Tony Hendra passed away at the age of 79 on March 4, 2021. You can read the full obituary at The New York Times. Hendra was a contributing editor from 1970-71, managing editor in 1972, an editor from 1973-76, and senior editor in 1977, after which he parted ways with the magazine. In his early
Jerry Taylor, who was National Lampoon‘s associate publisher from 1971-72 and publisher from 1973-75 (the Golden Age) has died at the age of 85. He was also executive producer on most of the National Lampoon record albums, such as Radio Dinner and Lemmings. Aside from Lampoon stuff, he was creator, publisher and executive editor of
Q: Trying to find online (or other) reference to Nat Lamp comics page that used the phrases “too pink” and “much too pink” about a woman’s breasts. Probably an early issue, maybe by Peter Bramley. Any ideas? A: I tried to find it, but came up empty handed. If anyone else knows the answer to this question, let
Q: I recall a quote from an old NL story about a boy who was having some sort of sexual preference crisis so he “punched out my aunt and joined the Marines” or something like that. It was probably in the late ’70s or early ’80s. A: Sorry, but I am unable to find it. If
I tried answering the question you emailed me recently, but your email address is no good, so my reply could not be delivered. If you want the answer, try again from a valid email address. If your name is not Tim Murphy, never mind.
Former publisher of the National Lampoon Matty Simmons has died at the age of 93. Besides helping to found the magazine with editors Henry Beard, Doug Kenney, and Rob Hoffman, Simmons was responsible for taking National Lampoon to Hollywood with the hit comedy Animal House and the Vacation movie series. New York Times Obituary LA
I can’t believe I forgot about this, but someone in one of the comment threads reminded me. Fifty years ago this month, the first issue of National Lampoon hit the stands. (Read the inside story of that first cover here.) So far, I haven’t seen any notice of this in the media. But it’s not
Reader Cullum Rogers, who runs the amazing Magazine Parody website, recently did a detailed post about a NatLamp subscription promo from the late seventies that was probably not widely seen. It’s a parody of the typical Publisher’s Clearing House sweepstakes offer that was so ubiquitous back then. As a NatLamp subscriber at the time, I
Q: Do you remember a cartoon from around 1973 where there are two bathroom stalls and the one guy is asking the other if he has TP, and finally asks if has singles for a $20 bill? The artist might have been Sam Gross or Charles Rodrigues. A: That would be “Farouk Comix” by Yossarian
A collection of Shary Flenniken’s Trots and Bonnie strips is coming out in September. More info at Amazon and Penguin/Random House. (Thanks to Joseph for the tip.)
