National Lampoon magazine reached its height of popularity and critical acclaim during the 1970s, when it had a far-reaching effect on American humor and comedy. The magazine spawned films, radio, live theater, various sound recordings, and print products including books. Many members of the publication's creative staff went on to contribute creatively to successful media of all types.
The magazine often featured parody and surrealist content. Its issues often had long and short written pieces, a section of actual news items (dubbed "True Facts"), cartoons, and comic strips. Most issues also included "Foto Funnies" or fumetti, which often featured nudity.[1] The magazine declined during the late 1980s and ceased publication in 1998.
Projects that use the "National Lampoon" (NL) brand name continued to be produced, but under its production company successor, National Lampoon, Inc.[2] The 50th anniversary of the magazine took place in 2020 and, to celebrate, the magazine was issued digitally for the first time by Solaris Entertainment Studio.[citation needed]
Overview
National Lampoon writers joyfully targeted every kind of phoniness, and had no specific political stance (even though individual staff members had strong political views). The magazine's humor often pushed far beyond the boundaries of what was generally considered appropriate and acceptable. It was especially anarchic, satirically attacking what was considered holy and sacred. As Teddy Wayne described it, "At its peak, the [National Lampoon] produced some of the bleakest and most controlled furious humor in American letters."[3]
Thomas Carney, writing in New Times, traced the history and style of the National Lampoon and the impact it had on comedy's new wave. "The National Lampoon", Carney wrote, "was the first full-blown appearance of non-Jewish humor in years—not anti-Semitic, just non-Jewish. Its roots were W.A.S.P. and Irish Catholic, with a weird strain of Canadian detachment.... This was not Jewish street-smart humor as a defense mechanism; this was slash-and-burn stuff that alternated in pitch but moved very much on the offensive. It was always disrespect everything, mostly yourself, a sort of reverse deism."[4]
P. J. O'Rourke, editor-in-chief of the magazine in 1978, went even further in his characterization of the magazine's humor:
What we do is oppressor comedy.... "Woody Allen says, 'I'm just a regular shmuck like you." Our kind of comedy says, "I'm O.K.; you’re an asshole." We are ruling class. We are the insiders who have chosen to stand in the doorway and criticize the organization. Our comic pose is superior. It says, "I’m better than you and I'm going to destroy you." It’s an offensive, very aggressive form of humor.[5]
As co-founder Henry Beard described the experience years later: "There was this big door that said, 'Thou shalt not.' We touched it, and it fell off its hinges."[6]
The magazine
Publication history
National Lampoon was started in 1969 by Harvard graduates and Harvard Lampoon alumni Douglas Kenney, Henry Beard, and Robert Hoffman,[7] when they first licensed the "Lampoon" name for a monthly national publication.[a] While still with The Harvard Lampoon, in the years 1966 to 1969, Kenney and Beard had published a number of one-shot parodies of Playboy, Life, and Time magazines;[8][9] they had also written the popular Tolkien parody book Bored of the Rings.[9]
The National Lampoon's first issue, dated April 1970, went on sale on March 19, 1970.[10] Kenney (editor) and Beard (executive editor) oversaw the magazine's content, while Hoffman (managing editor) handled legal and business negotiations.[8][9] After a shaky start, the magazine rapidly grew in popularity. Like The Harvard Lampoon, individual issues had themes, including such topics as "The Future", "Back to School", "Death", "Self-Indulgence", and "Blight". The sixth issue (September 1970), entitled "Show Biz", got the company in hot water with The Walt Disney Company after a lawsuit was threatened because of the issue's cover, which showed a drawing of Minnie Mouse topless, wearing pasties.[11]
The magazine's finest period was from 1971 to 1975 (the point at which Beard, Hoffman, and a number of the original creators departed).[12] The National Lampoon's most successful sales period was 1973–75:[b] Its national circulation peaked at 1,000,096[7] copies sold of the October 1974 "Pubescence" issue.[13] The 1974 monthly average was 830,000, which was also a peak.[c]
Although the glory days of National Lampoon ended in 1975, the magazine remained popular and profitable long after that point. As some of the original creators departed, the magazine saw the emergence of John Hughes and editor-in-chief P.J. O'Rourke, along with artists and writers such as Gerry Sussman, Ellis Weiner, Tony Hendra, Ted Mann, Peter Kleinman, Chris Cluess, Stu Kreisman, John Weidman, Jeff Greenfield, Bruce McCall, and Rick Meyerowitz.
