That's not funny, that's sick : the National lampoon and the comedy insurgents who captured the mainstream / Ellin Stein.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Stein, Ellin.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

National lampoon--History.

National lampoon.

American wit and humor--Periodicals--History.

American wit and humor.

American wit and humor--Periodicals.

History.

Genre:

Periodicals.

Physical Description:

viii, 448 pages ; 25 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Other Title:

That is not funny, that is sick

National lampoon and the comedy insurgents who caputured the mainstream

Place of Publication:

New York ; London : W.W. Norton & Company, [2013]

Summary:

Labor Day, 1969. Two recent Harvard graduates move to New York to edit a new magazine called the National Lampoon. Brilliant humorists Henry Beard and Doug Kenney presided over a team that within a decade transformed American culture and conquered the mainstream with a brand of subversive humor that provoked, offended, and often illuminated. With unparalleled access to the architects and impresarios of this boom, journalist Ellin Stein takes us behind the jokes to witness the fighting, partying, collaboration, and competition of those who led a rebellion of the self-consciously disenchanted. At its zenith the brand birthed the anarchic earthiness of John Belushi, the suave slapstick of Chevy Chase, and the deadpan wit of Bill Murray. Set against the roiling political and cultural landscape of the 1970s, That's Not Funny, That's Sick brims with insiders' stories while offering crucial insight into a raucous transformation in comedy that still echoes today.

Contents:

1 Lampy's Castle 1

2 Revenge of the Liberal Arts Majors 18

3 There but for Advertisers ... 37

4 Big and Glossy and Wonderful 54

5 Twenty-Four Hours a Day 72

6 The Breaking of the Table 90

7 OK, Now Jump 107

8 A Disgusting Impulse to Perform 121

9 Meanwhile, Back at the Radio Ranch... 135

10 Real Balls 152

11 Girlz 165

12 Alienation Inc. 181

13 The Audience Is Snarling 197

14 Channeling 210

15 Hey, Looka Me! 227

16 Over Their Heads 245

17 The Ceiling Opens 256

18 The Forest Is Leveled 274

19 The Rocket Falls Out 286

20 Visiting the Harem with Silks 295

21 Charlie Manson Goes to High School 312

22 Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Dildo, Please 327

23 Remodeling 342

24 Spinning Off 361

25 A Memo from God 378.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780393074093

0393074099

OCLC:

759908839