SNL in the Pages: Biographies and Memoirs

[Spartan Girl]

I thought I'd start a topic for all the biographies and memoirs from and about SNL cast members and the show in general, since there have been a lot of books written about SNL -- a new one is coming out next week for the 40th Anniversary.

 

I am a huge fan of the oral biographies The Chris Farley Show and Belushi.  And of course I've read It's Always Something by Gilda Radner.  All three are heartbreaking. 

 

David Spade has a memoir coming out next fall, which I'm excited about.  And yes, I have read both Tina and Amy's books.

 

Anyone else have any thoughts and recommendations about SNL books?

[M. Darcy]

 

And of course I've read It's Always Something by Gilda Radner.  All three are heartbreaking.

Especially Gilda's.  I still remember all these years later reading it - she knew she was sick and the doctors wouldn't listen....or ask the one question about family history.

[opus]

Jay Mohr actually has a book out that includes his SNL days

[cpcathy]

I actually was not impressed by Tina's at all. It just felt like it was missing something. On the other hand, Amy's was so much fun. I always like to hear the real dirt, but Amy just seems like everyone loves her and she loves everyone, so, no dirt. The story about the weekend she gave birth is very funny.

[helenamonster]

I absolutely loved Tina's. Never before have I legitimately laughed out loud while reading a book, but with hers I did almost every chapter. I think a lot of it comes from us having very similar experiences. We're from the same area, her dad seems a lot like mine...even the chapter about her honeymoon on the cruise really hit home because when I first read the book, I had just gotten back from my first cruise trip. It petered out a little at the end, but for the most part I find it to be a very enjoyable read. I go back to it every summer, it never gets old.

 

One criticism I've seen of Tina's book that I find interesting (though I don't agree with it) is that her personal life is just too boring. I think some people were expecting the typical comedian fare of rough times with cocaine and sleeping with everybody in the theater troupe, and that's just not who Tina is or was. She even admitted in LFNY that she would have fit the Jane Curtin model in the original cast. Tina's just kind of a giant dork with a smart mouth from suburban Pennsylvania, but I think people wished she was more than that.

 

I got Amy's book for Christmas, and I enjoyed it as well. I liked how it was formatted, it was very different and kept things interesting. I must have read the part about when she gave birth to Archie five times, that is an awesome story. As a whole, I didn't think it was as funny as Tina's, but I don't think Amy wanted it to be funny from start to finish. It was more like a funny woman writing a book than a woman writing a funny book, if that makes any sense.

 

Sarah Silverman's book is a good read if you're into Sarah Silverman. If you don't like her, you won't like her book. I thought it was great that she didn't shy away from her battle with what appeared to be severe depression as a teenager. I think she had one chapter about SNL, and the takeaway from it for me seemed to be that she was a lost little kid in this very adult world and no one really bothered to show her how it all worked. She did have a very quick, cute mention of a moment with Phil Hartman that I found very sweet.

 

LFNY was long and, admittedly, dull at parts (I guess when they talked about casts/eras that I had no interest in) but overall I found it to be fascinating and I feel like I have a better understanding of how the show works because of it. My one issue was that the Lorne praise got very old, very fast, and then it got weird. Look, I get it. He's done an incredible amount for a lot of people individually and for the entertainment industry and American pop culture as a whole. I understand that completely. But eventually, a lot of the quotes about him started to sound the same, and it got me wondering if a requirement to be hired at SNL is that you need to have severe emotional issues where your father is concerned. So many people compared trying to please Lorne to trying to please their father and something about it just rubbed me the wrong way. Maybe it's because my relationship with my dad is rock solid, but I think I'd throw myself out of the writers' room window after a week of working in that kind of environment. Therapy, people. It's a thing and it works.

[ParadoxLost]

The War for Late Night by Bill Carter actually gives quite a bit of insight into Lorne Michaels while detailing out the events between Conan and Leno during that whole debacle with the Tonight Show.

 

In the book, Lorne describes the reaction of the network when he quit after the first five years of SNL and you get the impression that this essentially formed his approach to dealing with network executives.  The book also revealed, in my opinion, that Dick Ebersol is a tick upon the butt of humanity.

Edited February 20, 2015 by ParadoxLost

[VCRTracking]

I looked through Darrell Hammond's book. God his childhood was so sad.

[Spartan Girl]

I'm also a huge fan of Judy Belushi Pisano's memoir Samurai Widow.  It's mostly about everything that happened after John died, but it still mentioned some great stuff about SNL, in addition to showing his gentler side.  Belushi A Biography does the exact same thing, and it was nice to see that there was more to this guy than the way he died.

 

On that note, nobody should read Wired.  It's a piece of trash that isn't even well-written.

[WendyCR72]

Oh, Wired was absolutely TRASHED in the Live From New York book. Jim Belushi - and I forget the other person - savaged it. Jim Belushi even came out and called the author a "cocksucker" right in print. He held nothing back. Sure, it's Belushi's own brother, but like I said, someone else ravaged it, too. Pretty sure it was Dan Aykroyd. And considering how well they knew John, I can see why they were so pissed off.

