I read this book recently. A good read. A lot of people didn’t really seem to pull any punches.
What I liked about it was that there were no “anonymous” sources. Everything said was in annecdotal form in a paragraph or two underneath the name of the person saying it. All “on the record”. But there was still some nasty comments made.
The general consensus of the whole book was that no one likes Chevy Chase. Everyone wanted to be the “next Eddie Murphgy” and Lorne Michaels makes Machiavelli look like Ronald McDonald.
I will say that Dan Akroyd came off looking the best. EVERYONE seemed to adore him. I don’t remember one bad thing said about him. Gilda Radner also seemed to be universally adored.
A fun book for fans of SNL or television in general.
Agreed, I enjoyed it. Was totally unacquainted with SNL’s backstage stuff before reading it–unaware that Lorne Michaels had left for any amount of time, for example. And I did appreciate that it was on-record. Chris Farley and Phil Hartman also seem to have been pretty well-liked. Fast read, informative, entertaining.
Yeah. For a 500+ page book, it went by VERY quickly.
There was one part that made me DIE laughing. It was a passage by one of the later writers (I think). He was basically conveying a piece of advice he got from an original cast member. He wouldn’t say who the cast member was, but:
Hadn’t done much since SNL (eliminates Akroyd, Garrett A., Belushi, Curtain and Chase)
Seemingly talked about the person in the present tense (eliminates Radner)
I’m in the middle of this… was an Xmas gift. Agreed that it’s truly enjoyable. Some really gritty experiences shared, as well as some tearful memories. Jeez, some of the mind games that are pulled in that environment are enough to drive anyone to drankin’ and therapy or more…
What it would have been like to have been part of that early group. SNL was so creative and unique for its time and the people that were part of it were genius. To hang out at the "Blues Bar’ with young John Belushi, Ackyroyd, Bill Murray, etc. after the show going strong until 6:00 a.m. on amazing adrenaline. That’s one point in time I’d like a time machine for… and to give Gilda a hug
Everyone seemed authentically in awe of Phil Hartman. It pains me to think of that loss and how valuable he was to comedy.
I’ve read through it in the store but haven’t bought it yet; it’s on the short list though.
Was the drug use of the first cast as bad as the rumors? The reason I wondered is that Jane Curtin said in an interview that she’s never done an illegal drug in her life except for pot in college, but she wouldn’t speak for the rest of the cast.
Did it explain just what the hell prompted them to hire Charles Rocket, Gary Kroeger, Melanie Hutnell, or some of the other no-trick-ponies in their past?
The drug use is discussed, yeah. There was a lot of it. Jane Curtin seems to have been uninvolved. And there is some discussion of how people were cast, but I don’t think they spend too much time on the lesser-knowns.
Yeah, drugs were pretty rampant. Most cast and crew had a story about walking into Lorne or the writer’s meetings and being greeted with a cloud of pot smoke or seeing little piles of cocaine on desks or tables. Jane Curtin seemed to stay out of it. While everyone else indulged in the drug buffet and stayed out to drink all night she would go home to her husband and her dog.
Wonderful book. I was surprised at how much the women from my favorite SNL period (late 80s) really hated each other. Victoria Jackson’s cattiness alone could wilt steel!
I finished it yesterday. It is indeed a fast read; I managed a hundred pages a day, and I’m a very slow reader.
There’s not so much ragging on the performers’ abilities, Sampiro. The people who get trashed the most are pinheaded network executives, Dick Ebersol, and Jean Doumanian.
Jan Hooks and Janeane Garofalo don’t seem very well-liked either. This surprises and wounds me, because I’ve always been a big fan of both.
But yes, the original cast’s drug use was as bad as you’ve heard, but everyone interviewed from that period says Jane Curtin stayed straight; when the others stayed up after the show to party Sunday mornings, she’d go home to “her husband and dog.”
Court TV said that Robert Blake was in the book as the least favorite host of all time (by other cast members). I wonder if his insanity was evident to them.
