Doug Kenney

Douglas Clark Francis Kenney (December 10, 1946 – August 27, 1980) was an American comedy writer of magazine, novels, radio, TV and film, who co-founded the magazine '' National Lampoon'' in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material. He went on to write, produce, and perform in the influential comedies ''Animal House'' and ''Caddyshack'' before his sudden death at the age of 33.

Early life

Douglas Clark Francis Kenney was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, to Estelle "Stephanie" (Karch) and Daniel Harold "Harry" Kenney, both originally from Massachusetts. His paternal grandparents, Daniel J. Kenney and Eleanor Agnes (Noonan), were of Irish origin. His maternal grandparents, Anthony Karczewski and Victoria Lesniak, were Polish. He was named for General Douglas MacArthur. His family moved to Mentor, Ohio, in the early 1950s, before settling in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Kenney lived in Chagrin Falls from 1958 to 1964 and attended Gilmour Academy, a Catholic prep high school for boys in nearby Gates Mills, Ohio.

Career

''National Lampoon''

While at Harvard University, Kenney was a member of the Signet Society, president of the Spee Club and editor of ''The Harvard Lampoon''. Kenney frequently collaborated with Henry Beard; the two 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 founded the humor magazine '' National Lampoon''.

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 purporting to be the diary of Spiro Agnew's wife, chronicling her life as Second Lady with "Spiggy", 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; 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 in the trash after Beard reacted to it negatively. Beard later said the book simply made no sense and was all over the place.

'' National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody'', 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 Kenney and Michael O'Donoghue, a ''National Lampoon'' writer and editor.

Kenney had a five-year buyout contract with the ''Lampoon''s publisher, Twenty First Century Communications. Kenney, Beard, and Hoffman took advantage of this, dividing a sum of $7 million among them. Kenney remained on the 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 said of his time with the ''National Lampoon'':

Kenney had a small role in ''Animal House'' as Delta fraternity brother "Stork", with 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. (Miller, as Hardbar, appears in the same shot during the escapade.) Kenney selected this role for himself as he felt it was the one 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.

''Caddyshack''

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's.

When ''Caddyshack'' opened to negative reviews from critics in July 1980 despite being a box-office success, Kenney became deeply depressed, although Ramis joked that the film was "a six-million-dollar scholarship to film school".

Death

Chevy Chase and Kenney went to Maui, Hawaii, in the summer of 1980. About three weeks into the vacation, Chase left for a work commitment while Kenney's girlfriend, Kathryn Walker, arrived to keep Kenney company. However, after a short visit, she returned to Los Angeles. Chase was preparing to return to Hawaii when he received a telephone call telling him that his friend was missing.

Kenney had traveled alone to the island of Kauai on August 26, 1980. On August 27, he fell to his death from a cliff called the Hanapepe Valley Lookout. Police found his rental car near the lookout point the following day, and his body was located on August 31.

Paul Krassner, who had worked with Kenney before, wrote about Kenney's death: "There were rumors that he had committed suicide. I didn’t believe it. Not only had we planned to meet, but John Landis, the director of ''Animal House'', said Doug also wanted to see him back in Los Angeles when he returned from Hawaii." Found in Kenney's hotel room were notes for projects he had been planning, jokes, and an outline for a new movie. A gag line that he had left was also discovered: "These last few days are among the happiest I've ever ignored."

His death was classified as accidental by Kauai police.

The ''National Lampoon'' published a tribute to him by Matty Simmons, as well as a cartoon showing a sign reading "Doug Kenney Slipped Here" next to the edge of a cliff.

Krassner described Kenney's wake:

Legacy

Kenney received a nomination from The Writers Guild of America for his ''National Lampoon's Animal House'' screenplay (along with Harold Ramis and Chris Miller).

The June 1985 issue of ''National Lampoon'', titled "The Doug Kenney Collection", was dedicated entirely to Kenney and contained a compilation of all of his contributions.

Chris Miller paid homage by naming the main character in his 1996 film '' Multiplicity'' "Doug Kinney".

Twenty-six years after Kenney's death, the book '' A Futile and Stupid Gesture: How Doug Kenney and National Lampoon Changed Comedy Forever'' was published. Written by Josh Karp, it is a biography on Kenney and the impact he made on comedy and the people he knew. The book was adapted into the 2018 Netflix feature film '' A Futile and Stupid Gesture'', which stars comedian Will Forte as Kenney and is narrated by the actor Martin Mull, who plays a fictional 70-year-old version of Kenney who had survived into old age.

Bibliography

*'' Bored of the Rings'' (1969) (with Henry Beard)
*''Harvard Lampoon'' ''Time'' magazine parody (1969) (with Henry Beard)
*'' National Lampoon'' (1970–1977) (founder, with Henry Beard and Robert Hoffman)
*'' National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody'' (1974) (with P. J. O'Rourke)

Filmography

Executive producer
* '' Modern Problems'' (1981) (posthumous release)

Further reading

* ''People'', September 1, 1980
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Notes

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Kenney, Douglas
1946 births
1980 deaths
20th-century American male writers
20th-century American non-fiction writers
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American screenwriters
Accidental deaths from falls
Accidental deaths in Hawaii
American male non-fiction writers
American male novelists
American satirists
American parodists
American magazine editors
American male screenwriters
American people of Irish descent
American people of Polish descent
The Harvard Lampoon alumni
National Lampoon people
People from West Palm Beach, Florida
Parody novelists
People from Palm Beach County, Florida
People from Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Screenwriters from Ohio
Screenwriters from Florida