National Lampoon continued to be produced on a monthly schedule throughout the 1970s and the early 1980s, and did well during that time.
A more serious decline set in around the mid-1980s: as described in a New York Times profile of the magazine from August 1984, "circulation of the magazine [had] fallen from a high of 638,000 to about 450,000. Publishing revenues were down to $9 million in 1983 from $12.5 million in 1981."[15]
In 1985, company CEO Matty Simmons took over as the magazine's editor-in-chief.[15] He fired the entire editorial staff, and appointed his two sons, Michael and Andy Simmons, as editors,[7] and Larry "Ratso" Sloman as executive editor. Peter Kleinman returned to the magazine as creative director and editor. That year, each monthly issue was devoted to a single topic, with the first being "A Misguided Tour of New York."[15] In November 1986, National Lampoon moved to a bimonthly schedule, publishing six issues a year instead of every month.
J2 Communications bought the magazine and its properties in 1990. In 1991, an attempt at monthly publication was made; nine issues were produced that year,[16] and cartoonist Drew Friedman come on board as comics editor, introducing the works of Daniel Clowes and Chris Ware to a wider audience.[17]
After this, J2 decided instead to focus on licensing the "National Lampoon" brand, exhibiting very little interest in the actual magazine, only publishing it sporadically and erratically. To retain the rights to the Lampoon name, J2 was contractually obligated to publish only one new issue of the magazine per year, so for the rest of the 1990s the number of issues per year declined precipitously. Only two issues were released in 1992.[18] This was followed by one issue in 1993,[19] five in 1994, and three in 1995. For the last three years of its existence, the magazine was published only once a year. The final issue was published in 1998.
In 2007, in association with Graphic Imaging Technology, Inc., National Lampoon, Inc. released a collection of the entire 246 issues of the magazine in PDF format. The cover of the DVD box featured a remake of the January 1973 "Death" issue, with the caption altered to read "If You Don't Buy This DVD-ROM, We'll Kill This Dog". The pages are viewable on both Windows (starting with Windows 2000) and Macintosh (starting with OSX) systems.
Cover art
The magazine's original art directors were cartoonist Peter Bramley and Bill Skurski, founders of New York's Cloud Studio, an alternative-culture outfit known at the time for its eclectic style. Bramley created the Lampoon's first cover and induced successful cartoonists Arnold Roth and Gahan Wilson to become regular contributors.
Beginning with the eighth issue, the art direction of the magazine was taken over by Michael C. Gross, who directed the look of the magazine until 1974. Gross achieved a unified, sophisticated, and integrated look for the magazine, which greatly enhanced its humorous appeal.[11] A number of the National Lampoon's most acerbic and humorous covers were designed or overseen by Gross, including:
The iconic Argentinian revolutionary Che Guevara being splattered with a cream pie (January 1972)[21]
A dog looking worriedly at the muzzle of a revolver pressed to its head, with what became a famous caption: "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog" (January 1973): The cover was conceived by writer Ed Bluestone.[22][d] Photographer Ronald G. Harris initially had a hard time making the dog's plight appear humorous instead of pathetic. The solution was to cock the revolver; the clicking sound caused the dog's eyes to shift into the position shown. This was the most famous Lampoon cover gag, and it was selected by ASME as the seventh-greatest magazine cover of the last 40 years.[22][23][24] This issue is among the most coveted and collectible of all the National Lampoon's issues.
