Madeline Kahn

From Jewish matron to saloon singer, Madeline Kahn's spirited portrayals of daffy and lusty characters won her Oscar nominations, a Tony Award and the admiration of fellow actors. ''She is one of the most talented people that ever lived,'' Mel Brooks once said. ''I mean, either in stand-up comedy, or acting, or whatever you want, you can't beat Madeline Kahn.'' Ms. Kahn died of ovarian cancer at a hospital in Manhattan on Friday. She was 57. The actress-comedian, who first acknowledged the disease publicly last month had been undergoing aggressive treatment for the illness, said Jeff Schneider, a spokesman for the William Morris agency. ''Madeline was a performer of brilliance and a loyal and trusted friend to everyone she encountered,'' said her husband, John Hansbury. A trained opera singer, Ms. Kahn was born in Boston and graduated from Hofstra University on Long Island on a drama scholarship. She went on to win nominations for best supporting actress Academy Awards two years in a row: for her portrayal of a floozy named Trixie Delight in the 1973 film ''Paper Moon'' and for her role a year later as a saloon singer in the Brooks farce ''Blazing Saddles.'' Ms. Kahn won a Tony Award for best actress in 1993 with her role as ditsy Jewish matron Gorgeous Teitelbaum in ''The Sisters Rosensweig.'' She received three other Tony nominations: for ''In the Boom Room'' in 1973; ''On the 20th Century'' in 1978; and ''Born Yesterday'' in 1989. In ''Blazing Saddles,'' Ms. Kahn used her classically trained voice in her amusing portrayal of a singer in the Wild West who helps Gene Wilder foil Harvey Korman's evil plan to do in the new sheriff in town. In addition to ''Blazing Saddles,'' Ms. Kahn also made notable performances in Brooks' ''Young Frankenstein,'' ''High Anxiety'' and ''History of the World: Part 1.'' Actor Ryan O'Neal, who starred with Ms. Kahn in ''Paper Moon,'' called the actress ''a wonderful woman.'' ''I loved her very much. I loved working with her,'' O'Neal said. ''She will be sorely missed, not just by me but by everyone.'' One of Ms. Kahn's last projects was an independent film, ''Judy Berlin,'' which is set for general release in February. In the film, she played a suburban housewife in a troubled marriage who is at once ''full of neurotic energy,'' and warm and loving, said director Eric Mendelsohn, who won the best director's award for the movie at this year's Sundance Film Festival. ''She really was one of those people who when you stood around her she gave off this unbelievable glow,'' said Mendelsohn. ''It was like someone was playing the harp next to you.'' She had most recently taken on the part of Pauline, a neighbor on the TV show ''Cosby.'' In announcing her battle with ovarian cancer, Ms. Kahn said she wanted to inform others about the illness. ''It is my hope that I might raise awareness of this awful disease,'' she said, ''and hasten the day that an effective test can be discovered to give women a fighting chance to catch this cancer in its earliest stage.'' In addition to her husband, she is survived by a brother.