God, If You're Not Up There

by Hammond, Darrell

• ISBN13: 9780062064561
• ISBN10: 0062064568
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-10-30
• Publisher: Harpercollins

Summary

A raw, poignant, and often hilarious look inside the troubled life and mind of an American comic icon From his harrowing childhood filled with physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his parents, to a lifetime of alcoholism and self-mutilation, psychiatric hospitalizations, and misdiagnoses, to the peak of fame and success as the longest-tenured cast member of Saturday Night Live, Darrell Hammond delves into the darkest corners of his life, both in front of and behind the camera, with brutal honesty and fierce comic wit. On the back of his hilarious dead-on impressions of Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Chris Matthews, and a hundred other prominent figures, Hammond was invited into the inner sanctums of the country's political leaders, including three presidents, all the while suffering debilitating and largely undiagnosed mental anguish that resulted in horrifying flashbacks, shocking benders, a hair-raising stint in a Bahamian jail, and ultimately a dark night in a Harlem crack house. His long fight for sobriety, filled with heartbreaking relapses, was propelled by a desire to do right by his young daughter and to set the record straight about how he fell so low while achieving such heights. Throughout, Hammond lays bare the real inner workings of an iconic television show.

Author Biography

Darrell Hammond is an award-winning actor and comedian who was a Saturday Night Live cast member for a record-setting fourteen years. He has also appeared on Broadway and in the dramatic television series Damages and Law Order: Criminal Intent. He recently received critical acclaim for his starring role in the one-man play Tru. He lives in New York City.

Table of Contents

Author's Note	p. ix
Prologue	p. 1
The Hall	p. 5
The Golden Years	p. 21
There's Something Wrong Here	p. 45
From Hell to Hell's Kitchen	p. 57
It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst of Times	p. 83
God, If You're Not Up There	p. 99
Blood on the Floor	p. 115
What You Didn't See	p. 133
You Want Me to Go Where?	p. 145
I'll Show You Multiple Personality Disorder, Pal	p. 151
I Saw What You Did, and I Know Who You Are	p. 171
A Host of Hosts	p. 179
Politics for Dummies	p. 197
My Welcome Outstayed Me	p. 207
The Golden Years Redux	p. 231
I Mean It This Time	p. 235
The Real Last Chapter: Honest	p. 253
Acknowledgments	p. 269
About the Author	p. 273
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