My favorite unusual line-up of guest stars was the Christmas episode that featured Luciano Pavoratti and Vanessa Williams dueting Adeste Fideles.
It’s amazing to me how much wilder the show was 25 years ago than it is today. You could never get away with the “Uncle Roy” sketches or the “cocaine smuggler” sketch today; I wonder what they do today that they couldn’t have done then?
I thought it was a very good, interesting read also. Really fascinating. One thing not yet mentioned was how much, particularly post-Eddie Murphy, SNL became nothing more than a (potential) launch pad to Hollywood. It was no longer a destination in-and-of itself. Which I think hurt its creativity somewhat.
Does anyone know why Eddie Murphy wouldn’t consent to be interviewed? He came off very well, everyone there recognized his genius and he didn’t appear arrogant or self-serving at all. Does he have a grudge of some sort?
Yes. A few years ago, when Murphy’s career was in a funk (not unlike the one its in now), David Spade snarked on him by flashing his picture and saying, “Hey kids make a wish! It’s a falling star!” Murphy made an angry call to Spade and the cast and said that SNL wouldn’t still be around if it weren’t for him.
Also, Murphy was on SNL during the time when Lorne Michaels wasn’t producing the show. Michaels doesn’t think much of those programs and regards the years between 1980 to 1985 as when SNL was in its “Babylonian Captivity.” So, I think Michaels’ snobbery and bias towards the years he produced the show have probably rubbed Murphy the wrong way.
There’s a rumor that Michaels is sitting on the Doumanian/Ebersol shows and keeping them out of syndication. I suspect otherwise. Certain long-running shows (like Law & Order) are packaged for syndication in blocks by years; everything prior to the Angie Everhart episodes ran on A&E, and the more recent stuff ran on TNT. X-Files reruns are divvied up similarly between TNN and SciFi. I suspect that SNL is offered in five-year blocks, and there’s a specific five-year block that few networks are interested in syndicating. But it’s available and I swear it pops up every few months somewhere.
Comedy Central aired episodes from the Ebersol season a few years back, but I haven’t seen any of them recenly. 'Tis a shame too, the season with Billy Crystal/Martin Short/Christopher Guest was one of the few ‘Golden Years’.
The book really is a fascinating look into the growth & evolution of SNL. My favorite part of the book is how one writer talks about how nowadays the show puts such a great emphasis on reoccurring characters. He said that the Coneheads were on the show maybe 6 times, the “Cheezboiger, Cheezboiger” people were on maybe 4 times. Meanwhile, characters like the “Cheerleaders” have been on like 30 times. It shows how lazy the writing has gotten.
I don’t blame Jeanne Garafolo for her bitter attitude for the show. Her talents were utterly wasted during her tenure.
E! has been showing the SNL shows from the original NRFPTP, 1975-1980 roughly, as well as the ones from last season. Comedy Central used to show the Murphy and Piscipo heyday, and a little of the “star cast” season when Michaels came back (Crystal, Short, Sherer). But now they tend to stick to the Hartman, Miller, Hooks era and forward. It’s the Doumanian season that rarely if ever gets shown.
I enjoyed “Live From New York”, it changed a few opinions I had about people and reenforced some others. I used to think Chevy’s attitude was mostly an act, but I see now that it’s not. I like Garrett Morris and Bill Murray the more I find out about them.
Chris Farrelly sounded even more pathetic than ever, with his self-destructive John Belushi idolizing. But I still don’t find him funny, shitting out of an office window is not funny to me. Lorne Michaels still makes my skin crawl, the mind games just make him seem even worse.
The opinions about SNL being used as a career launching pad and the meat grinder approach these days to recurring characters just reminded me why I like the show less and less.
The “star cast” you’re referring to when Lorne Michaels came back actually consisted of Anthony Michael Hall, Randy Quaid, and Robert Downey Jr (among others).
The Crystal/Short/Shearer season was during Ebersol’s tenure. I wonder if E! or Comedy Central has the rights to any of those shows…
