability.
Im gonna put myself out there.
It didntnothelp that I had been onSNL.
A lot of doors got opened, and I started working at Hanna-Barbera onPound Puppies.
So, I really kind of got my animation world going at Hanna-Barbera with Gordon Hunt.
There werent that many animation houses then.
Now, its exploded.
There was no Nickelodeon.
I dont even think there was Warner Bros. cartoons.
Thats when I hit pay dirt.
I wanted a voice-over career because I wanted a manageable schedule.
I didCatDog,Tiny Toons,Ren & Stimpy.
I also did a bunch of national commercials.
Did you ever audition for movies?Body Heat.
For Kathleen Turner they wanted that punch in.
I was that jot down.
Clearly, I wasnt right for it, because she was so stunning.
I was not so in touch with my sexy self.
I was more wanting to be the attractive funny person.
What are you working on now?
You have yourimprov troupe?COVID blew us onto Zoom.
We got a club date that were trying to build around in Santa Monica in August.
Im the lead female singer.
And we do three-part harmony, and I play a mean harmonica.
We just added our drummer.
Singing was really the first thing I did.
Im kind of surprised I never got to do that onSNL.
I didnt get the chance.
Im almost a grandmother of four.
And they want me to be funny between the songs.
Im a pig in shit.
Are you trackingSNLthese days?In theRyan Gosling episode, they are breaking a lot.
That was such a no-no in my years.
No, you stay in character no giggling.
Its really fun to see how empowered the women are.
Are you excited forSNL50?Thatd be swell if they invite us.
That was kind of heartbreaking when Denny and I didnt get the invite the last time around.
Those parties are pretty fun!