A replica of the starving child from the cover of George Harrison's charity album The Concert for Bangladesh, rendered in chocolate and with a large bite taken out of its head (July 1974)[25]
Michael Gross and Doug Kenney chose a young designer from Esquire named Peter Kleinman to succeed the team of Gross and David Kaestle. During his Lampoon tenure, Kleinman was also the art director of Heavy Metal magazine, published by the same company. The best known of Kleinman's Lampoon covers were "Stevie Wonder with 3-D Glasses" painted by Sol Korby,[26] a photographed "Nose to The Grindstone" cover depicting a man's face being pressed against a spinning grinder wheel for the Work issue, the "JFK's First 6000 Days" issue featuring a portrait of an old John F. Kennedy, the "Fat Elvis" cover which appeared a year before Elvis Presley died, and many of the Mara McAfee covers done in a classic Norman Rockwell style. Kleinman designed the logos for Animal House and Heavy Metal. Kleinman left in 1979 to open an ad agency.
He was succeeded by Skip Johnson, the designer responsible for the Sunday Newspaper Parody and the "Arab Getting Punched in the Face" cover of the Revenge issue. Johnson went on to The New York Times. He was followed by Michael Grossman, who changed the logo and style of the magazine.
In 1984, Kleinman returned as creative director and went back to the 1970s logo and style, bringing back many of the artists and writers from the magazine's heyday. He left four years later to pursue a career in corporate marketing. At that time, the National Lampoon magazine entered a period of precipitous decline.[citation needed]
Staff and contributors
The magazine was an outlet for some notable writing and drawing talents. Rick Meyerowitz, a longtime contributor, broke down the magazine's talent in this fashion:[27]
Every regular monthly issue of the magazine had an editorial at the front of the magazine. This often appeared to be straightforward but was always a parody. It was written by whoever was the editor of that particular issue, since that role rotated among the staff; Douglas Kenney had been the main writer of them for the first few issues. Some issues were guest-edited.
True Facts
"True Facts" was a section near the front of the magazine that contained true but ridiculous items from real life. Together with the masthead, it was one of the few parts of the magazine that was factual. As was explained in the introduction to the "True Facts" 1981 newsstand special, the "True Facts" column was started in 1972 by Henry Beard, and it was based on a feature called "True Stories" in the British publication Private Eye. It was essentially a column of funny news briefs.
P. J. O'Rourke created the first "True Facts Section" in August 1977. This section included photographs of unintentionally funny signage, extracts from ludicrous newspaper reports, strange headlines, and so on.
In 1981 and for many subsequent years John Bendel was in charge of the "True Facts" section of the magazine. Bendel produced the 1981 newsstand special mentioned above. Several "True Facts" compilation books were published during the 1980s and early 90s, and several all-True-Facts issues of the magazine were published during the 1980s.
In the early 2000s, Steven Brykman edited the "True Facts" section of the National Lampoon website.
Foto Funnies
Most issues of the magazine featured one or more "Foto Funny" or fumetti, comic strips that use photographs instead of drawings as illustrations. The characters who appeared in the Lampoon's Foto Funnies were usually the male writers, editors, artists, photographers, or contributing editors of the magazine, often cast alongside nude or semi-nude female models. In 1980, a paperback compilation book, National Lampoon Foto Funnies which appeared as a part of National Lampoon Comics, was published.
Funny Pages
The "Funny Pages" was a large section at the back of the magazine that was composed entirely of comic strips of various kinds. These included work from a number of artists who also had pieces published in the main part of the magazine, including Gahan Wilson, Ed Subitzky and Vaughn Bodē, as well as artists whose work was only published in this section. The regular strips included "Dirty Duck" by Bobby London, "Trots and Bonnie" by Shary Flenniken, "The Appletons" and "Timberland Tales" by B. K. Taylor, "Politeness Man" by Ron Barrett, and many other strips. A compilation of Gahan Wilson's "Nuts" strip was published in 2011. The "Funny Pages" logo header art, which was positioned above Gahan Wilson's "Nuts" in each issue, and showed a comfortable, old-fashioned family reading newspaper-sized funny papers, was drawn by Michael Kaluta.
The magazine was considered by many to be at its creative zenith in the period 1973–1975.[7] During this period, the magazine regularly published "special editions" which were sold simultaneously on newsstands. Some of the special editions were "best-of" omnibus collections; others were entirely original. Additional projects included a calendar, a songbook, a collection of transfer designs for T-shirts, and a number of books. From time to time, the magazine advertised Lampoon-related merchandise for sale, including specially-designed T-shirts. The magazine sold yellow binders with the Lampoon logo, designed to store a year's worth of issues.
