Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live: Amazon.ca: Tom Shales, James Andrew Miller: Books

Product Description

From Publishers Weekly

SNL fans, beware: this audiobook, while chock full of dishy dirt on everybody from Chevy Chase to Jimmy Fallon, requires a little playing along on the part of the listener. Shales and Miller went to great lengths to compile this work, but unfortunately, for this audio version, the oral history is read by stand-ins masquerading as Bill Murray, Lorne Michaels, Jimmy Fallon and others. So listeners have to imagine that it's really Chevy Chase speaking, not an audiobook reader who sounds nothing like him. A narrator introduces each chapter, helping listeners orient themselves, and then reads each person's name before that person speaks. Hearing the narrator pronounce, "Dan Aykroyd, actor:" and then hearing the voice of a complete stranger (there are no liner notes explaining who's reading which parts) tell of his memories of the show is somewhat disconcerting. The actors' deliveries range from the lackadaisical to the high-strung. Despite the obvious troubles of not having the book's contributors read their own parts, the book's content is terrific, with tons of behind-the-scenes gossip and juicy tales of backstage goings-on.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Given access by Lorne Michaels himself, two journalists with TV connections Miller has produced two TV series, Shales is TV critic for the Washington Post recount this show's 25-year history.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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First Sentence
Lorne Michaels arrived in my life before puberty, lets put it that way. Read the first page

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115 Reviews

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3.9 out of 5 stars (115 customer reviews)

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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Saturday Night Live as you have never seen it, Sep 30 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live (Hardcover)

Heartbreak, hilarity, backstage backstabbing, and incredible inside stories -- "Live from New York" is the most entertaining book ever written about Saturday Night Live. The 27-year history of the show is told by the people who made that history happen, from Chevy Chase to Jimmy Fallon, from Gilda Radner to Tina Fey, from John Belushi to Will Ferrell. Full of things you never knew and anecdotes that border on the incredible, with stars like Mike Myers, Chris Rock, Julia Louis-Dreyfuss, Tom Hanks, Robin Williams, Dan Aykroyd, Conan O'Brien and DOZENS MORE!

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4.0 out of 5 stars A Long Strange Trip, Jun 19 2004

By

Kristopher KR "Um, yeah." (FLA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live (Paperback)

Normally, I'm not the type of person that reads any books, let alone a 600 page book that is all transcripts of people talking. All in all, this book doesn't seem that exciting.

Contrary to what one might think, it's a truly fascinating saga of one of the most beloved shows ever to grace television.

You delve in from the beginning, hearing the contradictory stories of who came up with the idea for the show and who knew what people to get Saturday Night Live on the air.

There are stories and recollections from every aspect of the show imaginable. The producers, the writers, performers, hosts, network executives, etc. Seemingly, everyone that has ever been involved with the show, (with the exception of Eddie Murphy), is avaialbe to tell the tales of behind the scenes of the most famous sketch comedy show.

The most beautiful aspect of the interviews that make up the book, is that nobody holds anything back. Everyone there tells what they see/saw as the truth of the matter at the time.

You get to find out what happened backstage when Chevy Chase and Bill Murray ran into each other as Chase came back as host. Joe Piscapo and the rules of Sinatra impressions. The drugs, the sex, the bitterness, the love, the hatred, the demise of so many people throughout the history of the show.

Some of the most fascinating and interesting peope are the ones you'd never expect. Conan O'Brien, Tim Kazursky, Lorne Michaels, Jeneane Garafaolo, Dick Ebersol, etc. all have wonderful ways of pouring out their hearts and minds about what it truly was like in studio 8H for the past 30 years.

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5.0 out of 5 stars New York Saves Itself, Jun 2 2004

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Rocco Dormarunno (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live (Paperback)

For anyone who was in New York City in the early- to mid-seventies, it will probably be remembered as a period of darkness and danger. Crime was rampant, every union went on strike every other week, and the threat of fiscal calamity was ever present. At its darkest moment, when "Ford to New York: Drop Dead" hit the headline, something astonishing exploded from NBC studios: Saturday Night Live. Somehow this one show made urban life a little more bearable, and a television legacy was born. And, somehow, New York had saved itself.

Authors James Miller and Tom Shales collected nearly thirty years worth of quotes and interviews, and amassed them in this terrific book, "Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests". For a hefty volume (over 600 pages), the book is a very quick read. While a good deal of time is spent honoring the deceased cast members, the tone never gets maudlin nor nostalgic. In fact, it was refreshing to remember some of Belushi's, Radner's, and Hartman's antics. Not surprising, drugs and ego clashes abounded. Talent + money + 1970s = celebrities on controlled substances, after all. What was interesting were the comments by the guests. Buck Henry has a great story, but I won't give it away here. "Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests" is a fascinating look at one of the bright moments in an otherwise dark milieu.

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