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Douglas Kenney

Douglas Kenney at work at National Lampoon magazine in the 1970s.
© Pedar Ness
Born December 10, 1947(1947-12-10)
Flag of the United States West Palm Springs, Florida, U.S.
Died August 27, 1980 (aged 32)
Flag of the United States Kauai, Hawaii, U.S.
Occupation Screenwriter
Magazine editor
Nationality American
Writing period 1965 - 1980
Genres Humour

Douglas C. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Palm Springs is a village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Kauai (in standard Hawaiian kauˈaʔi in Kauai- Ni{{okina}}ihau dialect; usually spelled Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands and ˈkaʊɑɪ or /kaʊˈɑɪ/ The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Employment is a Contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. See also Pre-production Screenplay Screenwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for Film, Television or Video games Editing Language, Images or Sound through correction condensation organization and other modifications in various media Nationality is a relationship between a Person and their State of Origin, Culture, association Affiliation and/or Loyalty The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A literary genre is a category of literary composition Genres may be determined by Literary technique, tone, Content, or even (as in the case of fiction Humour or humor (see spelling differences) is the tendency of particular cognitive experiences to provoke Laughter and provide Amusement Kenney (December 10, 1947–August 27, 1980) was an American writer who co-founded National Lampoon magazine in 1970. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A writer is anyone who creates a written work although the word usually designates those who write creatively or professionally as well as those who have written in many different forms Year 1970 ( MCMLXX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link shows full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material (see [1]).

Contents

Biography

Childhood

Douglas C. Kenney was born on December 10, 1947 in West Palm Springs, Florida. Events 1041 - Empress Zoe of Byzantium elevates her adoptive son to the throne of the Eastern Roman Empire as Michael V Year 1947 ( MCMXLVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1947 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Palm Springs is a village in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. Florida ( is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the Kenney attended Gilmour Academy, near Cleveland, Ohio, for high school. Gilmour Academy is an independent, Roman Catholic, Coeducational, college-preparatory school in the Cleveland suburb of Gates Mills Cleveland is a City in the US state of Ohio and the County seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state Ohio ( is a Midwestern state of the United States. As part of the Great Lakes region, Ohio has long been a cultural and geographical crossroads

His older brother, Daniel, was incredibly well liked, particularly by Kenney's parents, which made Kenney feel somewhat inferior. Still Kenney admired his older brother, and Daniel's death at 29 years old had a profound effect on him.

Kenney was also an outstanding student in high school. The degree of tolerance he got from his teachers varied on whether they appreciated Kenney's somewhat sophomoric sense of humor.

Harvard

While at Harvard Kenney was a member of the Signet society and editor of the Harvard Lampoon. The Signet Society of Harvard University was founded in 1870 by members of the class of 1871 The Harvard Lampoon is an Undergraduate humor publication and social organization founded in 1876 at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts There Kenney was part of the first group of young newcomers who restyled the college humor magazine. A humor magazine is a Magazine specifically designed to deliver Humorous content often in the form of Satire, to its readership Another one of these writers was Henry Beard, with whom Kenney frequently collaborated, and who became a lifelong friend. Henry N Beard (born ca 1945 is an American humorist one of the founders of the magazine National Lampoon and the author of several best-selling books Together with Beard, he wrote Bored of the Rings, which was published during 1969. Bored of the Rings is the title of a paperback parody of J R R Another one of Kenney's friends while at Harvard was musician Peter Ivers. Peter Scott Ivers (September 1946 - March 3, 1983) was an American Musician, best known as the host of New Wave Theatre Kenney graduated in 1968. Soon after, he and Beard met up with fellow Harvard alumni Robert Hoffman, and they began work on National Lampoon. Robert Hoffman may refer to Robert Hoffman (actor (1980 -) American actor Robert Hoffman (businessman, American businessman

National Lampoon

Kenney was one of the originating forces of what was to become known during the 1970s as the "new wave" of comedy, a dark, irreverent style of humor Kenney used as the basis for his magazine. Kenney was Editor-in-Chief from 1970 to 1972, Senior Editor 1973 to 1974, and editor from 1975 to 1976.