In 1975, the three founders Kenney, Beard, and Hoffman left the magazine,[7] taking advantage of a buyout clause in their contracts for a shared total of $7.5 million[28] (although Kenney remained on the magazine's masthead as a senior editor until about 1976).
At about the same time, writers Michael O'Donoghue and Anne Beatts left NL to join Saturday Night Live, as did Chase, Belushi, and Radner, who left the troupe to join the original septet of SNL's Not Ready For Prime Time Players.[3][e] Bill Murray replaced Chase when Chase left SNL after the first season, and Brian Doyle Murray later appeared as an SNL regular.[30]
Harold Ramis went on to star in the Canadian sketch show SCTV and assumed the role as its head writer, then left after season 1 to be a prolific director, writer, and actor, working on such films as Animal House, Caddyshack, Ghostbusters, Groundhog Day and many more. Brian Doyle Murray has had roles in dozens of films, and Belzer was an Emmy Award-winning TV actor.
After a European trip in 1975 by Tony Hendra expressing interest in European comics, NL's New York offices attracted significant European comics material. In September 1976 editor Sean Kelly singled out the relatively new French anthology Métal hurlant ( lit.'Howling Metal', though Kelly translated it as "Screaming Metal")[31] and brought it to the attention of Twenty First Century Communications, Inc. president Leonard Mogel, who was departing for Germany and France to jump-start the French edition of National Lampoon.[32] Upon Mogel's return from Paris, he reported that the French publishers had agreed to an English-language version.[33]
Heavy Metal debuted in the US with an April 1977 issue, as a glossy, full-color monthly published by HM Communications, Inc., a subsidiary of Twenty First Century Communications, Inc.[34] The cover of the initial issue declared itself to be "From the people who bring you the National Lampoon", and the issue primarily featured reprints from Métal hurlant, as well as material from National Lampoon.[35] Since the color pages from Métal hurlant had already been shot in France, the budget to reproduce them in the US version was greatly reduced.[citation needed]
Animal House and shift of focus
In 1978, after the huge success of National Lampoon's Animal House, the company shifted focus from the magazine to NL-produced films. According to Tony Hendra, "...Matty Simmons decided this particular goose could lay larger, better quality gold eggs if it emulated what he saw as Animal House, by which he meant adolescent.... The significance of the choice that was made in 1978 cannot be underestimated."[7] In late 1979, now only publishing National Lampoon and Heavy Metal, Twenty First Century Communications, Inc. was renamed National Lampoon, Inc.[36]
National Lampoon, Inc. made itself available for sale in late 1986. Upstart video distributor Vestron Inc. attempted a takeover bid in December of that year, but board members rejected the offer.[37] A short time later, the company board "agreed to be acquired by a Los Angeles-based group of private investors in a deal valued at more than $12 million."[38] The group, calling itself "N.L. Acquisitions Inc." offered a bid of $7.25 per share (the company stock at that point trading at $6.125 a share).[38] A few days later, "Giggle Acquisition Partnership No. 1," whose members included actor Bruce Willis, "hinted ... that it might make a hostile bid" for the company.[39] Ultimately, nothing came of these bids, and Simmons remained in control of the board.
