Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner, A Sort of Love Story

Bunny Bunny: Gilda Radner, A Sort of Love Story Alan Zweibel (Villard, $14.95) When Saturday Night Live was new and fresh, back in the '70s, Zweibel (author of the novel and screenplay for North) wrote snappy dialogue for Gilda Radner. They became such good friends that after her death in 1989, he was moved to write more snappy dialogue for her, drawn from living memory. This brief biography of their relationship is the result, a series of SNL-type skits for two well-defined characters: a bumbling, insecure Jewish joke writer named Alan and an energetic, generous, and suddenly very successful comedian named Gilda. Between gags, however, we see Gilda confiscating Alan's gambling winnings to make sure his bills get paid, rejoicing at his marriage, and finally appealing to him ''to help me make cancer funny.'' If the humor is forced, the pathos is all too convincing. B --Suzanne Ruta