Publisher Description

Now a Netflix original film starring Will Forte, Domhnall Gleeson, and Emmy Rossum.

Comic genius Doug Kenney cofounded National Lampoon, cowrote Animal House and Caddyshack, and changed the face of American comedy before mysteriously falling to his death at the age of 33. This is the first-ever biography of Kenney--the heart and soul of National Lampoon—reconstructing the history of that magazine as it redefined American humor, complete with all its brilliant and eccentric characters. Filled with vivid stories from New York, Harvard Yard, Hollywood, and Middle America, this chronicle shares how the magazine spawned a comedy revolution with the radio shows, stage productions, and film projects that launched the careers of John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner, while inspiring Saturday Night Live and everything else funny that's happened since 1970. Based on more than 130 interviews conducted with key players including Chevy Chase, Harold Ramis, P. J. O'Rourke, John Landis, and others and boasting behind-the-scenes stories of how Animal House and Caddyshack were made, this book helps capture the nostalgia, humor, and enduring legacy that Doug Kenney instilled in National Lampoon--America's greatest humor magazine.

Author Biography

Josh Karp is a freelance journalist who writes for a variety of national publications, including The Atlantic Monthly Online, Chicago Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times, Playboy, Premiere, and Salon.com. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.

Table of Contents

Contents Acknowledgments Introduction: Midas at the Marmont 1 Hayley Mills in Pleasantville 2 The Most Perfect WASP 3 Here Is New York 4 You've Got a Weird Mind. You'll Fit in Well Here 5 What Do Women Eat? 6 Hitler Being Difficult 7 Show Biz and Dead Dogs 8 Guns and Sandwiches 9 The Pirates 10 The Cultural Revolution 11 Fuck the Proposal 12 Round Up the Usual Jews 13 Pheasant Shake for Mr. Kenney 14 A Year with No Spring Epilogue Bibliography Index

Review

"[Karp has] written an essential American excavation of comedy that is, of itself, very, very, very, very, very, very funny." --Bill Zehme, author, Lost in the Funhouse: The Life and Mind of Andy Kaufman
"A must-read for the curious, comedy aficionados, and subversively shy teenagers everywhere." --Mark McKinney, actor, Kids in the Hall
"Jammed with personalities and capsule histories." --The New York Times
"Karp makes a persuasive case for Kenney to be considered among the key architects of post-World War II humor." --American Way
"The definitive behind-the-scenes account of the man and publication that all but defined the comedy zeitgeist of the last 35 years." --Rob Siegel, former editor, The Onion
"The definitive profile of Kenney's brilliant comic mind and his too-short life." --Richard Roeper, film critic, Chicago Sun-Times
"The sharpest analysis yet of how success, self-doubt and drugs led one of his generation's wittiest minds down a blind path." --Philadelphia Citypaper

Prizes

Winner of Midwest Book Award (MIPA) (Biography/Memoir) 2006
Commended for Independent Publisher Book Awards (Biography) 2007
Commended for Midwest Book Award (MIPA) (Political Science) 2006

Long Description

The ultimate biography of "National Lampoon" and its cofounder Doug Kenney, this book offers the first complete history of the immensely popular magazine and its brilliant and eccentric characters. With wonderful stories of the comedy scene in New York City in the 1970s and "National Lampoon"'s place at the center of it, this chronicle shares how the magazine spawned a popular radio show and two long-running theatrical productions that helped launch the careers of John Belushi, Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, and Gilda Radner and went on to inspire "Saturday Night Live". More than 130 interviews were conducted with people connected to Kenney and the magazine, including Chevy Chase, John Hughes, P. J. O'Rourke, Tony Hendra, Sean Kelly, Chris Miller, and Bruce McCall. These interviews and behind-the-scenes stories about the making of both "Animal House" and "Caddyshack" help to capture the nostalgia, humor, and popular culture that "National Lampoon" inspires.

Review Quote

"This book is as close as I'll come to meeting Doug Kenney. It's close enough."

Details