In 1988–1989, the company was the subject of a hostile takeover. On December 29, 1988, film producer Daniel Grodnik and actor Tim Matheson (who played "Otter" in the magazine's first big hit, the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House) filed with the SEC that their production company, Grodnick/Matheson Co., had acquired voting control of 21.3 percent of National Lampoon Inc. stock and wanted to gain management control.[40] They were named to the company's board in January 1989, and eventually took control of the company by purchasing the ten-percent share of Simmons, who departed the company.[41][42]
Grodnik and Matheson became the co-chairmen/co-CEOs. During their tenure, the stock went up from under $2 to $6, and the magazine was able to double its monthly ad pages. The company moved its headquarters from New York to Los Angeles to focus on film and television. The publishing operation stayed in New York.[citation needed]
J2 Communications era
In 1990, Grodnik and Matheson sold the company (and more importantly, the rights to the brand name "National Lampoon") to J2 Communications (a company previously known for marketing Tim Conway's Dorf videos), headed by James P. Jimirro.[43][44][45] According to Jimirro, at that point, National Lampoon was "a moribund company that had been losing money since the early 1980s."[46] The property was considered valuable only as a brand name that could be licensed out to other companies.[2] The magazine itself was issued erratically and rarely from 1991 onwards; its final print publication was November 1998. (Meanwhile, in May 1992, J2 Communications sold Heavy Metal to cartoonist and publisher Kevin Eastman.)[47]
In 1998, the magazine contract was renegotiated and, in a sharp reversal, J2 Communications was then prohibited from publishing future issues.[2] J2, however, still owned the rights to the brand name, which it continued to franchise out to other users.[2]
In 2002, the use of the Lampoon brand name and the rights to republish old material were sold[49] to a group of investors headed by Dan Laikin and Paul Skjodt. They formed a new, and otherwise unrelated, company called National Lampoon, Inc. Jimirro stayed on as CEO, serving until 2005.[2]
Laikin aimed to revive the brand's heyday spirit, engaging original contributors like Matty Simmons and Chris Miller. The company expanded, acquiring Burly Bear Network and initiating original programming. However, financial losses persisted, reaching millions annually. Amid chaotic office scenes, Laikin's inclusive hiring fostered camaraderie but struggled to attract top talent. Despite efforts to stabilize and relocate to Hollywood, financial woes persisted. Laikin stepped down in 2008, replaced by investor Tim Durham, who faced scrutiny for lavish spending and questionable tactics. Scandals plagued leadership, including Laikin's stock manipulation scheme and Durham's Ponzi scheme involvement. Legal battles ensued, culminating in first Laikin and then Durham's imprisonment.[2]
In 2012, Alan Donnes took over and revitalized the company, distancing it from controversies.[2]
PalmStar Media
PalmStar Media acquired National Lampoon in 2017. In 2020, National Lampoon sued its then-president, Evan Shapiro, for fraud, alleging in New York federal court that he owed more than $3 million for surreptitiously funneling the company's intellectual property and money from deals with Quibi, Disney+, and Comedy Central Digital into companies he controlled.[50] Shapiro later claimed that National Lampoon Co-CEO Kevin Frakes had bullied him out of a job.[51]
Related media
During its most active period, c. 1971–c. 1980, the magazine spun off numerous productions in a wide variety of media, including books, special issues, anthologies, and other print pieces:[52]
The National Lampoon Encyclopedia of Humor, 1973, edited by Michael O'Donoghue and art directed by Gross. This publication featured the fake Volkswagen ad seen above, which was written by Anne Beatts. The spoof was listed in the contents page as "Doyle Dane Bernbach", the name of the advertising agency that had produced the iconic 1960s ad campaign for Volkswagen. According to Mark Simonson's "Very Large National Lampoon Site": "If you buy a copy of this issue, you may find the ad is missing. As a result of a lawsuit by VW over the ad for unauthorized use of their trademark, NatLamp was forced to remove the page (with razor blades!) from any copies they still had in inventory (which, from what I gather, was about half the first printing of 250,000 copies) and all subsequent reprints."[53]
National Lampoon Sunday Newspaper Parody, 1978 (claiming to be a Sunday issue of the Dacron, Ohio (a spoof on Akron, Ohio) Republican–Democrat, this publication was originally issued in loose newsprint sections, mimicking a genuine American Sunday newspaper.) Art Direction and Design by Skip Johnston
1981 National Lampoon True Facts, compiled by John Bendel—special edition
1982 National Lampoon Peekers & Other True Facts, by John Bendel—special edition
Bendel, John, ed. (1991). National Lampoon Presents True Facts: The Book. Contemporary Press (now part McGraw-Hill). ISBN978-0809240067.—"Amazing Ads, Stupefying Signs, Weird Wedding Announcements, and Other Absurd-but-True Samples of Real-Life Funny Stuff"
Bendel, John, ed. (1992). National Lampoon Presents More True Facts: An All-New Collection of Absurd-But-True Real-Life Funny Stuff. Contemporary Press. ISBN978-0809239429.
