I lost much of an afternoon reading Live From New York, an oral history of Saturday Night Live, compiled and annotated by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller. They talked to a hefty sampling of cast and crew members, NBC execs and guest hosts and pretty much just printed what was said. Much of it is interesting in a gossipy sense as it recounts feuds and romances, and there are insights into how the show has always been assembled, though perhaps not as many as one might like. One nice thing is that it does cover the years produced by Dick Ebersol which are rarely discussed…and, since Lorne Michaels controls the repeats, rarely rerun.
There is much about deceased cast members like Belushi, Radner, Farley and Hartman, though almost nothing on Andy Kaufman. There is very little about living cast members who weren't interviewed unless they were Eddie Murphy. (The book spends more time on marginal player Damon Wayans, who spoke to the authors, than on Dennis Miller and Rob Schneider, who didn't.) Some folks come off as petty; others as afraid to speak less than glowingly of Lorne. A lot of them really, really didn't like Chevy Chase.
Though a hefty volume, I found the book rather incomplete, breezing over whole years and major players. Advance knowledge of SNL history may help you understand some of the anecdotes and no one seems to have the vantage point to step back and put it all into a larger context. It's all about getting on the show, getting your sketches on the show, and surviving in its environment.
Still, if your interest in Saturday Night Live reaches beyond the level of casual viewer, you'll want to read this. If not, not. You can order a copy from Amazon.Com (and give us a teensy commission) by clicking here.