Customer Reviews

Live From New York: An Uncensored History Of Saturday Night Live

5 star:		(43)
4 star:		(39)
3 star:		(21)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Live From New York was one the best books I have ever read. Although an obscure format, (The story is mainly through the quotes of ex-stars and writers) I couldn't put the book down. Through the sex, drugs, and scandals, I was enthralled in the lifestyle they lived. It was scary. It was true. It was live.

Although the beginning was confusing and long, it really set up the end and turned out to be an amazing piece of literature. Because I am only 14, I was not alive in 1975 when the "Magnificent Seven" were around. With this book I could relive those times through the best authors; Gilda Radner, John Belushi, Dan Akroyd, Garret Morris, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, and Lauraine Newman. I do feel however, that there should be an updated version of the book. Each year the cast changes, and this book ended in 2001. I think it's about time for a revised edition.

Other reviewers believed this book to be too long, but for me it was quite the contrary. I couldn't put the book down, and at the end I was yearning for more. For about a week and a half my life was Saturday Night Live. Never before had I been part of such a book; when I read it I felt like I was on the show. I couldn't give anything but praise for this book. So, "Live From New York, It's Time You Buy This Book!"

I agree with whoever wrote that this book was way too long and unorganized. I was hoping to learn more about the behind the scenes works, and boy, did I. Drugs, partying, sexism, racism, it's all here and more. There are some great gems among all the trivia people already know.

But it's all quotes from the different actors, writers and producers. There are some photos to break things up, but nothing else. No cute little sidebars or anything. Heck, if it's good enough for my school textbooks, why not put some in here. I don't have ADD, but it got tedious after awhile.

The format makes for an odd read. You get things like someone rapsodizing about what a "beautiful person" John Belushi was a couple paragraphs after someone reminiscing about the time he set stuff on fire and passed out in a drunken stupor. Oh well.

Live from New York is a hefty volume collecting the experiences of the numerous cast members, guest hosts, writers, producers, and others involved with the show since 1975. This book helped me understand how hard it is and has been to keep SNL on the air. Although cocaine and other stimulants are largely absent in the SNL offices today, as we're told to believe anyway, the show still mandates at least one-nighter and four days of incomparable stress to produce one and half hours of TV on Saturday night. This work regimen has produced some of the funniest moments in TV history and has established SNL as a cultural icon.

Almost every important person involved with show throughout its history except Eddie Murphy was interviewed for this book, and the entire book save maybe 10 pages consists of clips of these interviews. We get to read about Lorne Michaels' and Dick Ebersol's early struggles to put the show on in 1975. We learn about the greatness of the original cast and its drug-induced wildness and internecine warfare. The book then does a great job in describing the lows of the show during the Jean Doumanian and Dick Ebersol years and SNL's subsequent resurrection during the years of Phil Hartman, Dana Carvey, Jon Lovitz, Mike Myers, etc. The new cast surprisingly gets quite a bit of space in the latter part of the book considering its competition in the previous pages. The authors also spend a number of pages presenting various people's reactions to the deaths of John Belushi, Gilda Radner, and Chris Farley.

Live from New York does a great job of letting us know about the unseen drama that has occurred behind one of the greatest shows in TV history. Using the interviews as the actual text was a great idea because the interviewees' words came through unadulterated. My only criticism of the book is that at almost 600 pages, it's a bit long, but that's it.

Since it first premiered in 1975, "Saturday Night Live" has been immortalized with tv specials, rip - offs, movies and dvds. But not one person involved with the show has come forward to tell the stories that emerged from behind the stage. Until now.

"Live From New York: An Uncensored history of "Saturday Night Live", as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests" is as engaging as it is informative and witty. With commentary from hosts, writers, cast members and even Lorne Michaels himself. The cast commentary is especially compelling. The stories that influenced were the ones concerning the infamous and controversial moments surrounding "SNL", like when Nora Dunn refused to appear on the show because Andrew Dice Clay was hosting, and when Sinead O'Connor tore up the picture of the Pope. And Victoria Jackson's commentaries on Nora Dunn and Jan Hooks is acid - tinged intrigue at its best. There are also touching tributes to John Belushi, Chris Farley, and Phil Hartman. It is not without flaws. The newer cast members could've gotten more of a say, and Eddie Murphy contributed to it as well.

But I still think this is an enjoyable book. It;'s perfect for anyone who ever dreamed of saying, "Live From New York, It's Saturday Night!"

(Actually, I give it an "A" ! - but reading this book & remembering the "bee" sketches of 1975 was just so great, I had to have a little fun.)

I was a fan of this show from its start, watching it religiously when I lived in New York from the mid 70's to the late 80's, and so I found this book to be, in the first part, a highly enjoyable trip down Memory Lane. It evokes the feeling of the show so vividly!

The style of the book, with the various players, writers, producers and hosts all talking in turns, is perfect for getting a sense of what was going on with the show, both behind the scenes and in front of the cameras, as the years progressed. This style is also very conducive to the "night-table reading" I did - reading a few pages of it every night.

The scenes and people described all felt so familiar to me as the narratives and reminiscences journeyed through those years when I watched the show weekly, and I'd find myself saying "oh yeah, I remember that!" as sketches and sayings I'd not thought about in ages were mentioned. It was also a fascinating eye-opener on the behind-the-scenes machinations, personality clashes, and lifestyles, as well as a vividly brought-to-life catch-up on what I missed from the late 80's on when I moved overseas and so lost touch with SNL. For someone like me, who had never even realised Adam Sandler and David Spade had been SNL alumni, nor ever got to see Chris Farley, the book gave a great sense of what the show was like in "their time". I was also very moved by the description of the first SNL broadcast after September 11.

Therefore, whether you watched SNL ever, always, or never, I highly recommend this book - pure and intelligent entertainment!

I should have glanced at this book's format before I wasted my hard-earned dollars on this junk. It's simply a huge heap of quotes, regurgitated in some order known only to the authors. The "story" (simply interviews ad infinitum) unfolds by seasons of the show, without any sort of context, without any stab at putting the times in any perspective, without a clue, often, how the lesser-known characters contributed.
It quickly became a very frustrating read, and then became one that left me shaking my head in disbelief.
It would have been a good story if the outside world had been permitted to enter into it. But it doesn't. I know the writers aren't lazy, look at all this verbiage!, but it doesn't add up to a hill of beans. Dang, the ratings system doesn't allow one to enter NO stars at all. Save your money. Terrible.

Being a fan of SNL, I was really looking foward to this book. But I can't help but feel a little bit dissapointed by it after finishing it.
Most of the stuff about the early years in interesting, as you get to hear about how the show was created, how the origanel cast was brought togather etc. But once it gets into later casts, the book is fairly repetitive, and suffers greatly from the he said-she said things that you really would hope people would get over in high school.
Also, not hearing from Eddie Murphey at all is a let down, being that he single handedly saved SNL in the early '80's. I really could care less about what Piscopo has to say about the subject, ya know what I'm saying?
But overall if you really like SNL, there are a lot of really interesting tidbits to be found in this book. Just don't have your expectaions up to high before reading it.