Kenney wrote much of the early material, such as "Mrs. Agnew's Diary", a regular column written as the diary of Spiro Agnew (or "Spiggy")'s wife, chronicling her life among Richard Nixon and other famous politicians. Spiro Theodore Agnew ( November 9, 1918 September 17, 1996) was the thirty-ninth Vice President of the United States (and the first The feature was an Americanized version of Private Eye's long-running column "Mrs. Private Eye is a fortnightly British satirical Magazine, edited by Ian Hislop. Wilson's Diary," written from the viewpoint of Prime Minister Harold Wilson's wife. James Harold Wilson Baron Wilson of Rievaulx, KG, OBE, FRS, PC (11 March 1916 &ndash 24 May 1995 was one of the most prominent British politicians

Kenney had a five year buyout contract with the Lampoon's publisher, 21st Century Communications. Kenney, Beard, and Hoffman took advantage of this, dividing a sum of seven million dollars among them. Kenney remained on staff until 1977. He quit to coauthor the screenplay to National Lampoon's Animal House, along with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis. John Christian "Chris" Miller (born 1942 is an American author and screenwriter most notable for his work on National Lampoon magazine Harold Allen Ramis (born November 21, 1944) is an American actor director and writer specializing in comedy

Animal House

Kenney had a small but important role in Animal House as the fraternity brother called "Stork," whose most memorable line of dialogue was the combative "Well, whut the hail we s'posed to do, yuh mo-ron?" Produced quickly on a small budget, National Lampoon's Animal House was the most profitable comedy films in Hollywood history, making Kenney one of the most sought-after writers in Hollywood.

Unfortunately, the sense of self-satisfaction and happiness that Kenney felt following the premiere of Animal House decreased in proportion to the attention and praise he received. He longed to be doing what he considered to be serious work—writing a novel or producing a movie—and he increasingly thought of himself as a failure. A comic novel, Teenage Commies from Outer Space, was never completed. Kenney, in fact, threw the entire manuscript away after a negative review from Beard.

Caddyshack

Kenney produced and co-wrote Caddyshack with Brian Doyle-Murray and Harold Ramis. Caddyshack is a 1980 American Comedy film directed by Harold Ramis and written by Brian Doyle-Murray, Ramis and Brian Doyle-Murray (born October 31, 1945) is an American Comedian, Screenwriter and Character actor. Kenney also had a small role in Caddyshack, as a dinner guest of Al Czervik. In the background of the Bushwood Club dinner party scene, Kenney can be seen chopping out a line of cocaine for the female guest next to him.

When Caddyshack opened to negative reviews in July, 1980, Kenney became extremely depressed, though Ramis joked that the film was "a six-million-dollar scholarship to film school". At a press conference, he verbally abused reporters and then fell into a drunken stupor. Concerned friends began asking Kenney to seek professional help, but by that time he was out of control, joking about previous suicide attempts, driving recklessly, and using increasing amounts of cocaine.

Death

After the incident at the Caddyshack press conference, it became apparent that all was not well. Kenney's close friend Chevy Chase tried taking him to Kauai, Hawaii, hoping the relaxing environment would help him, but had to leave to get back to work. Cornelius Crane “Chevy” Chase (born October 8 1943 is an American Emmy Award-winning Comedian, Writer, and television and film Kauai (in standard Hawaiian kauˈaʔi in Kauai- Ni{{okina}}ihau dialect; usually spelled Kauai outside the Hawaiian Islands and ˈkaʊɑɪ or /kaʊˈɑɪ/ After Chase left, Kenney's girlfriend, Kathryn Walker, came to keep him company, but she also had to leave to get back to work. Kenney had called Chase and invited him to come back out, and Chase was getting ready to leave when he got a telephone call that his friend was missing.

Kenney died on August 27, 1980, aged 32, after falling from a thirty-foot cliff called the Hanapepe Lookout. Events 479 BC - Greco-Persian Wars: Persian forces led by Mardonius are routed by Pausanias, the Spartan Year 1980 ( MCMLXXX) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link displays the 1980 Gregorian calendar) Police found his abandoned vehicle the following day, but it wasn't until three days later that Kenney's body was discovered. About Kenney's death, Harold Ramis famously quipped "Doug probably fell while he was looking for a place to jump. Harold Allen Ramis (born November 21, 1944) is an American actor director and writer specializing in comedy "

Found in Kenney's hotel room were notes for projects he had been planning, jokes, and an outline for a new movie. "We also found," Chevy Chase told Rolling Stone magazine, "written on the back of a hotel receipt, a bunch of random thoughts that included the reasons why he loved Kathryn, and a gag line: 'These last few days are among the happiest I've ever ignored. '"

Ramis paid homage by naming the main character in his 1996 film Multiplicity after Kenney. Multiplicity is a 1996 Comedy film starring Michael Keaton and Andie MacDowell.

References

Biography

External links

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