
Lorne
The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live
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Narrated by:
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Kristen DiMercurio
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Susan Morrison
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By:
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Susan Morrison
About this listen
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The definitive biography of Lorne Michaels, the man behind America’s most beloved comedy show
“The kind of biographical monument usually consecrated to founding fathers, canonical authors and world-historical scientific geniuses.”—The New York Times (Editors’ Choice)
“Readers are treated to the Holy Grail for any journalist hoping to crack the show: a warts-and-all week in the life of SNL, where Morrison gets to see the real process of putting the thing together.”—Variety
Over the fifty years that Lorne Michaels has been at the helm of Saturday Night Live, he has become a revered and inimitable presence in the entertainment world. He’s a tastemaker, a mogul, a withholding father figure, a genius spotter of talent, a shrewd businessman, a name-dropper, a raconteur, the inspiration for Dr. Evil, the winner of more than a hundred Emmys—and, essentially, a mystery. Generations of writers and performers have spent their lives trying to figure him out, by turns demonizing and lionizing him. He’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” (Tracy Morgan), the “great and powerful Oz” (Kate McKinnon), “some kind of very distant, strange comedy god” (Bob Odenkirk).
Lorne will introduce you to him, in full, for the first time. With unprecedented access to Michaels and the entire SNL apparatus, Susan Morrison takes listeners behind the curtain for the lively, up-and-down, definitive story of how Michaels created and maintained the institution that changed comedy forever.
Drawn from hundreds of interviews—with Michaels, his friends, and SNL’s iconic stars and writers, from Will Ferrell to Tina Fey to John Mulaney to Chris Rock to Dan Aykroyd—Lorne is a deeply reported, wildly entertaining account of a man singularly obsessed with the show that would define his life and have a profound impact on American culture.
©2025 Susan Morrison (P)2025 Random House Audio
Interview: Susan Morrison has penned the definitive biography of SNL’s man behind the curtain
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Critic reviews
“Beautifully written—a model of research, narrative structure, concision and observation . . . a dense, entertaining read that marvels at an invisible yet hugely influential career while never stooping to valorize it . . . If you take nothing else from Lorne, it’s that Lorne Michaels is Saturday Night Live.”—The Washington Post
“A towering achievement, the definitive portrait of a cunning and creative genius responsible for cultivating a half-century of comedy’s biggest stars.”—The Toronto Star
“A biography that’s both enlightening and entertaining . . . The detail that unfurls in the book’s 600 pages is a testament to [Morrison’s] commitment to her task and the depth of her research.”—BookReporter
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- Narrated by: Steve Martin, Adam Gopnik
- Length: 2 hrs and 46 mins
- Original Recording
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Steve Martin met his good friend Adam Gopnik three decades ago, and in that time, Gopnik has always marveled at Martin’s ability to flourish in a wide variety of artforms: magic, comedy, art collecting, writing, and music. In So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin, New Yorker writer Adam Gopnik creates a new type of profile: a year’s worth of conversations with Martin where Gopnik pulls back the curtain on his friend’s illustrious career.
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Perfection
- By M on 05-05-23
By: Steve Martin, and others
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Live from New York
- An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live
- By: Tom Shales, James Andrew Miller
- Narrated by: Christopher Burns, Eric Conger
- Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins
- Abridged
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A history of Saturday Night Live that finally reveals what really went on backstage, on the set, in the writers' offices, and on the town. Dozens of stars, writers, and guest hosts recall the backstage gossip, feuds, foibles, drugs, sex, struggles, and calamities of the show that changed television.
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Interesting inside look, so-so presentation
- By Tim on 12-22-02
By: Tom Shales, and others
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King of Comedy
- The Life and Art of Jerry Lewis
- By: Shawn Levy
- Narrated by: Marty Ingels
- Length: 2 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
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Jerry Lewis (1926-2017) achieved superstardom in the 1950s and 1960s with such films as The Caddy, The Bellboy, and The Nutty Professor. Later, Lewis was almost as well known for his dedication to the cause of muscular dystrophy and his annual Labor Day telethon, which he hosted for more than four decades. In King of Comedy, Shawn Levy offers a provocative portrait of the influential comedian, analyzing the complex, sometimes disturbing world of Lewis—from his rise to fame and philanthropic work to the dark side of his career and personal life.
