15. Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of the National Lampoon
Douglas Tirola's magazine-goes-Hollywood saga elevates National Lampoon co-founder Doug Kenney to cult status. Along with Henry Beard, the enigmatic Kenney guided the magazine, under the ownership of Matty Simmons, during its heyday in the early '70s. This led to the Lampoon Radio Hour (starring future Saturday Night Live cast members John Belushi, Bill Murray, Harold Ramis and Gilda Radner) and the off-Broadway show Lemmings (which this write attended) and, finally, to movies like Animal House and Vacation. As the magazine declined, Hollywood beckoned and more movies were churned out. Kenney died in a hiking accident in 1980, but Lampoon lived on.
