Live from New York

John Belushi! Dan Akroyd! Steve Martin! Chris Farley! The Church Lady . . . Pat . . . Rosanne Rosannadanna . . . The Killer Bees. And dozens of other celebrities, sketches, and cast . . . do not appear on this program except in disembodied form as a platoon of experienced readers slog through this tell-all history of SNL. That's the main weakness of this set. Though we learn in detail the peccadilloes of the long history of the show, no original cast members and not one minute of show outtakes grace the hours and hours of talk. This would be a fantastic journey if only the publisher had shelled out the licensing fees and reimbursed the stars. You know when a potentially great listen gets so boring that your brain gets numb? Yeah, I hate it when that happens! D.J.B. (c) AudioFile 2003, Portland, Maine

September 9, 2002
This oral history of NBC's Saturday Night Live
is the juiciest treasure trove of backstage gossip, sex and drugs since The Andy Warhol Diaries. With almost three decades' worth of memories from cast members, celebrity hosts, writers, crew and network execs, readers get first-hand reports (often contradictory) on the volatile, competitive, grueling and often drug-fueled process of creating a weekly, 90-minute, live comedy show. While the cast and writers changed over the decades there were two constants: the universal loathing of guest host Chevy Chase and the power of producer Lorne Michaels ("I think he picked the right profession," assesses Jane Curtin, "because he gets to lord over people who want to kneel at his feet and he doesn't acknowledge them—which makes them work harder."). Regulars like Dan Aykroyd, Adam Sandler, Chris Rock, Mike Myers, Billy Crystal, Bill Murray, Al Franken, Martin Short as well as guest hosts like Tom Hanks, Penny Marshall, Alec Baldwin, Carrie Fisher, Lily Tomlin and Steve Martin contribute sterling anecdotes that are alternately hilarious, touching, upbeat and scathing. With the exception of Eddie Murphy (who's positively portrayed), virtually the only missing voices are of those who have passed away (the editors use only interviews conducted for the book and not vintage interviews with John Belushi, Gilda Radner, Phil Hartman or Chris Farley). Scandals, infighting and plenty of showbiz dirt make this a guilty-pleasure page-turner from start to finish. Photos not seen by PW. Agent, Sloan Harris. (Oct. 7)Forecast:Little, Brown editor Geoff Shandler got the buzz going on this book at Book Expo in May, and a first serial in this month's issue of
Vanity Fair has heightened the buzz to a roar. Ubiquitous media coverage and rave reviews should rocket this one onto bestseller lists.