Douglas Kenney

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While at Harvard University, Kenney was a member of the Signet Society, president of the Spee Club and editor of The Harvard Lampoon. He decided once he got to college, he was going to re-invent himself as an all-round golden boy. There, he was part of the first group of newcomers who restyled the college humor magazine. Another of these writers was Henry Beard, with whom Kenney frequently collaborated, and who became a lifelong friend. Together with Beard, he 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 began work on founding the humor magazine National Lampoon. Doug found it hard to find something he wanted to do in life, his only joy and talent was writing for "The Harvard Lampoon." So, he suggested to Beard they create a mainstream, professional, worldwide, syndicated version of the magazine.

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. 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."

Kenney wrote much of the Lampoon's 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 amongst 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.

To escape the pressures of running a successful magazine, Kenney sometimes took unannounced extended breaks, although, 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 out his office window after a negative review from Beard. Beard later said the book simply made no sense and was all over the place. National Lampoon's 1964 High School Yearbook, which Kenney co-wrote with P. J. O'Rourke was the best selling edition of the magazine, it was based on an earlier two-page piece by Michael O'Donoghue, a "National Lampoon" writer and editor.

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 $7 million amongst them. Kenney remained on 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.

Kenney had a small role in Animal House as Delta fraternity brother "Stork," with only 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. We see him and Miller, as Hardbar, in the same shot during the escapade. Kenney hand-selected this role for himself as it was the role 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.

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. In the background of the Bushwood Club dinner party scene, Kenney is visible chopping out a line of cocaine for the female guest next to him. He is also seen dancing with her.

The final film was quite different than the one Kenney, Doyle-Murray and Ramis had envisioned. They had intended it to be about the caddies and their attitude towards the club's members and government, but the studio edited it to focus on the stars, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Bill Murray and Ted Knight.

When Caddyshack opened to negative reviews in July 1980, Kenney became deeply depressed, although Ramis joked that the film was "a six-million-dollar scholarship to film school." At a press conference, Kenney 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. He decided to stay with two friends. He played games with them and participated in their daily activities. He even referred to both of them as "mom and dad" during his stay.

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