Now in paperback, the revelatory and surprising memoir of life behind the scenes at Saturday Night Live, by former cast member Jay Mohr his insider account of the inner workings of Saturday Night Live provides the scoop on quirky guests, pitch meetings, fake pitch meetings, rehearsals, cast members, live broadcasts, and of course, getting airtime. Refreshingly honest and laugh-out-loud funny, this book will appeal to fans of Jay Mohr, devotees of Saturday Night Live, and young comics yearning for stand-up stardom.
Gasping for Airtime
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From Publishers Weekly
Twenty-three-year-old actor and stand-up comic Mohr was playing college campuses after a brief stint hosting an MTV game show when he landed every comic's dream job: featured performer and writer on Saturday Night Live. In this stilted but honest memoir, he chronicles his frustrating two seasons on the show, from 1993 to 1995. Few of his sketches aired, and aside from his impressions of Ricki Lake, Christopher Walken and Dick Vitale, he was rarely on camera. (When he was on air, he admits, he often couldn't keep a straight face.) Mohr treats readers to some affectionate, entertaining tales of the late Chris Farley, but his book is less a juicy inside story of the comedy institution than a tale of an immature young man's struggle with a high-stress, erratic workplace: "The schedule for putting together Saturday Night Live was made back in the seventies when everyone was on coke.... Problem was, no one did coke [anymore] and we were expected to keep the same hours." Floundering in the unstructured work environment, Mohr suffered crippling panic attacks, which he treated with alcohol and pot until he finally found real relief with a prescription for Klonopin. Even panic-free, Mohr still felt like the odd man out and chafes at his less than meteoric rise. He serves up mostly superficial dish (watching Nirvana rehearse, shooting hoops with various celebrities) and offers unflattering self-revelations (desperate competitiveness, jealousy and sulking)-resulting in a memoir that will appeal only to die-hard Mohr fans.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Booklist
Most know Mohr from his role in Jerry Maguire or from his stand-up comedy. Most will not remember him from his time on Saturday Night Live, a two-year stint during which the 21-year-old served as a writer and secondary cast member. Mohr chronicles those years with the sly wit he's become known for, as well as nostalgia for both the time he had and the kid he was. That's not to say things went well. He barely got any sketches on air, his dressing room was once an elevator shaft, and he suffered panic attacks so severe he thought he would die on camera. But he also met some encouraging people (Mike McKeon) and was able to spend a little time hanging out with various luminaries (Eric Clapton), so even though he moans and whines about what he endured on the show, he ends up describing the experience as glorious. Fans of the show will especially like the snippets about such SNL figures as Chris Farley, Lorne Michaels, and Mike Myers. Good insider dish. Ilene Cooper
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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First Sentence
IT WAS glorious. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
IT WAS glorious. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Back Cover
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By A Customer
Format:Hardcover
With elements of "Dry" (Augusten Burroughs) and "My Fractured Life" (Rikki Travolta), "Gasping for Airtime" is a quirky disection of a small fraction of the lesser known years of a now known entertainer. If you like this nitch type writing, it's a good one.
By Steve Nakamoto - Author of Talk Like A Winner - Men Are Like Fish - Dating Rocks - Wall Street Craps
Format:Hardcover
I never knew that Jay Mohr, the host of NBC's "The Last Comic Standing" was a performer on Saturday Night Live until I read this book. I had seen him play a jerk sports agent in the movie "Jerry McGuire" and I've also heard him on the Jim Rome Show, however.
This is an interesting read (a good but not great book) about the challenges he faced as a struggling comedian and writer trying to make it on Saturday Night Live. What is most interesting are the inside stories about other performers like Adam Sandler, Rob Schneider, David Spade, Chris Farley, Norm McDonald, Mike Myers, and Phil Hartman. There are also some funny things about some of the guest hosts like Marisa Tomei, Rosanne Barr, Eric Clapton, and Christopher Walken to name a few.
What I never would have guessed is that Jay suffers from severe panic attacks. He has always seemed to be so totally in control of things and it makes him seem like a much more real person. To see how well he's done since the Saturday Night Live gig is a true success story.
For people who enjoy "The Last Comic Standing" or are "Jungle clones" from the Jim Rome Show, I think that you'll like this book and come away with a new found respect for this brilliant and dedicated entertainer.
Great job JJ!
By ian gleason
Format:Hardcover
Captivating look at show biz through the eyes of a successful actor back when he wasn't. In many ways very similar to Travolta's My Fractured Life although much more New York flavored. An excellent choice.
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3.8 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Cockroach Eye View
Very much in the tradition of MY FRACTURED LIFE, Jay Mohr's GASPING FOR AIRTIME gives a cockroach's view of the entertainment industry. Read more
Published on Jun 29 2004 by Karl Montgomery
5.0 out of 5 stars
Life as comedy
The perils of the new job. How do you get to your office if the front desk security guy doesn't recognize you? Whose jokes do you laugh at? Read more
Published on Jun 29 2004
5.0 out of 5 stars
A wry slice of SNL
Jay Mohr's "Gasping for Airtime, Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live" was not at all what I expected. Read more
Published on Jun 27 2004 by Mary G. Longorio
4.0 out of 5 stars
WaldenBooks Reader
Jay Mohr - One of the funniest comics of the early 90's and today. That's right! Jay Mohr is the guy that hosts Last Comic Standing. He was on Saturday Night Live! Read more
Published on Jun 24 2004 by "dreamacdmy"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Mohr Succeeds Without Sucking Up
Saturday Night Live is easily one of the most interesting experiments in TV history. And it's had ups and downs. Read more
Published on Jun 23 2004 by Patrick A. Hayden
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Fascinating Story of the Struggling Before Celebrity
An excellent look inside the real workings of the entertainment business. Not exploitive like "Hollywood Interrupted" nor as bashing as "Hollywood Animal". Read more
Published on Jun 23 2004 by Robert Conrad
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good Book
A very good book overall. It has a lot of similarity to the book "My Fractured Life" by similar B-level celebrity Rikki Lee Travolta because of it's frank look at the industry and... Read more
Published on Jun 22 2004 by jj
4.0 out of 5 stars
Willy Wonka for the SNL fanatic
I am so glad that someone who was lucky enough to be a part of this institution finally gave us a real "play by play" of how it gets done every week. Read more
Published on Jun 20 2004
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting look inside
I saw Jay Mohr's stand-up special on Comedy Central and thought he was hilarious, so, when this book came out I immediately bought it expecting many laughs. Read more
Published on Jun 17 2004 by Anna
3.0 out of 5 stars
BETTER than the book
I read the book of the same name, but then I found out that there is an audio CD of the book with Jay Mohr reading it. Read more
Published on Jun 15 2004 by Asaidi
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