Saturday Night: A Backstage History of Saturday Night Live - Hardcover

Hill, Doug; Weingrad, Jeff

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688050999 ISBN 13: 9780688050993

Publisher: William Morrow & Co, 1989

Synopsis

Based on interviews with more than 250 people associated with the show--stars, producers, hosts, and others--this book provides an intimate backstage portrait of the comedy program, from its beginnings through its rise to the peak of popularity

About this title

From Publishers Weekly:

Bold and irreverent, NBC's Emmy-winning Saturday Night Live produced many stars (Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Jane Curtin and others) and redefined the limits of TV comedy. In this absorbing account, based on 250 interviews, the authors successfully recreate the chaotic backstage scene where writers and performers from the comedy underground of the 1970s created an "outlaw" show for a generation raised on TV and rock 'n' roll. The on-air shenanigans pale in comparison to much of the manic behavior reported here: frantic last-minute changes in sketches; rivalries between stars; battles with censors; run-ins with more conventional network crews and security guards. At once serious (explaining how "amateurs" managed to break TV's comedic rules) and gossipy (drugs, brawls, etc.), this bright history is bound to please many. Hill and Weingrad have written individually about TV for numerous publications. 100,000 first printing; $100,000 ad/promo; author tour.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal:

An engrossing, compulsively readable history of the late-night television show, from the early struggle to get it accepted by the network to its most recent incarnation with the return of original producer Lorne Michaels. The book is well written and detailed, and the authors interviewed more than 200 people connected with the show. Most interesting are the first few seasons, when Saturday Night was truly innovative and blessed with the Not-Ready-for-Prime-Time Players and more daring writers. Excerpts from skits punctuate the text, and most are still funny. As the show loses its cult status and goes big-time, however, the story becomes a depressing account of rampant egotism, drug abuse, and, ultimately, the end of SNL 's originality and excitement. For social history and media collections. Judith Sutton, "Library Journal"
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: William Morrow & Co
• Publication date: 1989
• ISBN 10: 0688050999
• ISBN 13: 9780688050993
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 510