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Interesting!
- By David on 01-17-04
By: Shawn Levy
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Becoming Spectacular
- The Rhythm of Resilience from the First African American Rockette
- By: Jennifer Jones
- Narrated by: Chanté McCormick
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
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The Radio City Rockettes are as American as baseball, hot dogs, and the Fourth of July. Their legendary synchronized leg kicks, precise lines, and megawatt smiles have charmed audiences for a century. But there is a hidden side to this illustrious national institution. Like Gelsey Kirkland’s iconic Dancing on My Grave, Becoming Spectacular allows us to walk in Jones’ tap shoes—beautiful and glittering, yet painful and binding. Bringing into focus the wounded life of a trailblazer, this searing memoir is also a triumphant celebration of a spirit who refused to be counted out.
By: Jennifer Jones
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A Very Punchable Face
- A Memoir
- By: Colin Jost
- Narrated by: Colin Jost
- Length: 7 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
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If there’s one trait that makes someone well-suited to comedy, it’s being able to take a punch - metaphorically and, occasionally, physically. Told with a healthy dose of self-deprecation, A Very Punchable Face reveals the brilliant mind behind some of the dumbest sketches on television, and lays bare the heart and humor of a hardworking guy - with a face you can’t help but want to punch.
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Amazing
- By Erin E. Kace on 07-27-20
By: Colin Jost
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The Comedians
- Drunks, Thieves, Scoundrels and the History of American Comedy
- By: Kliph Nesteroff
- Narrated by: Kliph Nesteroff
- Length: 15 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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In The Comedians, comedy historian Kliph Nesteroff brings to life a century of American comedy with real-life characters, forgotten stars, mainstream heroes and counterculture iconoclasts. Based on over 200 original interviews and extensive archival research, Nesteroff's groundbreaking work is a narrative exploration of the way comedians have reflected, shaped, and changed American culture over the past 100 years.
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Performance issues
- By E. A. Smith on 09-02-19
By: Kliph Nesteroff
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When I Was Your Age
- Life Lessons, Funny Stories & Questionable Parenting Advice from a Professional Clown
- By: Kenan Thompson
- Narrated by: Kenan Thompson
- Length: 7 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Kenan Thompson is Saturday Night Live’s longest-ever-serving cast member and a star of such pioneering sketches as “Black Jeopardy” and is hugely beloved thanks to a tidal wave of nostalgic fans who grew up on early 2000s classics All That, Good Burger, and Kenan & Kel on Nickelodeon. He’s also a dad (to two girls) in his mid-40s living in suburbia, and whose universal, relatable, family-friendly humor has created unbelievable appeal and engagement from fans from middle America to coastal elites. Becoming a dad sucked the cool right out of him—and he's OK with that!
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An incredible storyteller
- By K. Brown on 01-07-24
By: Kenan Thompson
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Box Office Poison
- Hollywood's Story in a Century of Flops
- By: Tim Robey
- Narrated by: Tim Robey
- Length: 8 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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From grand follies to misunderstood masterpieces, disastrous sequels to catastrophic literary adaptations, Box Office Poison tells a hugely entertaining alternative history of Hollywood, through a century of its most notable flops. What can these films tell us about the Hollywood system, the public’s appetite–or lack of it–and the circumstances that saw such flops actually made? Away from the canon, this is the definitive take on these ill-fated, but essential celluloid failures.
