Abigail Mary Matthias (born ) is an American actress and comedian. She was a cast member of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

's ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' during its critical and ratings low point at the time (the 1980–1981 season, produced by Jean Doumanian), and co-anchored the ''

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast and been featu ...

'' segment with Charles Rocket in 1981.

Early life and career

A native of

Sioux Falls, South Dakota Sioux Falls ( ) is the List of cities in South Dakota, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Dakota and the List of United States cities by population, 117th-most populous city in the United States. It is the county seat of Minnehaha Coun ...

, and graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, Matthius had performed at

The Comedy Store The Comedy Store is an American comedy club opened in April 1972. It is located in West Hollywood, California, at 8433 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip. An associated club is located in La Jolla, San Diego, California. History The Comedy ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

prior to successfully auditioning for Doumanian's cast. 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 Allis-Chalmers was a United States, U.S. manufacturer of machinery for various Industry (economics), industries. Its business lines included list of agricultural machinery, agricultural equipment, heavy equipment, construction equipment, electric ...

tractors across the Great Plains.

''Saturday Night Live''

In 2015, the magazine ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' ranked Matthius at, out of 141 cast members, the 74th best of ''

'', 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 Paul Reubens (; ; August 27, 1952 – July 30, 2023) was an American actor and comedian, widely known for creating and portraying the character Pee-wee Herman. Born in Peekskill, New York and raised in both Oneonta, New York and Sarasota, Flo ...

Recurring characters

*Vickie, a valley girl who, along with her friend, Debbie (played by Denny Dillon), annoy people with their persistent questions and shallow statements. *Roweena, a

Midwestern The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

-accented hairdresser who often has a neurotic, middle-aged woman named Nadine (played by Denny Dillon) as a frequent customer. *Frances Lively, wife to Charles Rocket's Phil Lively, a fellow

game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...

host who lives life at home as if it were just another game show.

Celebrity impersonations

Brooke Shields Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress. A child model starting at the age of 11 months, Shields gained widespread notoriety at age 12 for her leading role in Louis Malle's film ''Pretty Baby (1978 film), Pretty Baby ...

, in a parody of the racy

Calvin Klein Calvin Richard Klein (born November 19, 1942) is an American fashion designer. In 1968, he launched the company that later became Calvin Klein. In addition to clothing, he has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewellery. ...

TV advertisements that featured her. * Irene Cara *

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress who was the first lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, as the second wife of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in ...

* Mary Cunningham

Post-''SNL''

Following her stint on ''SNL'', Matthius appeared in the short-lived British/American sketch show '' Assaulted Nuts'' and the syndicated

sketch comedy Sketch comedy comprises a series of short, amusing scenes or vignettes, called "sketches" or, "skits", commonly between one and ten minutes long, performed by a group of comic actors or comedians. While the form developed and became popular in ...

series ''Laugh Trax'' (where she revived her valley girl Vicki character from ''SNL''). She auditioned for the

Kathleen Turner Mary Kathleen Turner (born June 19, 1954) is an American actress. Known for her distinctive deep husky voice, she is the recipient of two Golden Globes, as well as nominations for an Academy Award, a Grammy, and two Tony Awards. After debuting ...

role in

Body Heat Thermoregulation is the ability of an organism to keep its body temperature within certain boundaries, even when the surrounding temperature is very different. A thermoconforming organism, by contrast, simply adopts the surrounding temperature ...

. She had some voice acting work for animated shows from the late 1980s into the 1990s, including ''

Bobby's World ''Bobby's World'' (originally known as ''The World According to Bobby'') is an American animated comedy children's television series that aired on Fox Kids from September 8, 1990, to February 23, 1998. The show was created by Canadian actor/come ...

'' (with ''Laugh Trax'' co-star Howie Mandel), ''

Tiny Toon Adventures ''Tiny Toon Adventures'' is an American animated television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Animation. It originally aired from September 14, 1990 to December 6, 1992, airing in syndication before eventually settling a ...

'', '' Snorks'', ''

Animaniacs ''Animaniacs'' is an American Animated series, animated Comedy television, comedy Musical film, musical television series created by Tom Ruegger and produced by Warner Bros. Television Animation. It originally aired on Fox Broadcasting Company ...

'', ''

The Ren & Stimpy Show ''The Ren & Stimpy Show'', commonly referred to as simply ''Ren & Stimpy'', is an American animated Comedy film, comedy television series created by John Kricfalusi for Nickelodeon. The series follows the misadventures of Ren Höek, an emotion ...

'', '' 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 ''

''). 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 Daniel Louis Castellaneta ( ; born October 29, 1957) is an American actor. He is best known for voicing Homer Simpson on the animated series ''The Simpsons'' (as well as other characters on the show such as Grampa Simpson, Krusty the Clown, ...

. Today, she performs in a rock band, The Shambles (LA).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matthius, Gail Living people Actresses from South Dakota American impressionists (entertainers) American sketch comedians American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses American women comedians 21st-century American women Year of birth missing (living people) Comedians from South Dakota Actors from Sioux Falls, South Dakota