Rubin, Scott, ed. (2004). National Lampoon's Big Book of True Facts: Brand-New Collection of Absurd-but-True Real-Life Funny Stuff. Rugged Land. ISBN978-1590710296.
1972 "Deteriorata"—A snide parody, written by Tony Hendra, of Les Crane's 1971 hit "Desiderata"; it stayed on the lower reaches of the Billboard magazine charts for a month in late 1972. "Deteriorata" also became one of National Lampoon's best-selling posters.[citation needed]
1978 The galumphing theme to Animal House rose slightly higher and charted slightly longer in December 1978.
Many of the older albums that were originally on vinyl have been re-issued as CDs and a number of tracks from certain albums are available as MP3s.
Radio
The National Lampoon Radio Hour was a nationally syndicated radio comedy show which was on the air weekly from 1973 to 1974. (For a complete listing of shows, see the National Lampoon Radio Hour Show Index.)[55]
Considerable ambiguity exists about what actually constitutes a National Lampoon film.
During the 1970s and early 1980s, a few films were made as spin-offs from the original National Lampoon magazine, using its creative staff. The first theatrical release, and by far the most successful National Lampoon film was National Lampoon's Animal House (1978). Starring John Belushi and written by Doug Kenney, Harold Ramis, and Chris Miller, it became the highest-grossing comedy film of that time.[7] Produced on a low budget, it was so enormously profitable that, from that point on for the next two decades, the name "National Lampoon" applied to the title of a movie was considered to be a valuable selling point in and of itself.
Numerous movies were subsequently made that had "National Lampoon" as part of the title. Many of these were unrelated projects because, by that time, the name "National Lampoon" could simply be licensed on a one-time basis, by any company, for a fee. Critics such as the Orlando Sentinel's Roger Moore and The New York Times' Andrew Adam Newman[59] have written about the cheapening of the National Lampoon's movie imprimatur; in 2006, an Associated Press review said: "The National Lampoon, once a brand name above nearly all others in comedy, has become shorthand for pathetic frat boy humor."[59] (For the purpose of this article, only films made as spin-offs from the original National Lampoon magazine, using some of the magazine's creative staff to put together the outline and script, and/or were cast using actors from The National Lampoon Radio Hour and National Lampoon's Lemmings are considered.)
National Lampoon's Animal House
In 1978, National Lampoon's Animal House was released. Made on a small budget, it did phenomenally well at the box office. In 2001, the United States Library of Congress considered the film "culturally significant" and preserved it in the National Film Registry.
The script had its origins in a series of short stories that had been previously published in the magazine. These included Chris Miller's "Night of the Seven Fires", which dramatized a fraternity initiation and included the characters Pinto and Otter, which contained prose versions of the toga party, the "road trip", and the dead horse incident. Another source was Doug Kenney's "First Lay Comics",[60] which included the angel and devil scene and the grocery-cart affair. According to the authors, most of these elements were based on real incidents.
The film was of great cultural significance to its time, as The New York Times describes the magazine's 1970s period as "Hedonism ... in full sway and political correctness in its infancy."[61]Animal House, as the article describes, was a crucial film manifestation of that culture. An article from The Atlantic describes how Animal House captures the struggle between an "elitist [fraternity] who willingly aligned itself with the establishment, and the kind full of kooks who refused to be tamed."[62] That concept was a crucial element of the original National Lampoon magazine, according to a New York Times article concerning its early years and co-founder Douglas Kenney's brand of comedy as a "liberating response to a rigid and hypocritical culture."[63]
National Lampoon Goes to the Movies
Also known as National Lampoon's Movie Madness, this commercially disappointing collection of three genre parodies was made in 1981, before National Lampoon's Class Reunion but released the following year.
The Robert Altman film O.C. and Stiggs (1987) was based on two characters who had been featured in several written pieces in National Lampoon magazine, including an issue-long story from October 1982 entitled "The Utterly Monstrous, Mind-Roasting Summer of O.C. and Stiggs." Completed in 1984, the film was not released until 1987, when it was shown in a small number of theaters and without the "National Lampoon" name. It was not a success.