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Boring and dull
- By Tech Guy on 05-29-25
By: Tim Robey
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Johnny Carson
- By: Henry Bushkin
- Narrated by: Josh Bloomberg
- Length: 10 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
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“Here’s Johnny!” Probably everyone in America knows the phrase, whether they watched every episode of The Tonight Show or none because they had to go to bed early on school nights. From 1962 to 1992, Johnny Carson and his Tonight Show dominated the American consciousness. Henry Bushkin was Carson’s best friend and lawyer during that period, and his book is a tautly rendered and remarkably nuanced portrait of Carson, revealing not only how he truly was, but why.
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The good, the bad and the ugly. A five star story of the king of late night
- By Richard A on 05-23-24
By: Henry Bushkin
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When the Going Was Good
- An Editor's Adventures During the Last Golden Age of Magazines
- By: Graydon Carter, James Fox - contributor
- Narrated by: Graydon Carter
- Length: 12 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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When Graydon Carter was offered the editorship of Vanity Fair in 1992, he knew he faced an uphill battle—how to make the esteemed and long-established magazine his own. Not only was he confronted with a staff that he perceived to be loyal to the previous regime, but he arrived only a few years after launching Spy magazine, which gloried in skewering the celebrated and powerful—the very people Vanity Fair venerated.
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A lucky man
- By Dassha1 on 03-30-25
By: Graydon Carter, and others
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Spare Me
- By: Anthony Cumia, Johnny Russo - foreword
- Narrated by: Anthony Cumia
- Length: 3 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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You won't want to miss the explosive insights and unfiltered perspective in legendary broadcaster Anthony Cumia’s latest book. In his much-anticipated second book, Spare Me, radio personality and podcaster Anthony Cumia returns, unleashing a scorching and unapologetic commentary that spans the spectrum from politics to entertainment, while sparing no particular individual deserving of his legendary wrath.
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great listen!
- By free thinker. on 02-19-25
By: Anthony Cumia, and others
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The Fenway Effect
- A Cultural History of the Boston Red Sox
- By: David Krell
- Narrated by: David Krell
- Length: 8 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
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To be a part of Red Sox Nation is to be a hopeful romantic who neither betrays loyalty nor surrenders hope in the direst of circumstances. From Bangor to Back Bay, New Englanders endure in baseball matters. And life. The team's history has intersected with the history of Boston and well beyond it, through the Curse of the Bambino, the military service of Ted Williams during World War II, and the Boston Marathon bombing. The Fenway Effect chronicles these stories and others that have built the incredible saga of the Boston Red Sox.
By: David Krell
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It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time
- The Worst TV Shows in History and Other Things I Wrote
- By: Bruce Vilanch
- Narrated by: Bruce Vilanch
- Length: 5 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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Bruce Vilanch is known as a go-to comedy writer for award shows, sitcoms, and top-heavy variety specials, but he has also been responsible for quite a few of the worst shows ever put on television—legendarily bad productions. It Seemed Like a Bad Idea at the Time is a lifetime reflection of what Vilanch has experienced, learned, forgotten, dismissed, and embraced in decades of working in show business
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For show biz lovers
- By Sarasota on 03-07-25
By: Bruce Vilanch
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39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss
- The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There
- By: Tom Davis
- Narrated by: Tom Davis
- Length: 9 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
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i>39 Years of Short-Term Memory Loss is a seriously funny, offbeat, and irreverent memoir that chronicles the early days of Saturday Night Live and features some of its greatest personalities---Al Franken, Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Bill Murray, Michael O'Donoghue, and Chris Farley.
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GREAT MEMORIES!!!
- By Ruth R-Evans on 08-21-12
By: Tom Davis
I had the pleasure of watching last night’s show (March 7, 2025) after devouring the book…it sure made the show hit different! Thank you!can’t imagine the time you poured into this masterpiece!
It leaves you feeling like you’re in on the secret…
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Good inter-stitching of 50 years of history with 1 week of current production. I
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Reality at its finest
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An entertainment legend
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On to the next book.
Hard to listen to the narrator
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Loved the book almost couldn’t listen to the narrator tho…
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Well written bio of a modern day impresario
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Great biography! A true legend.
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Great listen!
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Meticulous and Engaging
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