Douglas Kenney (original) (raw)

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American comedy writer (1946–1980)

Douglas Kenney
Mid-1970s portrait by Pedar NessMid-1970s portrait by Pedar Ness
Born Douglas Clark Francis Kenney[1](1946-12-10)December 10, 1946West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Died August 27, 1980(1980-08-27) (aged 33)Kauai, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupation Screenwriter, magazine editor
Genre Surreal humour, black comedy, wit
Years active 1965–1980
Spouse Alexandra Appleton Garcia-Mata ​ ​(m. 1970; div. 1973)​
Partner Kathryn Walker (c. 1976–1980, his death)

Douglas Clark Francis Kenney (December 10, 1946 – August 27, 1980) was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV and film, who co-founded the magazine National Lampoon in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material.[2] He went on to write, produce, and perform in the influential comedies Animal House and Caddyshack before his sudden death at the age of 33.

Douglas Clark Francis Kenney was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Estelle "Stephanie" (Karch) and Daniel Harold "Harry" Kenney, both originally from Massachusetts. His paternal grandparents, Daniel J. Kenney and Eleanor Agnes (Noonan), were of Irish origin. His maternal grandparents, Anthony Karczewski and Victoria Lesniak, were Polish.[1][_need quotation to verify_] He was named for General Douglas MacArthur. His family moved to Mentor, Ohio, in the early 1950s,[_citation needed_] before settling in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Kenney lived in Chagrin Falls from 1958 to 1964 and attended Gilmour Academy, a Catholic prep high school for boys in nearby Gates Mills, Ohio.[3]

While at Harvard University, Kenney was a member of the Signet Society, president of the Spee Club and editor of The Harvard Lampoon. Kenney frequently collaborated with Henry Beard; the two wrote the short novel Bored of the Rings, which was published in 1969. Kenney graduated in 1968. Soon after, he, Beard and fellow Harvard alumnus Robert Hoffman founded the humor magazine National Lampoon.[3]

Kenney was one of the originating forces of what became known during the 1970s as the "new wave" of comedy: a dark, irreverent style of humor that Kenney used as the basis for the magazine. Kenney was editor-in-chief from 1970 to 1972, senior editor from 1973 to 1974 and editor from 1975 to 1976.[2] Thomas Carney, writing in New Times, traced the history and style of the National Lampoon and the impact it had on comedy's new wave. "The National Lampoon," Carney wrote, "was the first full-blown appearance of non-Jewish humor in years — not anti-Semitic, just non-Jewish. Its roots were W.A.S.P. and Irish Catholic, with a weird strain of Canadian detachment.... This was not Jewish street-smart humor as a defense mechanism; this was slash-and-burn stuff that alternated in pitch but moved very much on the offensive. It was always disrespect everything, mostly yourself, a sort of reverse deism."[4]

Kenney wrote much of the Lampoon's early material, such as "Mrs. Agnew's Diary", a regular column purporting to be the diary of Spiro Agnew's wife, chronicling her life as Second Lady with "Spiggy", Richard Nixon, and other famous politicians. The feature was an Americanized version of Private Eye's long-running column "Mrs. Wilson's Diary", written from the viewpoint of Prime Minister Harold Wilson's wife.[5]

To escape the pressures of running a successful magazine, Kenney sometimes took unannounced extended breaks; despite these absences, "Mrs. Agnew's Diary" was always submitted to the Lampoon. During one of these breaks he wrote a comic novel, Teenage Commies from Outer Space. Kenney threw the manuscript in the trash after Beard reacted to it negatively.[6] Beard later said the book simply made no sense and was all over the place.

National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody, which Kenney co-wrote with P. J. O'Rourke, was the best-selling edition of the magazine.[7] It was based on an earlier two-page piece by Kenney and Michael O'Donoghue, a National Lampoon writer and editor.[8]

Kenney had a five-year buyout contract with the Lampoon's publisher, Twenty First Century Communications. Kenney, Beard, and Hoffman took advantage of this, dividing a sum of $7 million among them.[9] Kenney remained on the staff until 1977, when he left the magazine to co-write the screenplay to National Lampoon's Animal House with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis.[2]

Kenney said of his time with the National Lampoon:

"The Harvard Lampoon was my 'animal house.' I didn’t want it to end, so I got Matty to make it a national magazine. Now, as I look back at the past decade, I see a group of about 30 people that I have worked with again and again. I expect to work with them for the next ten years. We were the generation that discovered that alienation is funny. We found that if you take an existentialist, add a hot Camaro, a skateboard, and a lot of dope, you have a working, vital existentialist who can get a job at the National Lampoon."[10]

Kenney had a small role in Animal House as Delta fraternity brother "Stork", with two lines of dialogue. Stork's key scene is in the big parade climax, when he pushes the drum major away and leads the marching band down a blind alley. (Miller, as Hardbar, appears in the same shot during the escapade.) Kenney selected this role for himself as he felt it was the one that fit him best. Produced on a very modest budget, National Lampoon's Animal House was, until Ghostbusters in 1984, the most profitable comedy film in Hollywood history.[11]

Kenney produced and wrote Caddyshack with Brian Doyle-Murray and Harold Ramis. Kenney also had a small role in Caddyshack as a dinner guest of Al Czervik's.

