Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live

Not all comments are complimentary, and not all that went on behind the scenes was funny. But it all makes for a fascinating read, despite the fact that a few notable surviving cast members chose not to participate in these oral interviews. "Live From New York" is as much a evolutionary history of the business of television over the past three decades as it is an oral history of the show itself. Perhaps SNL isn't as consistently cutting edge and counter-culture as it was in its earliest years. But nowadays the show IS the pop and showbiz culture it lampooned in the past. It cannot ever really return to its fabled glory days of 1975-1979 because the entire showbusiness landscape has changed so dramatically since then. One must credit Michaels for recognizing that and still plodding ahead with the show for most of the years since the days of The Not Ready For Prime Time Players.

Read this book to find the origins of many of the standard conventions and favorite moments of the show: why the band always dresses in tuxedos, the inspiration of Danny Aykroyd's buttcrack-exposing refrigerator repairman, the inhuman writing schedule, etc.

This is better than an "E! True Hollywood Story" any day.

There are too many episodes of outlandish behavior to describe here, but suffice it to say there are things that went on that should have killed most shows. There's lots of gossip, of course, and many of the cast members embarrass themselves while trashing others and many that are a heck of a lot sweeter than you would think (Jane Curtin comes to mind). There is blatant talk of alleged 'racism', 'anti-feminism' (one member refused to do skits written by women) and outrageous drug use during, before and after the shows. In fact, in the beginning, it seems the show needed that edge to survive, or to survive, needed that edge.

No matter. This voluminous collection of after-thoughts is entertaining, hilarious and sometimes sad. You can decide where the true talent was, who had the biggest heart or who was the biggest jerk. This book is full of them and I highly recommend it.

The material provides (albeit subjective) answers to questions such as these:

1. Which hosts were the most enjoyable to work with? Why?

2. Which were the most unpleasant? Why?

3. What was a normal week's work schedule? Who was involved in each stage of preparation for the next show?

4. Off-camera, what was it like to associate with John Belushi?

5. Of all the cast performers, why was Gilda Radner most loved?

6. How did Michaels deal with the NBC "suits" and especially with censors?

7. What were the biggest foul-ups prior to or during a show?

8. What do most of the cast and crew members agree are the show's greatest moments? Why?

9. What has been the best and worst aspects of being involved with SNL?

10. What is the consensus of opinion as to why SNL has continued for almost 30 years?

Of special interest to me are the professional as well as personal relationships between and among cast and crew members, including Michaels. More specifically, as I read this book, I was curious to know what impact those relationships had on the programs telecast each Saturday night. Radner, Belushi, and Phil Hartman were three of my personal favorites. Although they made no direct contributions to the reminiscences and observations assembled in this volume, all three are quoted extensively and recalled fondly by those who were closely associated with them.

Eddie Murphy offers a representative example of young people with immense but unrefined talent who are finally given the opportunity to perform. (During the 1980-81 season, one show ran short and needed several minutes of "filler" which he eagerly provided.) Almost immediately Murphy became the most popular member of the SNL cast and was featured prominently until 1984 when he began to concentrate on feature films. For reasons best revealed in this book, Murphy is probably the only SNL "star" who has since totally disassociated himself from the program.

Who will most enjoy reading this book? Those who have been regular viewers of SNL throughout much if not all of its remarkable history. I also highly recommend it to those who are especially interested in popular culture in the United States from 1975 until the end of the 20th century. I can think of no other television program which offers more and better insights into the culture of that period than does SNL. To their substantial credit, Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller allow the contributors to speak for themselves. Predictably and understandably, the value of what they have to say is determined almost entirely by each reader's degree of interest in those who have proclaimed, week after week, "Live from New York! It's Saturday Night!"

