The National Lampoon Radio Hour
Encyclopedia
The National Lampoon Radio Hour was a comedy radio
show which was created, produced and initially written by staff from National Lampoon magazine. The show ran weekly, for a little over a year, from November 17, 1973 to December 28, 1974. Originally an hour in length, after 13 weeks it was cut down to half-an-hour due to the difficulty of putting together the very considerable amount of material required for a one hour show. For a complete listing of shows, see http://www.marksverylarge.com/nlrh/nlrhshows.html.
The show was created by Michael O'Donoghue
and producer/engineer Bob Tischler. When O'Donoghue left, later producers included Sean Kelly, Brian McConnachie and John Belushi
.
Performers on the show included Belushi himself, Chevy Chase
, Bill Murray
, Gilda Radner
, and Harold Ramis
, who was one of the co-writers for the National Lampoon movie Animal House. The radio show was recorded in a studio which was specially built by National Lampoon in the same building where the magazine was produced. The musical theme for the show was co-written and performed by Bob Hoban and Nate Herman.
The show was broadcast nationally on 600 different radio stations, but the stations picking it up were free to air it at any time they chose. It proved difficult to get enough advertising to support the show: national sponsors seemed reluctant to take on the show, probably because of the controversial nature of much of its material.
When the show folded, several of the performers and writers moved on to Saturday Night Live
. Michael O'Donoghue was head writer for the first two seasons of Saturday Night Live, and this may explain why some of the radio show material, such as "What if Ed Sullivan Were Tortured?", was subsequently re-purposed for television.
Among the other writers and performers on the show were Anne Beatts
, Richard Belzer
, Christopher Cerf
, Brian Doyle-Murray
, Joe Flaherty
, Christopher Guest
who did many of the show's musical parodies, Ed Subitzky
, Douglas Kenney
and Bruce McCall
.
Two examples of the sometimes shocking humor of the Radio Hour are sketches which featured game shows entitled "Catch it and Keep it" and "Land a Million". In "Land a Million", a housewife is left alone in an airborne Boeing 747
containing $1 million in cash and a ton of TNT. She must answer questions about literature in order to receive tips on how to land the plane safely. Unfortunately her knowledge of literature is not extensive enough to answer all of the questions correctly.
In 2003, Alan Donnes and Tanner Colby resurrected the National Lampoon Radio Hour, using old material, and hosted by Richard Belzer
. Tracks from the new National Lampoon Radio Hour are on a CD, "National Lampoon Radio Hour: It's About Time, volume 1."
Gold Turkey was also subsequently issued as a CD. In 1996 Rhino Records released a multi-CD/tape box set, The Best of the National Lampoon Radio Hour, which borrowed one of the magazine's classic covers ("Buy this box or we'll shoot this dog"). The set includes many of the best sketches, and has extensive liner notes detailing the history of the show.
National Lampoon released 3 albums that predated the Radio Hour. Several items from these earlier works were either reworked, or made it on to the Radio Hour in their original format:
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
show which was created, produced and initially written by staff from National Lampoon magazine. The show ran weekly, for a little over a year, from November 17, 1973 to December 28, 1974. Originally an hour in length, after 13 weeks it was cut down to half-an-hour due to the difficulty of putting together the very considerable amount of material required for a one hour show. For a complete listing of shows, see http://www.marksverylarge.com/nlrh/nlrhshows.html.
The show was created by Michael O'Donoghue
Michael O'Donoghue
Michael O'Donoghue was a writer and performer. He was known for his dark and destructive style of comedy and humor, was a major contributor to National Lampoon magazine, and was the first head writer of Saturday Night Live.-Childhood:O'Donoghue was born Michael Henry Donohue in Sauquoit, New York...
and producer/engineer Bob Tischler. When O'Donoghue left, later producers included Sean Kelly, Brian McConnachie and John Belushi
John Belushi
John Adam Belushi was an American comedian, actor, and musician, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, The Star of the Films National Lampoon's Animal House and the The Blues Brothers and for fronting the American blues and soul...
.
Performers on the show included Belushi himself, Chevy Chase
Chevy Chase
Cornelius Crane "Chevy" Chase is an American comedian, writer, and television and film actor, born into a prominent entertainment industry family. Chase worked a plethora of odd jobs before moving into comedy acting with National Lampoon...
, Bill Murray
Bill Murray
William James "Bill" Murray is an American actor and comedian. He first gained national exposure on Saturday Night Live in which he earned an Emmy Award and later went on to star in a number of critically and commercially successful comedic films, including Caddyshack , Ghostbusters , and...
, Gilda Radner
Gilda Radner
Gilda Susan Radner was an American comedian and actress, best known as one of the original cast members of the NBC sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, for which she won an Emmy Award in 1978.-Early life:...
, and Harold Ramis
Harold Ramis
Harold Allen Ramis is an American actor, director, and writer, specializing in comedy. His best-known film acting roles are as Egon Spengler in Ghostbusters and Russell Ziskey in Stripes , both of which he also co-wrote...
, who was one of the co-writers for the National Lampoon movie Animal House. The radio show was recorded in a studio which was specially built by National Lampoon in the same building where the magazine was produced. The musical theme for the show was co-written and performed by Bob Hoban and Nate Herman.
The show was broadcast nationally on 600 different radio stations, but the stations picking it up were free to air it at any time they chose. It proved difficult to get enough advertising to support the show: national sponsors seemed reluctant to take on the show, probably because of the controversial nature of much of its material.
