A Futile and Stupid Gesture How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever

by Karp, Josh

• ISBN13: 9781556526022
• ISBN10: 1556526024
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2006-09-01
• Publisher: Chicago Review Press

Summary

The ultimate reference to 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 guide 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.

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.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Introduction Midas at the Marmont	xi
1 Hayley Mills in Pleasantville	1	(17)
2 The Most Perfect WASP	18	(23)
3 Here Is New York	41	(17)
4 You've Got a Weird Mind. You'll Fit in Well Here.	58	(33)
5 What Do Women Eat?	91	(27)
6 Hitler Being Difficult	118	(34)
7 Show Biz and Dead Dogs	152	(46)
8 Guns and Sandwiches	198	(39)
9 The Pirates	237	(26)
10 The Cultural Revolution	263	(20)
11 Fuck the Proposal	283	(19)
12 Round Up the Usual Jews	302	(25)
13 Pheasant Shake for Mr. Kenney	327	(21)
14 A Year with No Spring	348	(23)
Epilogue	371	(8)
Bibliography	379	(13)
Index	392