There are exceptions: talented people from the show who wouldn't have anything to do with the book, like Eddie Murphy (clearly the show's greatest cast member ever), Dennis Miller, Jim Breuer, or the immortal Denny Dillon. But otherwise, you'll find a great story on virtually every page. There's enough here to keep you occupied for a good long time: Chevy Chase living up to his reputation as a complete scumbag, a staff writer's "encounter" with Milton Berle, Chris Farley doing something very naughty out the window of 30 Rock, Joe Piscopo taking his Sinatra impression a little too far. It's all presented here in the rawest form possible, with attitudes about the show ranging from reverential (Chris Rock) to contemptuous (Jane Curtin, Janeane Garofalo). Stories seemingly repeat themselves with new casts, or they contradict other stories from different people. It's all wildly entertaining. Having the voice of Lorne Michaels as a consistent presence throughout the book helps keep it all cohesive, with his own love-hate relationships rightly taking over as the dominant theme. You'll have an opinion of your own on Michaels once you've finished.

There are some flaws here. The tone from the authors (one of whom, Shales, is a TV critic) is too reverential. Okay, SNL changed TV. We get it already. We quickly learn that fact is almost more atrributable to the show's indestructible format than a product of the show's humor. SNL, after all, is usually only sporadically funny. What the authors and subjects illustrate well is that when the show has moments that ARE funny, they become immortal in the world of comedy. And that is absolutely incredible. There is no other show like SNL, for better or for worse, this book says. It's right. No show lives off its own legend of both comedy and excess like SNL. If the show seems a little staid these days, it still has the ability to make you watch, if only in the hope that you'll see something that will become the stuff of legend. SNL is a show that lives off the hope of laughter, and every subject in Live from New York points that out either directly or indirectly. It's amazing to think that one show, with so many people involved, can have the same effect on everyone.

Now, if they could just stop putting Maya Rudolph in every sketch...

Until the rise of Comedy Central and hundreds of cable channels, it was the only place on TV for political satire, and one of the few places for live music.

"Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live" is a chronicle of the show's history, told by (most of) the people involved. I expected the book to be narrative, but it isn't: authors Tom Shales (TV critic for the Washington Post) and James Andrew Miller structured almost the entire book as a series of interview snippets about particular people, episodes, or events.

The section on John Belushi's death, for instance, includes comments from more than a dozen people, including Belushi's family, friends and writers and cast members from the show.

The approach is interesting when it lets you see multiple sides of a conflict or different perspectives on a cast member, as with the extensive quotes from Norm Macdonald, Lorne Michaels, and Don Ohlmeyer, who forced Macdonald's firing midway through the 1999-2000 season.

It can be quite entertaining, as well, as we hear Joe Piscopo explain that his Sinatra impression was really a tribute, then hear from the writers who couldn't believe all the things Piscopo resisted on the grounds that "Frank wouldn't do that," including "Frank wouldn't eat in the Carnegie Deli," "Frank wouldn't wait for Stevie Wonder, Stevie would have to wait for Frank," and "Frank wouldn't jump off a building." Finally, in frustration, the writers considered a sketch called "Frank wouldn't do that."

On the other hand, there are a lot of voices left out: Eddie Murphy apparently refused to participate, and of course former cast members John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Chris Farley and Phil Hartman and writer Michael O'Donoghue are now dead.

It's usually the job of the author to provide an objective and critical eye on their sources. Here, that's mostly missing. Depending on whose quote you believe, Lorne Michaels is either the devil, a raging egomaniac, an opportunist who took advantage of the tremendous talent on the show, a gifted comedy writer, a creative genius, or all of the above.

Still, you'll learn a lot about what happens in the manic week leading up to 11:30 Saturday nights here. What the heck does the host really do? How many sketches do they prepare in a given week?

And there's a lot of SNL trivia, as well. Who was the first to say the "f-word" on SNL (I was surprised to learn it wasn't Charles Rocket)? Who was the first (maybe still the only) musical guest to lip-synch on the show?

"Live From New York" also provides some interesting perspective on the show's history: When did the show shift to being a platform for recurring characters? What led to the "star turn" season with already established performers like Billy Crystal, Martin Short, and Harry Shearer?

Still, if you're looking for a history particularly of the show's first decade, I would instead recommend "Saturday Night: A Backstage History of 'Saturday Night Live' ", by Doug Hill and Jeff Weingrad. Published in 1986, it's now out of print, but it's a very entertaining read that tells the story as, well, a story.

If, on the other hand, you're curious about how the performers, writers, guests and executives behind the show look at it, "Live From New York" is the place to start.