[opus]

A book by an SNL censor:

http://www.amazon.com/Saturday-Night-Live-Opportunity-Uncensored/dp/0759600988

[HelenBaby]

Wired was written by Bob Woodward.

[vb68]

 

Wired was written by Bob Woodward.

 

That has always seemed so weird to me given the disconnect between the way that book was received and his pristine reputation as one of the best journalists of our time.  

 

I loved Tina's book.  It was just hilarious and so well written.  I thought it was everything you could ever want it to be.  And I thought there was more than enough behind the scenes stuff about SNL like the meeting where Amy got mouthy at Jimmy Fallon, and the anecdote about when she met Higgins.

 

I have Jay Mohr's book, Gasping For Airtime, on my kindle but have yet to read it.  It is suppose to be an honest account of his time at the show, including his own failings, as well as a lot of dirt.

Edited February 21, 2015 by vb68

[Spartan Girl]

That has always seemed so weird to me given the disconnect between the way that book was received and his pristine reputation as one of the best journalists of our time.

 

 

Evidently he's not *that* pristine.  There have been a lot of complaints about the way he's allegedly taken quotes out of context to suit the story's purposes.  Case in point: even the good stories about John Belushi were twisted around to sound negative.

 

But Woodward lost credibility with me the day he sold the movie rights to Wired which led those hacks to make that godawful piece of shit movie.

Edited February 23, 2015 by Spartan Girl

[scowl]

The original behind-the-scenes book was A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live. This was published right after it was announced that Lorne had agreed to come back to SNL. It contains a large amount of pre-SNL history including descriptions of auditions by talent Lorne passed on like Billy Crystal, Bill Murray and Meatloaf. The short history of the Jean Doumanian months is as detailed and painful as any I have read. I vaguely remember something about her sending original art director Akira Yoshimura (Sulu in the classic Star Trek sketch) out to find a black refrigerator for her office before the season had even begun. If you're only interested in the early years, this is the best book if you can find it.

 

The only complaint I have is that the authors seemed to be gleaning questionable information by watching the episodes instead of interviewing people.

 

[Bees]

I read You May Remember Me which as about Phil Hartman which was pretty good. Extremely informative to a point where I did feel like I had to skip a few chapters earlier on. A lot of interesting stuff though. 

 

I'm hoping to read Martin Short's book sometime soon. I heard it's pretty good. 

[Spartan Girl]

Martin Short's book IS really good.  Very sad about losing his wife though.  Poor guy...

 

I did read the Phil Hartman biography, and geez, it sounds like his marriage was messed up from the getgo. 

[Princess Sparkle]

It's not a biography per se, but I treated myself to Saturday Night Live: The Book, which is basically a large coffee table book with behind the scenes photos from the last 40 years.  There's sections for each area of the show (pre-tapes, WU, live, etc) and then a break down of photos from each day of the week when there's a show - the writers room, rehearsals, etc.  There's also an interview with Lorne, but I haven't gotten to that part yet.  The photos are lovely, and ones that I haven't seen before.

 

I also really enjoyed Rachel Dratch's memoir.  There's a decent chunk on SNL, and then a good bit about her post-SNL career, including some heart-breakingly funny parts about getting replaced on 30 Rock.  

 

Sarah Silverman's was also pretty great too - I didn't really feel one way or the other about her before reading it, and came out of it really liking her.  It's more honest than her standup usually is, and there's some real insight in there.  

[lovinbob]

I actually was not impressed by Tina's at all. It just felt like it was missing something. On the other hand, Amy's was so much fun. I always like to hear the real dirt, but Amy just seems like everyone loves her and she loves everyone, so, no dirt. The story about the weekend she gave birth is very funny.

funny. My reaction was the opposite. I "read" the audio versions of each. For me Tina's was so well written and delivered. Amy started out a little whiny, about how hard it was to write the book, and I'm not sure I recovered from there. Also, I found the other voices (Kathleen Turner) a little gimmicky. I wonder if I'd have enjoyed it more if I'd actually read it.

With Tina, I felt there was so much wisdom in it, about life and work. And yeah, it was funny.

[Spartan Girl]

So I'm reading David Spades's memoir Almost Interesting, and it has lots of good SNL stories. We learn the origins of the Gap Girls, Total Bastard Airlines, and the snotty receptionist. Turns out Spade got the idea after an unpleasant encounter with Patrick Swayze's publicist back when he hosted the show.

We also get the full story about the infamous Eddie Murphy joke on Hollywood Minute. Apparently Eddie Murphy actually called Spade at the NBC studio and ripped him a new one, saying that he was "off-limits". Wow. I mean, I understand him being upset, but seriously? It doesn't really justify him holding such a grudge against SNL that he never hosted again, and only appearing on the 40th anniversary skit after that long-winded tribute.

Anyway, it's still a pretty good book. Lots of funny stories about Chris Farley.

[Oldtimesnlfan]

Wow. This an interesting thread although it doesn’t look active, any interest in jumpstarting it? I’ll check back.