Following the success of Animal House, MAD magazine lent its name to a 1980 comedy titled Up the Academy. Although two of Animal House's co-writers were the Lampoon's Doug Kenney and Chris Miller, Up The Academy was strictly a licensing maneuver, with no creative input from Mad's staff or contributors. It was a critical and commercial failure.
Film about the magazine
In 2015, a documentary film was released called National Lampoon: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead. The film featured a great deal of content from the magazine, as well as interviews with staff members and fans, and it explains how the magazine changed the course of humor.[67]
The 2018 film A Futile and Stupid Gesture, a biography of co-founder Douglas Kenney, also depicts the magazine's early years. The film was described by a 2018 New York Times article as a "snapshot of a moment where comedy's freshest counter-culture impulse was gleefully crass and willfully offensive." In the same article, Kenney was said to "spot a comical hollowness and rot in the society he and his peers were trained to join."[63]
Explanatory notes
↑ The Harvard Lampoon established in 1876, was a long-standing tradition of the campus, influencing the later National Lampoon brand in its evolution from illustration-heavy publication to satirical wit, ranging from short fiction to comic strips.
↑ The publishing industry's newsstand sales were excellent for many other magazines during that time: there were sales peaks for Mad (more than 2 million), Playboy (more than 7 million), and TV Guide (more than 19 million).[citation needed]
↑ "This month's superb cover idea was conceived by Ed Bluestone, and through skillful art direction and minimal interference from asshole editors, it became the tasteful entity you hold in your hands."[22]
↑ The company was not involved in Vegas Vacation (1997), the fourth installment in National Lampoon's Vacation film series. Vegas Vacation was the first theatrical Vacation film not to carry the National Lampoon label or a screenwriting credit from John Hughes. Also, it is the only National Lampoon film to be released in the 1990s, and the final film released before National Lampoon magazine folded.
↑ There were also four all-"True-Facts" regular issues of the magazine, in 1985, 1986, 1987, and 1988.
Heavy Metal is an American science fantasy comics magazine, first published in 1977. The magazine is known primarily for its blend of dark fantasy, science fiction, erotica, and steampunk comics. Following a brief hiatus in 2023, it plans to relaunch in 2024 with new owners and a new editorial team consisting of Dave Kelly, Frank Forte, and Chris Thompson.
Michael O'Donoghue was an American writer, actor, editor and comedian.
Douglas Clark Francis Kenney was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV and film, who co-founded the magazine National Lampoon in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material. He went on to write, produce, and perform in the influential comedies Animal House and Caddyshack before his sudden death at the age of 33.
Anthony Christopher Hendra was an English satirist and writer who worked mostly in the United States. He was probably best known for being the head writer and co-producer in 1984 of the first six shows of the long-running British satirical television series Spitting Image and for starring in the film This Is Spinal Tap as the band's manager Ian Faith.
Ed Subitzky, full name Edward Jack Subitzky, is an American writer and artist. He is best known as a cartoonist, comics artist, and humorist. He has worked as a television comedy writer and performer, a writer and performer of radio comedy, and a writer of radio drama. He has also created comedy and humor in other media. Subitzky is a member of the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists, and the Writers Guild of America.
Henry Nichols Beard is an American humorist, one of the founders of the magazine National Lampoon and the author of several best-selling books.
National Lampoon, Inc. is a company formed in 2002 in order to use the brand name "National Lampoon" in comedy and entertainment following the tradition of its magazine predecessor, The National Lampoon. In the words of its prospectus, the role of the company was to "develop, produce, provide creative services and distribute National Lampoon branded comedic content through a broad range of media platforms."
National Lampoon: Lemmings, a spinoff of the humor magazine National Lampoon, was a 1973 stage show that helped launch the performing careers of John Belushi, Christopher Guest, and Chevy Chase. The show was co-written and co-directed by a number of people, including Sean Kelly.
Seán Kelly was a Canadian humorist and writer.