I noticed that there's also a book out now by William G. Clotworthy called "Saturday Night Live: Equal Opportunity Offender". I recognized his name -- he was the NBC censor assigned to the show in its earlier years, and the book is his chronicle of the standards and practices battles with the show.

All the highs and lows are covered. Reflections on lost cast members are respectful and touching.

This is a great book.

Mr. Miller and Mr. Shales do a fantastic job of re-creating the history of this weekend institution. The stories and anecdotes come straight from the cast members, producers, writers, and everyone else involved with the show. The book goes in chronological order and begins as Lorne Michaels is on his quest to put together this show.

In reading this book, you will get the inside scoop on every major SNL event from its inception until now. Among the highlights, we get the dish on: the Bill Murray, Chevy Chase fight, the deaths of Jim Belushi, Chris Farley, and Phil Hartman. The romances, the drugs, the parties, the mistakes, the successes, the most loved hosts (Christopher Walken), the most hated hosts (Chevy Chase, Robert Blake), the rivalries between the writers, the competition to get sketches on the air and the rotating door of cast members.

This book is great light reading, and would be a great gift for that SNL fan in your family.

Still, this book is fully deserving of the perhaps too-often-ascribed label "page turner." You'll be able to put it down, of course, but you won't want to. You'll want to keep going, even if your head is swimming with factoids, innuendo, inside information, and some of the best tossed-off stories of famous people behaving badly. All the "dirt" aside, though, it's the more positive stuff I really relish about this book--the good stuff about Gilda, John, and the rest. There are some nice tributes here, and they really shine.

Of course, if you're a huge fan of Chevy Chase, you might avoid this book, because, as others have said, he gets torn apart pretty well here. To his credit, he admits that he's been a jerk in the past, but still, from year one to now, he's been reviled by most of the cast. For me, I'm still a fan of his work, but I don't think I want to be in a cast meeting with him. With all the stories, positive and negative, it comes down to who you're going to believe. For the most part, the editors let you decide, and haven't seemed to make a decision for you. And in the end, as I said, it won't matter. It's still a good, solid read.

It is not surprising how many of the people interviewed for the book, including all of the major creative and artistic SNL participants, claim credit for much of the show's success, while pawning off failures and disasters on others. The book is strongly focused on the early years, concentrating on Lorne Michaels and the original seven cast members, then moves more quickly through the 1980s and 1990s. The authors provide little of their own commentary, preferring to let those interviewed tell the story from their perspective.

A little criticism: The pictures were great; a few more (esp. of the writers) would have been even better.

A medium criticism: No treatment of the infamous "Fire Don Pardo On The Air" scheme that didn't quite happen.

A larger criticism: The "bumper" paragraphs by the authors are horrible. Little information, lots of unsupported editorializing. The books stands much better alone than with these entries.

A big-time criticism: Did the editor take a nap when it was time to chop away at the last 150 pages? Holy moly that content could easily have been halved without losing any substance at all, especially the last chapter.

I just watched a re-run of SNL; it was even more fun after reading this book.

The stories are told primarily by those involved, in their own words, verbatim, including cast members, writers, hosts and producers. Some surprising tidbits include an almost universal dislike of Chevy Chase, Nora Dunn's harsh treatment of co-stars, and Eddie Murphy's grudge against the show (he is the only cast member who would not appear on the 25th anniversary special and is not interviewed in the book).

The book reads like an interview. There is almost no narrative from the authors. It's like reading a filmed documentary where the camera switches back and forth between the interviewees. This format fails only rarely, and the comments are usually placed somewhat in chronological order, and occasionally are lined up together, highlighting common viewpoints between participants where they exist.

Most of the memorable, gossipy events are covered, such as Nora Dunn's exile from the show when Andrew Dice Clay appeared, Jean Doumanian's brief stint as producer that almost got the show cancelled, Norm Macdonald's ousting as Update anchor, Sinead's unanticipated Pope-bashing, etc., etc., etc.

A fascinating read that will make you look at the show in a different light once you finish it. May also make you feel a bit misty-eyed, as you link SNL memories with memories of where you were and who you were as you witnessed them live.

