Gail Matthius

Gail Matthius
Born
Sioux Falls, South Dakota
EducationGustavus Adolphus College
Occupations
  • Actress
  • comedian
Years active1980–2001; 2017–present

Gail Matthius is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member of NBC's Saturday Night Live during the 1980–1981 season (produced by Jean Doumanian), and co-anchored the Weekend Update segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.

Early life and career

A native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, Matthius had performed at The Comedy Store in Los Angeles prior to successfully auditioning for Saturday Night Live (SNL). Matthius's time on the show occurred only a year after her move to Los Angeles, a move that was funded by performing jingles and visiting farms on behalf of Allis-Chalmers tractors across the Great Plains.

Saturday Night Live

In 2015, the magazine Rolling Stone ranked Matthius at, out of 141 cast members, the 74th best of Saturday Night Live, calling her, "A flicker of hope in the Saturday Night Live 1980 debacle, with a sharp valley girl mall-chick character named Vickie. Matthius and Vickie both deserved better." During her audition, she performed opposite Joe Piscopo as well as Paul Reubens.

Recurring characters

Celebrity impersonations

Post-SNL

Following her stint on SNL, Matthius appeared in the short-lived British/American sketch show Assaulted Nuts and the syndicated sketch comedy series Laugh Trax (where she revived her valley girl Vicki character from SNL). She auditioned for the Kathleen Turner role in Body Heat, though she was turned down.

She did voice acting for animated shows from the late 1980s into the 1990s, including Bobby's World (with Laugh Trax co-star Howie Mandel), Tiny Toon Adventures, Snorks, Animaniacs, The Ren & Stimpy Show, Bump in the Night and The Tick, often using the voice of her valley girl and Roweena characters from Saturday Night Live (in characters such as Martha, who sounds like Roweena, and Shirley the Loon from Tiny Toon Adventures).

Matthius is a member of the Spolin Players improv comedy troupe and works as a drama coach for various acting studios, including Theatre Palisades in Pacific Palisades, California. In 2016, Matthius appeared in the play For Piano and Harpo by Dan Castellaneta. Today, she performs in a rock band, The Shambles LA.

Personal life

Matthius is married to her high school boyfriend, television writer and producer John Wirth. Their house in Pacific Palisades burned down on January 9, 2025, in the Palisades fire.

References

  1. ↑ Winegar, Karin (August 21, 1981). "Live from Minneapolis ... it's our own Gail Matthius" Archived August 16, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. The Minneapolis Star. p. 28. Retrieved August 15, 2023.
  2. ↑ Clifford Terry (February 22, 1981). "'The struggle to keep Saturday Night Live'". Chicago Tribune. p. 30. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  3. ↑ Wezerek, Gus (December 14, 2019). "The 'S.N.L.' Stars Who Lasted, and the Ones Who Flamed Out". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved December 16, 2019. Some of the names here will be familiar only to die-hard fans; others, like Murphy, defined what was funny for generations of viewers.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hoglund, Andy (June 6, 2024). "Gail Matthius's Short Time on the SNL 'Playground'". Vulture. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  5. ↑ "'Saturday Night Live': All 141 Cast Members Ranked". Rolling Stone. February 11, 2015. Archived from the original on February 18, 2015. Retrieved February 19, 2015.
  6. ↑ Callison, Jill (July 20, 2014). "Washington grad did 'SNL,' stage". Argus-Leader. p. E2.
  7. ↑ "I lost everything in the Palisades fire. The Birds game me a moment to exhale". Philadelphia Inquirer. January 22, 2025. p. A13. Retrieved June 21, 2026 – via newspapers.com.