When the show folded, several of the performers and writers moved on to Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
. Michael O'Donoghue was head writer for the first two seasons of Saturday Night Live, and this may explain why some of the radio show material, such as "What if Ed Sullivan Were Tortured?", was subsequently re-purposed for television.
Among the other writers and performers on the show were Anne Beatts
Anne Beatts
- Early life:Born to parents Beatts describes as "beatniks", Beatts grew to have what has been called an "aggressive, dark sensibility" which she later put to use in the world of comedy. Growing up in Somers, New York she later attended McGill University....
, Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer is an American stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as John Munch, which he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as in guest...
, Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf
Christopher Cerf is a U.S. author, composer-lyricist, voice actor, and record and television producer. He is known for his musical contributions to Sesame Street, for co-creating and co-producing the award-winning PBS literacy education television program Between the Lions, and for his humorous...
, Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
, Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty
Joe Flaherty is an American-Canadian actor and comedian. He is best known for his work on the Canadian sketch comedy SCTV, from 1976 to 1984, and as Harold Weir on Freaks and Geeks...
, Christopher Guest
Christopher Guest
Christopher Haden-Guest, 5th Baron Haden-Guest , better known as Christopher Guest, is an American screenwriter, composer, musician, director, actor and comedian. He is most widely known in Hollywood for having written, directed and starred in several improvisational "mockumentary" films that...
who did many of the show's musical parodies, Ed Subitzky
Ed Subitzky
Ed Subitzky, full name Edward Jack Subitzky is an American writer and artist, who is best known as a cartoonist, comics artist, and humorist/humor writer. He has also worked as a television comedy writer and performer, a writer and performer of radio comedy, and a writer of radio drama, as well as...
, Douglas Kenney
Douglas Kenney
Douglas C. Kenney was an American writer and actor who co-founded National Lampoon magazine in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material.-Childhood:...
and Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall
Bruce McCall is a Canadian author and illustrator, best known for his frequent contributions to The New Yorker.Born and raised in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada, he was fascinated by comic books and showed an early aptitude for drawing fantastical flying machines, blimps, bulbous-nosed muscle cars and...
.
Two examples of the sometimes shocking humor of the Radio Hour are sketches which featured game shows entitled "Catch it and Keep it" and "Land a Million". In "Land a Million", a housewife is left alone in an airborne Boeing 747
Boeing 747
The Boeing 747 is a wide-body commercial airliner and cargo transport, often referred to by its original nickname, Jumbo Jet, or Queen of the Skies. It is among the world's most recognizable aircraft, and was the first wide-body ever produced...
containing $1 million in cash and a ton of TNT. She must answer questions about literature in order to receive tips on how to land the plane safely. Unfortunately her knowledge of literature is not extensive enough to answer all of the questions correctly.
In 2003, Alan Donnes and Tanner Colby resurrected the National Lampoon Radio Hour, using old material, and hosted by Richard Belzer
Richard Belzer
Richard Jay Belzer is an American stand-up comedian, author, and actor. He is perhaps best known for his role as John Munch, which he has portrayed as a regular cast member on the NBC police drama series Homicide: Life on the Street and Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, as well as in guest...
. Tracks from the new National Lampoon Radio Hour are on a CD, "National Lampoon Radio Hour: It's About Time, volume 1."
Albums
National Lampoon released 5 albums that were created entirely with, or partly with, material from the Radio Hour:- The Missing White House Tapes (1974)
- National Lampoon Gold TurkeyNational Lampoon Gold TurkeyNational Lampoon Gold Turkey is a American album of sketch comedy that was first released as a vinyl record in 1975. It was a spin-off from National Lampoon magazine...
(1975) - National Lampoon That's Not Funny, That's SickNational Lampoon That's Not Funny, That's SickNational Lampoon That's Not Funny, That's Sick is a American album of sketch comedy that was first released as a vinyl record in 1975. It was a spin-off from National Lampoon magazine...
(1977) - Greatest Hits of the National LampoonGreatest Hits of the National LampoonGreatest Hits of the National Lampoon is an American comedy album of songs and spoken word that was first released as a vinyl record in 1978...
(1978) - National Lampoon White AlbumNational Lampoon White AlbumNational Lampoon White Album is an American album of humorous songs and spoken word skits. It was originally released as a vinyl record in 1980, but it was reissued and is still available as a CD...
(1979).
Gold Turkey was also subsequently issued as a CD. In 1996 Rhino Records released a multi-CD/tape box set, The Best of the National Lampoon Radio Hour, which borrowed one of the magazine's classic covers ("Buy this box or we'll shoot this dog"). The set includes many of the best sketches, and has extensive liner notes detailing the history of the show.
National Lampoon released 3 albums that predated the Radio Hour. Several items from these earlier works were either reworked, or made it on to the Radio Hour in their original format:
- National Lampoon Radio DinnerNational Lampoon Radio DinnerNational Lampoon Radio Dinner is a comedy album from National Lampoon that was first released in 1972. The humor on the album was very much steeped in the pop culture of the era and includes such subjects as game shows , the 1972 presidential election National Lampoon Radio Dinner is a comedy album...
(1972) - National Lampoon's Lemmings (1973)
- Official National Lampoon Stereo Test and Demonstration RecordOfficial National Lampoon Stereo Test and Demonstration RecordThe Official National Lampoon Stereo Test and Demonstration Record was a comedy album in vinyl LP format which was put out by National Lampoon magazine in 1974. The album was a parody of stereo test and demonstration records, which were used by hi-fi enthusiasts to test the performance limits of...
(1974)