Weak points: This book needed a lot of editing. It's as if raw tapes were transcribed; the comments and views could have been tightened up substantially without losing any of the flavor. Every once in a while, the authors (Shales and Miller) provide a bit of commentary, but it's not enough...kind of like a Christmas fruit cake with too many jellied fruits and not enough dough.

Another weak point--probably not Shales' and Miller's fault, but due to the way the book was created--is that you're given the sense that what appeared on the air was generally "the best of the best"...that the process of winnowing down all the material left most of the gems on-air (as well as many that regrettably didn't make it). I was mostly a fan of the earlier years but, after reading the book, I watched many of the shows on satellite (Comedy Channel). A lot of the shows and a lot of the bits were pretty weak. My point: There's a real disconnect between what many of the writers and performers recall and what the tape actually reveals.

This book is probably the best account you will ever get of what its like to work in this sort of high paced enviroment. It is always intersting to see the collaboration, frustration, and artistic struggle of all the writers, performers, guest hosts, producers, and even agents that are all representing in this thick compilation.

This book does also include many personal stories that reveal more of the human side to this fraternity of SNL alum...and beyond the protected PR world. Petty cast squabbles, working for a man like Lorne, and sadly the loss of Belushi, Gilda, Hartman, Farley, and others.

Its an easy read, easy to pick up and flip around in any order. You will likely find yourself reading this book for hours at a time (yes, it is a thick chunk of pages!) and soon Cross-referencing people and stories (in a VERY detailed and useful index!) Take all the fluff stuff you saw on E!'s true Hollywood Stories and People....and look up the real deal here in this book. There will be "his side and her side" and therefore somewhere the truth.
If you like SNL, get the 20th anniversary book...if you love SNL, this book will test that love. You will either feel at home, run screaming, or just have mixed emotions for us entertainment business types.

Shales and Miller have interviewed practically everyone who ever had anything to do with the show, from creator Lorne Michaels to the stars to the guest hosts, writers and musical guests. We see the hatching of particularly well-known skits like the Czech "wild and crazy" brothers played by Steve Martin and Dan Aykroyd, Gilda Radner and Bill Murray's loopy "nerds" couple, Belushi's Marlon Brando impression, right on up through Eddie Murphy's linguistically-challenged Buckwheat, Joe Piscopo's self-satisfied Frank Sinatra, Molly Shannon's nervy Mary Katherine Gallagher, and Julia Sweeney's beloved hermaphroditic "Pat."

They're all here and then some, and while that's a lot of fun, what is almost better are the behind-the-scenes goings-on. The account of the writers dying with laughter while they write Buckwheat's rendition of Lionel Richie's "Three Times a Lady" is alone going to make most readers happy ("Unz, tice, fee times a nady" went the immortal lyrics). Writer and performer Al Franken's account of his daughter's baby shower (where he showed up with a doll, proceeded to smash the doll on the coffee table, and scared to death every guest who thought the doll was, in fact, the sleeping baby) is priceless.

There are sadnesses, too, harkening back to the old adage about people in pain producing the best comedy. We see in-depth the problems of John Belushi and Chris Farley, and get chills reading about the untimely demise (at his wife's hand) of the brilliant Phil Hartman. We squirm at the unhappy tenures of both Harry Shearer and Janeane Garofalo, both of whom were a bad fit with SNL's culture (Garofalo seems still puzzled and unhappy with her experience, while Shearer has a light touch--when relating that he left for "creative differences," he says, "Yeah, I was creative and they were different").

The only problem with the book--and it is rather a big one--is that Eddie Murphy refused to be interviewed for its pages. That this colossal talent's voice is missing from the book means we get only everyone else's perspective on him. It's instructive, but it would have made the book utterly complete had we had Murphy's own recollections of his 1980s stint on the show. Still, this is a wonderfully written (and judiciously edited) book.

NEVERTHELESS... with "Live From New York," Tom Shales & J.A. Miller have carved up a fun, fascinating read. You can open the pages to any point and find some interesting bit of gossip or history. When it hits trade paperback it will be a required addition to any pop culture fan's bathroom bookshelf.