When Caddyshack opened to negative reviews from critics in July 1980 despite being a box-office success, Kenney became deeply depressed, although Ramis joked that the film was "a six-million-dollar scholarship to film school".[3]

Chevy Chase and Kenney went to Maui, Hawaii, in the summer of 1980. About three weeks into the vacation, Chase left for a work commitment while Kenney's girlfriend, Kathryn Walker, arrived to keep Kenney company. However, after a short visit, she returned to Los Angeles. Chase was preparing to return to Hawaii when he received a telephone call telling him that his friend was missing.[12][6]

Kenney had traveled alone to the island of Kauai on August 26, 1980. On August 27, he fell to his death from a 35-foot (11 m) cliff called the Hanapepe Valley Lookout. Police found his rental car near the lookout point the following day, and his body was located on August 31.[6][12]

Paul Krassner, who had worked with Kenney before, wrote about Kenney's death: "There were rumors that he had committed suicide. I didn’t believe it. Not only had we planned to meet, but John Landis, the director of Animal House, said Doug also wanted to see him back in Los Angeles when he returned from Hawaii."[13] Found in Kenney's hotel room were notes for projects he had been planning, jokes, and an outline for a new movie. A gag line that he had left was also discovered: "These last few days are among the happiest I've ever ignored."[3][6]

His death was classified as accidental by Kauai police.[14][12]

The National Lampoon published a tribute to him by Matty Simmons, as well as a cartoon showing a sign reading "Doug Kenney Slipped Here" next to the edge of a cliff.[15]

Krassner described Kenney's wake:

I attended a memorial wake for Doug on the rooftop of the Magic Castle in Hollywood. There was an all-you-can-eat buffet provided by a Japanese restaurant. [A friend] and I considered starting a food fight, inspired by that scene in Animal House in honor of Doug — 'He would have wanted it that way' — but we decided it would be in terrible taste, and out of respect for all the other mourners, we resisted the temptation."[13][a]

Kenney received a nomination from The Writers Guild of America for his National Lampoon's Animal House screenplay (along with Harold Ramis and Chris Miller).

The June 1985 issue of National Lampoon, titled "The Doug Kenney Collection", was dedicated entirely to Kenney and contained a compilation of all of his contributions.

Chris Miller paid homage by naming the main character in his 1996 film Multiplicity "Doug Kinney".

Twenty-six years after Kenney's death, the book A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever was published. Written by Josh Karp, it is a biography on Kenney and the impact he made on comedy and the people he knew. The book was adapted into the 2018 Netflix feature film A Futile and Stupid Gesture, which stars comedian Will Forte as Kenney and is narrated by the actor Martin Mull, who plays a fictional 70-year-old version of Kenney who had survived into old age.[16]

Executive producer

  1. ^ The 2018 film A Futile and Stupid Gesture, about Kenney and the rise and fall of the National Lampoon, features a food fight at Kenney's wake, though it is started by Henry Beard, not Krassner.

  2. ^ a b Karp, Josh (2006). A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever. Chicago Review Press. p. 5. ISBN 9781556526022.

  3. ^ a b c Simonson, Mark. "Douglas C. Kenney (1946-1980)". STAFF & CONTRIBUTORS. Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site.

  4. ^ a b c d Anson, Robert Sam (March 2, 2014). "Doug Kenney: The Odd Comic Genius Behind 'Animal House' and National Lampoon". Daily Beast.

  5. ^ Carney, Thomas (August 21, 1978). "They Only Laughed When It Hurt". New Times. pp. 48–55.

  6. ^ Stein, Ellin (June 25, 2013). "Big and Glossy and Wonderful: The Birth of the 'National Lampoon' Magazine". Vulture.(subscription required)

  7. ^ a b c d Meyers, Kate (Apr 16, 2004). "Cult classic an homage to Doug Kenney". ESPN.

  8. ^ Ferguson, Andrew (Jan 2, 2004). "Class of '64 Reunion: National Lampoon's sublime yearbook parody is back". Culturebox. Slate.

  9. ^ Simonson, Mark. "National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody (1974)". Mark's Very Large National Lampoon Site. An early, shorter version of the same idea can be seen in the October 1970 (Nostalgia) issue with the 1956 High School Yearbook, written by Doug Kenney and Michael O'Donoghue.

  10. ^ Hendra, Tony (June 1, 2002). "Morning in America: the rise and fall of the National Lampoon". Harper's. (subscription required)

  11. ^ "Show Business: The Lampoon Goes Hollywood". Time. Aug 14, 1978.

  12. ^ Tapper, Jake (July 3, 2005). "National Lampoon Grows Up By Dumbing Down". The New York Times.

  13. ^ a b c "Death Ruled Accidental". The Vidette. Vol. 93, no. 16. 5 September 1980.

  14. ^ a b Krassner, Paul (Nov 6, 2015). "The Rise and Fall of the National Lampoon". CounterPunch.

  15. ^ "Lampoon Co-Founder Dead; Kenney Fell From Cliff". The Palm Beach Post. September 5, 1980. p. A17. Retrieved September 10, 2011.

  16. ^ Chevy Chase, Judd Apatow, Henry Beard, P. J. O'Rourke (2015). Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon (DVD, Streaming online video). USA: Magnolia Pictures.

  17. ^ "Will Forte to Star as 'National Lampoon' Co-Founder in Netflix Movie (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 4, 2017.

  18. ^ "Heavy Metal". American Film Institute. Retrieved December 21, 2015.