Live from New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live

by Tom Shales and James Andrew Miller

Book Overview

James Andrew Miller and Tom Shales's definitive oral history of Saturday Night Live, hailed as "incredible" (Vulture) and "required reading" (People).

When first published to celebrate the 30th anniversary of Saturday Night Live, Live from New York was immediately proclaimed the best book ever produced on the landmark and legendary late-night show. In their own words, unfiltered and uncensored, a dazzling...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0316735655
• ISBN13: 9780316735650
• Release Date: October 2003
• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Length: 638 Pages
• Weight: 1.38 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.8" x 5.5" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Couldn't Put It Down

I was surprised by how engulfed I was by this read. I haven't been this excited to pick up a book in years. Although it took me several tries over the course of a year to finish this bad boy I'm glad I did. The way the interviews flow from page to page it really makes you feel like you're right there in Studio 8H.

Uncensored!

Whether you liked SNL in 1975 or enjoy it now, this book is an amusing romp through the history of the show. Although the years have been filled with amazing talent, it's still surprising to hear from others that it was primarily the genius of Lorne Micheals, the guy behind the scenes, that got the show going and continuing. This is stuff you DON'T see on television.There are too many episodes of outlandish behavior to describe here, but suffice it to say there are things that went on that should have killed most shows. There's lots of gossip, of course, and many of the cast members embarrass themselves while trashing others and many that are a heck of a lot sweeter than you would think (Jane Curtin comes to mind). There is blatant talk of alleged 'racism', 'anti-feminism' (one member refused to do skits written by women) and outrageous drug use during, before and after the shows. In fact, in the beginning, it seems the show needed that edge to survive, or to survive, needed that edge.No matter. This voluminous collection of after-thoughts is entertaining, hilarious and sometimes sad. You can decide where the true talent was, who had the biggest heart or who was the biggest jerk. This book is full of them and I highly recommend it.

Delicious Dish from the People Who Lived It.

This book is chockful of juicy gossip and backstage dish with interviews from cover-to-cover of SNL cast, writers, producers, and hosts. Interviews with SNL insiders are offered in a linear fashion from surviving "Not Ready for Prime Time Players", writers, producers, and hosts to current cast members and staff. This isn't the authors' take on SNL, but the history of Saturday Night Live from people who lived through it. Tom Shales and James Miller in a smart, smart move chose to have everyone speak for themselves. And how telling it is. : ) The editors keep introductions and explanations to a minimum. I was surprised about how candid many of the SNL stars and hosts were about themselves and the show.If you have ever watched Saturday Night Live, you'll enjoy this book. With its insider stories, you'll find this book hard to tear yourself out of. It's apparent that many stories of SNL players' behavior outside of 30 Rockefeller Center are not in this book, but what's there is more than enough. So get your hands on this book-- you'll find it definitely lives up to the hype.

Surprise

I've watched the show for years and thought I knew a lot about it, but this book took me backstage and behind the scenes in such cool detail I quickly realized how much more there was to the story of this show. These guys managed to make all the years of the show entertaining and revealing, and I really liked the fact that I could pick up the book, turn to any page, and find a great story to jump from. Probably the best book on a TV show I've ever read.

A great read, plenty of new details.

Shales lets the cast and crew tell their stories in their own words, with minimal editorializing. It's interesting to see how different people remember the same event with skewed perspectives. A hefty, 550+ page book I could barely tear myself away from to go to sleep. Recommended.

If you loved the show, you'll love the book

This book feels like a reunion of old friends, telling their stories at a dinner party that you are fortunate ewnough to overhear. There is so much history in the years of SNL that there is an anecdote for every fan, but this book recognizes Loren Michaels as being the true genius behind the creation and development of the show. He's not universally loved by the cast (but also not nearly as despised as Chevy Chase, who seems to beeveryone's favorite whipping boy), but his genius is acknowledged by one and all.A lot of favorite skits and characters are discussed, as well as some legendary battles with censors, advertisers and network executives. The mix of radical comedy with revenue concious TV executives makes for fascinating reading.The chapters dealing with the deaths of cast members and behind the scene staff members are incredibly poignant, especially Belushi's and Chris Farley's, bit of whom were known to be dancing with trouble. This book also goes a long way to humanizing Chris Rock, who emerges as one of the most thoughtful and career minded members of all SNL casts. His intelligence shines through in his tales of making it by way of the show. There is a great story on almost every page of this book, and having grown up with this show, it made the memories all the more pleasant.This is a great Christmas present for any 30-50 year old who has spent their Saturday night in front of a TV.