My main quibble with the authors is that the talented production design staff who created so much of the "look" of "Saturday Night Live," such as veteran Akira Yoshimura, were not interviewed. Why not? Are the authors planning a second book on this subject? Perhaps they should consider it.

Particularly when detailing the show's creation through its first five years, the reader really gets a true sense of what the day to day process was of working on the show - from the immense amounts of cocaine used by all but a few to get through the all-night writing sessions, to the pre-AIDS era bed-hopping that was done between cast and crew members. The book provides more detail on some well known stories (most people know that John Belushi had a drug problem, but until reading this book I didn't understand the true depths of his addiction) as well as providing many surprises (I would have never pegged Harry Shearer as someone who was so universally despised during his time on the show nor did I realize how catty Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks were towards Victoria Jackson).

One of the fun aspects of reading "Live From New York" is hearing differing perspectives on the same story. For example, first you'll hear Janeane Garofalo discuss what a horrible working environment "SNL" was during her brief time on the show, followed by one of the show's writers explaining that Garofalo was something of an insecure nutjob who created her own bad experience. Likewise, you'll hear former producer Jean Doumanian described as "Ayatollah Doumanian" by those who worked for her during her tenure as executive producer, followed by Doumanian herself describe how she was set up to fail. Some people might get frustrated by the lack of an objective "truth" presented in some of these stories, but this seemed to me to be more true to real life, where often the "reality" of a situation is dependent on your own perspective. Also very interesting was reading about the perceived weaknesses in the current "SNL" program in the opinion of some of the writers, including an overreliance on sketches involving recurring characters, too many "surprise" appearances by celebrities who are being parodied (as in the real Robert DeNiro "surprising" a cast member who is doing a parody of Robert DeNiro), and a lack of political bite that once defined the show.

If I have anything negative to say about the book, it is only that the early sections, regarding the first few years of the show, spoil the reader in terms of the immense detail presented there that is missing in the sections dealing with the program's later years. In discussing the first few years of the show, the authors give great detail on how virtually every cast member came to be hired, what their history was before the show, how they got along with fellow cast and crew members, and whether or not the indulged in many of the bad habits that went on during the show. As the book gets to more recent casts, often the book would just mention that so and so and so and so joined the show, without much detail of how that came to be, instead choosing to focus on major controversies in the shows recent history, such as Nora Dunn walking off the show in protest of Andrew Dice Clay being invited to guest host, Sinead O'Connor tearing up a picture of the Pope on air, the deaths of Phil Hartman and Chris Farley, and NBC West Coast President Don Ohlmeyer's single-minded obsession with getting Norm McDonald fired from his "Weekend Update duties. If not for a sentence or two, you could go through the whole book without realizing that Dennis Miller was ever on the show. This is one of those rare books where, even at nearly 600 pages, the book seems too short. I would have gladly read several hundred more if it meant that all periods of the show were given the same depth.

This book, compiled by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller, is a very good retrospective of the series, and how (and WHY) it came to be. I originally expected the book to just be straightforward and biographical, if you will, but the whole thing is actually told through the testimonies of workers on the show, cast members, NBC executives, writers, and even guest hosts.

There were a few surprises I found, though. One is that Chevy Chase appears to be a very arrogant person, because whenever he came back to host, to say that he insulted the cast would be an understatement (he was eventually banned from hosting ever again after 1996). As for Dick Ebersol, who replaced Lorne Michaels as executive producer from 1981 to 1985...well, a lot of people in the book say that his name seems to fit his personality. And it was also interesting that the book never mentioned anything about Martin Lawrence's risqué monologue when he hosted back in '94.

It was also revealed things like the TRUE reason why Ben Stiller pulled out of hosting the second episode of the 2001-02 season (it ended up being hosted by Seann William Scott, who was originally supposed to host the following episode), hosts from Hell like Steven Seagal (maybe that's why NBC doesn't air that episode any more) and Frank Zappa, and behind-the-scenes problems with the seemingly tight cast from 1986 to 1990 (Dana, Nora, Phil, Jan, Victoria, Jon, Dennis, and Kevin). Also, I was surprised to find testimonies from people like Nora Dunn and Norm MacDonald because I didn't think cast members that were fired would want to talk about the show at all. But I WASN'T surprised to see no sign of Eddie Murphy (what's up with his ego, anyway?).