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Writers and Artists Who Made National Lampoon Insanely Great by Rick Meyerowitz, is a 2010 book which was published by Harry N. Abrams of New York. The book consists of a compilation of work by a selection of writers and artists whose work appeared in National Lampoon magazine in the 1970s, as well as introductory commentary on those people and their work, by Meyerowitz and others. The book is hardback, coffee-table sized and is profusely illustrated.
Radio Dinner is the debut album by the creators of the American satirical magazine National Lampoon. It was released on Blue Thumb Records in 1972 after RCA Records had declined to issue the record. The humor on the album is steeped in the pop culture and politics of the era. It includes "Deteriorata", a parody of Les Crane's hit rendition of the poem "Desiderata", and commentary on the 1972 presidential race. Among several pieces satirizing the former Beatles, "Magical Misery Tour" is a parody of John Lennon's primal therapy-inspired songwriting and his 1970 Rolling Stone interview, later published in book form as Lennon Remembers.
National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody is an American humor book that was first published in 1973. It was a spin-off from National Lampoon magazine. The book was a parody of a high school yearbook from the early 1960s.
That's Not Funny, That's Sick, a spinoff of the humor magazine National Lampoon, was a 1977–1978 stage show and also a 1977 album of American sketch comedy.
The Best of National Lampoon #3 was an American humor book published in 1973. The book was an anthology of articles from National Lampoon magazine. It was sold on newsstands, but was published in parallel with the regular issues of the magazine. The book is a "best-of" compilation of pieces that had already been published in the National Lampoon. The pieces were from various 1971 and 1972 (monthly) issues of the magazine.
National Lampoon The Best of #4 was an American humor book that was first published in 1972. The book was a "special issue" of National Lampoon magazine, so it was sold on newsstands, however it was put out in addition to the regular issues of the magazine.
National Lampoon The 199th Birthday Book: A Tribute to the United States of America, 1776–1975 was an American humor book that was issued in 1975 in paperback. Although it appears to be a regular book, it was a "special issue" of National Lampoon magazine, and therefore was sold on newsstands rather than in bookstores. The book was a collection of new material and was not an anthology of already published material.
J2 Communications was a media production and distribution company that operated from 1986 to 2002. The company is best known for its unsteady stewardship of National Lampoon magazine and all its related properties through the 1990s.
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Douglas Tirola. The film is about National Lampoon magazine, and how the magazine and its empire of spin-offs changed the course of comedy and humor.
A Futile and Stupid Gesture is a 2018 American biographical comedy-drama film based on Josh Karp's book of the same title, directed by David Wain, and written by Michael Colton and John Aboud. The film stars Will Forte as comedy writer Douglas Kenney, during the rise and fall of National Lampoon. It was the last movie Martin Mull starred in before his death in 2024.
↑ White, Diane (March 11, 1970). "New publication is strictly for laughs". Boston Globe. p.3. The first issue, which is devoted entirely to sex, will go on sale Mar. 19.
↑ Hendra, Tony (1987). Going too Far: the Rise and Demise of Sick, Gross, Black, Sophomoric, Weirdo, Pinko, Anarchist, Underground, Anti-establishment Humor. Dolphin Doubleday. ISBN978-0-385-23223-4.
↑ Brooks, Tim; Marsh, Earle (2003). The Complete Directory to Prime Time Network and Cable TV Shows 1946-Present (8ed.). Ballantine Books. ISBN9780345455420.
↑ "Screaming Metal". The Comics Journal. No.94. October 1984. pp.58–84.
↑ Hendra, Tony; Kelly, Sean, eds. (March 1977). "Heavy Metal Preview". National Lampoon. National Lampoon Inc. pp.91–102.
Hendra, Tony (1987). Going Too Far: the Rise and Demise of Sick, Gross, Black, Sophomoric, Weirdo, Pinko, Anarchist, Underground, Anti-Establishment Humor. New York: Doubleday. ISBN978-0-385-23223-4.
Meyerowitz, Rick (2010). Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Writers and Artists Who Made National Lampoon Insanely Great. Harry N. Abrams. ISBN978-0-8109-8848-4.
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