National Lampoon was an American humor magazine which ran from 1970 to 1998. The magazine started out as a spinoff from the Harvard Lampoon. 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 theatre, various sound recordings, and print products including books. Many members of the creative staff from the magazine subsequently went on to contribute creatively to successful media of all types.
Michael O'Donoghue was an American writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to National Lampoon magazine, and was the first head writer of Saturday Night Live. He was also the first performer to utter a line on that series.
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 would go on to write, produce, and perform in the influential comedies Animal House and Caddyshack before his untimely death.
Tony Hendra is an English satirist, actor and writer who has worked mostly in the United States. Educated at St Albans School and at St John's College, Cambridge, he was a member of the Cambridge University Footlights revue in 1962, alongside John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Tim Brooke-Taylor.
Ralph Reese is an American artist who has illustrated for books, magazines, trading cards, comic books and comic strips, including a year drawing the Flash Gordon strip for King Features. Prolific from the 1960s to the 1990s, he is best known for his collaboration with Byron Preiss on the continuing feature "One Year Affair", serialized in the satiric magazine National Lampoon from 1973 to 1975 and then collected into a 1976 book.
Savage Tales is the title of three American comics series. Two were black-and-white comics-magazine anthologies published by Marvel Comics, and the other a color comic book anthology published by Dynamite Entertainment.
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.
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 Abrams Books 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.
National Lampoon Encyclopedia of Humor is an American humor book that was first published in 1973 in hardback. It 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 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. It was edited by P. J. O'Rourke and Doug Kenney and art-directed by David Kaestle. Much of the writing was by P. J. O'Rourke and Doug Kenney. The "literary magazine" was written by Sean Kelly; the sports page was by Christopher Cerf; and the Principal's Letter and the "In Memorium" piece were both by Ed Subitzky.
The Breast of National Lampoon: A Collection of Sexual Humor, is 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. The book is a "best-of", a compilation of pieces that had already been published in the magazine, pieces that had been created by the National Lampoon's regular contributors.
National Lampoon The Gentleman's Bathroom Companion was a humorous book that was first published in 1975. It was a "special edition" of National Lampoon magazine, and as such it was sold on newsstands in addition to that month's regular issue of the magazine. The pieces in the book were created by regular contributors to the National Lampoon including Michael O'Donoghue, Henry Beard, Doug Kenney, Sean Kelly, Tony Hendra, P.J. O'Rourke and Ed Subitzky as well as Terry Southern and William Burroughs. The content was mostly, but not entirely, compiled from material that had already been published in the magazine.
A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever is an American book that was published in 2006. It is a history of National Lampoon magazine and one of its three founders, Doug Kenney, during the 1970s. The book was based on numerous interviews with people who contributed to the magazine, and people who performed in The National Lampoon Radio Hour, and the stage show Lemmings.
The Best of National Lampoon No.1 was a humorous American book that was first published in 1971. 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. The book was a "best-of", an anthology, a compilation of pieces that had already been published in the magazine, pieces that had been created by regular contributors to National Lampoon.
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 Presents The Very Large Book of Comical Funnies is an American humor book, a book of comic strips that was published in 1975 in paperback as a spin-off of National Lampoon magazine. Although it appears to be a book, in reality it was a "special issue" of the magazine and as such it was sold on newsstands. On the cover it is described as "A never before published history of the comics" and it is also described as "An Adult Comic". It was not an anthology; it was a collection of original material written by the Lampoon's regular contributors especially for the book. It was edited by Sean Kelly.
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.
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 an American biographical comedy-drama film, based on Josh Karp's book of the same name, 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. The film had its world premiere at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival on January 24, and was released on Netflix on January 26, 2018.
