Molly Shannon and Ashley Padilla Talk ‘SNL’ and Shinola’s Gilda Radner-Inspired Collection

Live From Detroit

The pair front Shinola's latest campaign for a line of watches that pay tribute to SNL's Gilda Radner

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Detroit-based watch brand Shinola is paying tribute to Motor City’s own Gilda Radner with a line of watches inspired by the comedian, who rose to fame as one of Saturday Night Live‘s original Not Ready for Prime Time players. Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989, also penned the autobiography It’s Always Something, which deals in part with her cancer diagnosis.

The watches, released last month to coincide with the late comedian’s birthday, are part of Shinola’s Great American series. Previous collections have nodded to an eclectic assortment of American figures including Muhammad Ali, the Wright Brothers, Maya Angelou, and Georgia O’Keeffe. The tribute is subtle, with Radner’s name stamped on the back, the band, and the packaging.

Shinola released a campaign featuring SNL alum Molly Shannon and current cast member Ashley Padilla discussing Radner’s influence. “[Shannon and Padilla] share something that made Gilda so beloved: They’re incredibly funny, but they’re never afraid to be vulnerable or deeply human,” says Dana Mosa-Basha, Shinola’s director of marketing. “That combination felt true to who Gilda was and made them the perfect people to help tell her story.”

“To be totally honest, I can’t believe that they even thought of me or allowed me to be involved,” says Padilla in a phone interview with Rolling Stone. “It was just such an honor. And to get to talk to Molly about Gilda, the whole thing was just such a no-brainer for me.”

For Shannon, Radner was a staple of her early TV-viewing years. “I would babysit and, after I would put the kids to bed and the parents still weren’t home, I would watch Saturday Night Live,” she explains over the phone. “She was just such a big part of my household growing up. She was really like the first woman I saw doing that kind of original character-driven comedy. I’ve just been such a fan of hers for so many years. I mean, she’s just paved the way for so many women after her.”

Padilla’s journey with SNL was a little less analog. “I’m a YouTube kid, so it was never really watching the show necessarily; it was digging and finding sketches,” she explains. “When you stumble upon someone like Gilda, who not only was so influential then and a part of the first cast but also the first cast member to be hired, when you start getting older and dissecting that — the pressure of being a woman in comedy in the Seventies on a show that was just starting out, all of it just becomes really fascinating.”

Padilla and Shannon first met briefly during the SNL 50 celebrations, and again when Shannon appeared during Season 51’s Will Ferrell-hosted episode. “She’s just so kind and has such good advice,” says Padilla.

For her part, Shannon is eager to help. She mentions Bill Hader and Jeremy Culhane as some of the people who have asked her for tips, often about their meetings with Lorne Michaels. Her advice? “When you’re having an intimate conversation with him, you don’t need to be doing all these bits. Just be yourself; ask questions.”

But even for Shannon, the jitters that come with doing SNL never go away. “It’s live performance, which is really exhilarating, but also nerve-racking,” she says, mentioning her recent cameo in a sketch alongside Ferrell. “Will and I were laughing [about it]; he was like, ‘Can you believe we used to do this week after week so many years ago?’”

The Shinola Gilda Radner 39mm Runwell watch is limited to 400 units and retails for $2,500, while the Runabout watch is limited to 300 units and costs $1,995. There’s also a $225 travel jewelry case. A portion of the proceeds will benefit Gilda’s Club Metro Detroit, which supports those impacted by cancer.