College kids who *defined * parody and satire in the 70s and beyond. Doug Kenney’s influence is everywhere (National Lampoon, Animal House, Saturday Night Live, and much more) and Henry Beard was nearly as important.
They also had graduated when they wrote the book.
Toes, I just love hairy toes!
A copy of BotR has a significant role in S.M. Stirling’s book The Protector’s War.
You’ll feel this, Chuck.
The original edition of BotR sold 750,000 copies. Kenney and Beard each got $4500 and a trip to the Virgin Islands.
That edition was priced very high at $1.00. The standard for a 150-page paperback at the time was $0.75. Paperback authors might normally get 10% of the cover price. So they made the Harvard Lampoon $66,000. A nice return.
Did they ever get past being college kids, though?
I do remember being VERY disappointed that the book didn’t match in ANY way the “liner notes.” 
Alas, the ultimate LOTR parody film already exists and it stars Misty Mundae.
Which ISN’T a BAD thing!
This book made me what I am today.
I also felt that the quality peaked around page 12 and declined steadily; the authors put most of their jokes into the map and the Prologue (“Concerning Boggies”)*, and lost interest toward the end. Nevertheless, I loved adored & venerated it, and committed big chunks to memory.
*Either Arglebargle I or somebody else.
I’m still waiting for the right moment to say:
“I god guts, no more braims.”
Emotionally, maybe not. But Kenney and Beard founded the National Lampoon, the seminal magazine for humor in the 70s and beyond (just like Mad was in the 50s and 60s). Kenney also cowrote the screenplay for Animal House before his early death. Beard has been writing best selling humor books.
What is the word “without” doing in that sentence?
Had to do some hunting for that one.
You left out, “Clean, clean, clean for Gene!” – which is really dated!
And appeared in the movie as “Stork” (wisely, I suppose, giving himself only one speaking line).
I remember that, and remember wondering how many of the jokes Changelings such as Matilda and Rudi (who clearly were amused by it) could possibly have understood.
Funny story. Couple years ago I woke up a bit groggy, and, as is often my wont, turned the tv on while I fully woke up. Cycled around through the menu and saw “Lord of the Rings” on Showtime. My head didn’t quite connect the dots…I thought it was one of the Peter Jackson trilogy)…so I pressed the enter button to watch a little Middle Earth action. It took about thirty seconds to sink in, at which point I hit the Info button again to see just what the hell I was watching.
Forty minutes later I got out of bed.
Right. Second try.
Brainstorming here: William Shatner as Serutan.
Be a putz, by all means — if your location is accurate, you’re far enough away from me.
The “Aragorn and the Ring” thread was the second one I linked to in the OP. In any case, what I was trying (not very successfully, it seems) to communicate was the fact that BotR had not had its own thread.
Memorable indeed, as is the plaintive conclusion:
"A silver tear rolled down her cheek
As she bussed home by herself;
The same thing happened twice last week,
(Oh, Heaven help the Working-elf!)
I’m leaning toward Ms Hilton for the Lady Lavalier. Something about “gracefully sticking her finger down her throat in the ancient Elvish farewell” just seems to fit.
Truth be told, after pondering long upon the suggestions by madmonk28 and Tuckerfan, I agree that animation would probably be the preferred way to go (length somewhere between their suggestions). If nothing else, it would facilitate the FX: I mean, PJ only had to make 150-200 actual horsemen look like the host of the Rohirrim; but whoever takes this on* has to create the Roi-Tanner’s fighting bull merinos from scratch.
The *Bored *part works for me. Maybe it is more entertaining if you read it in your youth.
“Came here to dodge draff, see? Peace, I say! No more war, I say! Also, I four-F!”
Love Tim Benzedrino.
The late, lamented Peter Sellers might have made a good Goodgulf. Maybe John Cleese could do it?
RR
I’m thinking Tommy Chong for that part.