Anyway, this is a very good book. At close to 600 pages, it'll take you a few days to get through it, but if you're really into Saturday Night Live, you should like it.

Anthony Rupert

P.S. One more thing I'd like to mention is that there are pictures in the middle of the book from various years, and one picture is taken from the 1998-99 season, and it shows a "Celebrity Jeopardy!" sketch with the caption stating that Michael J. Fox is portraying Tom Cruise. It was Ben Stiller, not Michael J. Fox.

Written as a long set of interjecting interview with various writers, producers, cast members, and hosts from over the years on SNL, this book lets a lot of people give there perspective on different incidets and episodes. These views are often contradictory based on who is telling the story, and in the early years, usually blured by use of drugs and alcolhol.

There are exceptions: talented people from the show who wouldn't have anything to do with the book, like Eddie Murphy (clearly the show's greatest cast member ever), Dennis Miller, Jim Breuer, or the immortal Denny Dillon. But otherwise, you'll find a great story on virtually every page. There's enough here to keep you occupied for a good long time: Chevy Chase living up to his reputation as a complete scumbag, a staff writer's "encounter" with Milton Berle, Chris Farley doing something very naughty out the window of 30 Rock, Joe Piscopo taking his Sinatra impression a little too far. It's all presented here in the rawest form possible, with attitudes about the show ranging from reverential (Chris Rock) to contemptuous (Jane Curtin, Janeane Garofalo). Stories seemingly repeat themselves with new casts, or they contradict other stories from different people. It's all wildly entertaining. Having the voice of Lorne Michaels as a consistent presence throughout the book helps keep it all cohesive, with his own love-hate relationships rightly taking over as the dominant theme. You'll have an opinion of your own on Michaels once you've finished.

There are some flaws here. The tone from the authors (one of whom, Shales, is a TV critic) is too reverential. Okay, SNL changed TV. We get it already. We quickly learn that fact is almost more attributable to the show's indestructible format than a product of the show's humor. SNL, after all, is usually only sporadically funny. What the authors and subjects illustrate well is that when the show has moments that ARE funny, they become immortal in the world of comedy. And that is absolutely incredible. There is no other show like SNL, for better or for worse, this book says. It's right. No show lives off its own legend of both comedy and excess like SNL. If the show seems a little staid these days, it still has the ability to make you watch, if only in the hope that you'll see something that will become the stuff of legend. SNL is a show that lives off the hope of laughter, and every subject in Live from New York points that out either directly or indirectly. It's amazing to think that one show, with so many people involved, can have the same effect on everyone.

Now, if they could just stop putting Maya Rudolph in every sketch...

I also love how cast members and writers all just aired their dirty laundry. All of the feuds and petty arguments came through! What can I say, I'm sycophantic for the original cast, and several of the later casts. If you are a fan of SNL, any cast, this book is for you!

I really enjoyed "Live From New York." What a brilliant topic for a thorough book. I have sometimes loved Saturday Night Live and other times loathed it. SNL has given the world some great stars and some of forgettable ones.

In compiling this book, Shales and Miller did endless leg work and then stepped out of the picture. They wrote introductions for the various sections of the book but left the text to meander as the body of the book is really little more than a list of quotes from the people who were there.

Shales and Miller reached almost everybody of any stature in the history Saturday Night Live--writers, comedians, producers. (Eddie Murphy was notably abscent.)

My gripe is that Miller and Shales are fine writers with expert views, I wanted to hear more of what they thought. I wanted to hear a little of their voice, and I wanted them to help me pick up on some of the nuances.

I wanted to know whom they trusted and whom they dismissed. When Bill Murray and Chevy Chase got into a shoving match--was Murray reacting to Chase's arrogance or had John Belushi put Murray up to attack? What do Shales and Miller think after interviewing both men? You won't get it from this book?

That said, reading quote after quote by everybody who is still alive (Gilda Radner, Chris Farley, John Belushi, and many other key people have passed away) becomes somewhat hypnotic, and you really do hear their voices in their quotes.