Live From New York

An amazingly detailed history of SNL from its beginnings to 2014. The book takes the form (mostly) of quotes taken from interviews with cast members (past and present), producers, writers, hosts, and directors. It's like they're all in one big room having a conversation. There are disagreements over exactly what happened, of course, and the some people still hold grudges after all these years (Janeane Garofalo, for example). However, for the most part, they have fond memories, even of the bad things.

The early parts of "Live from New York" (1970s to 1980s) are definitely worth the price of the book. For me, those years represent SNL in all its glory. I especially loved the dark, mischievous writer, Michael O'Donoghue. Whenever I think of SNL, I think of original Not Ready for Primetime Players - Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtin, Garrett Morris, Bill Murray, Laraine Newman, and Gilda Radner. They were wonderfully rebellious, funny, and subversive. Everyone else has been riding their coattails.

A couple of funny quotes from the early years:

Judith Belushi (John's wife):

"In John’s first interview with Lorne, one of the first things he said was, “My television has spit all over it.” That’s how he felt about television. He was asked to do a few television things. He was offered a guest shot on Mary Tyler Moore, which everyone thought could easily turn into a character role. And it was kind of a big deal to say no. He even liked Mary Tyler Moore. But he needed to be political and outrageous." (Can anyone see John Belushi on the "Mary Tyler Moore Show"? Because I can't.)

Howard Shore:

"We were really kind of subversive in a number of ways. O’Donoghue and I were always trying to book acts on the show and then do things to them. They were so happy to be on the show, they didn’t really notice. I remember when Robert Klein hosted, O’Donoghue put ABBA on a Titanic set and tried to drown them. He thought ABBA was kitsch." (BTW - I like ABBA, but I can't really blame them for this.)

Interestingly, there is no mention of the 1995 controversy over Jay Mohr's Irish Bartender sketch, which turned out to have been stolen word for word from another comedian, Rick Shapiro. Mohr is briefly mentioned on page 409 and then his name doesn't turn up again until the cast lists at the back. There are a couple more omissions like that (such as Jenny Slate's dropping of the f-word), but most of the controversial stories are included.

My problem with the book is that it starts to get rather dull in the mid-90s with the departure of Chris Farley and Phil Hartman. After that, the cast members are mostly just patting themselves on the back and talking about how wonderful they or their fellow performers were. They also go on and on about how they live healthy unlike the earlier performers, and things are so much better now, etc., etc., etc. There's a certain smug superiority that surfaces in several of the quotes.

The early years are covered in great detail, but the later years are not. The book sails through the 1990s and later, so I never really got a feel for any of the cast members or writers. The last chapter (before the cast lists) is basically a "kiss fest" for Lorne Michaels with everyone (with a few exceptions) talking about how wonderful he is.

Despite my issues with "Live from New York," I do recommend it to anyone who wants to know the history of SNL.