Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There [Hardcover]

Tom Davis (Author), Al Franken (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 3, 2009

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. Written by Tom Davis, an original SNL writer and comedy partner of Al Franken, 39 Years of Short Term Memory Loss is the story of coming of age in the 60s, and a spellbinding account of the birth and rise of one of television’s most celebrated shows, Saturday Night Live. Tom Davis’ memoir is filled with wry, candid anecdotes about his days at Saturday Night Live and friendship with its stars. But it also the story of Davis’ own coming of age—escaping his conservative roots in suburban Minneapolis, traveling the world, and reveling in the hippie culture of 1960s San Francisco. The author finds the highs and lows of his own career to be an hilarious counterpoint to the meteoric rise of SNL and his friends' growing celebrity. Hysterical, lucid and wise, 39 Years of Short Term Memory Loss is a free spirited, unrepentant romp through an era of sex, drugs, and comedy.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Writing for Saturday Night Live during the sketch show's legendary early seasons may be Davis's claim to fame, but this captivating memoir is about much more, including his suburban Minneapolis childhood, couch-surfing through his hometown, San Francisco, and New York City during the 1970s, and a life-long friendship with comedian-turned-political commentator-turned (probable) Senator Al Franken. Of course, that doesn't stop Davis from hooking readers at the outset with the true Coneheads origin story, involving Dan Aykroyd, LSD and a trip to Easter Island. Later, Davis recalls poignantly Aykroyd's eulogy at John Belushi's funeral, which began, "I so did not want to have to do this." Davis also speaks reverently of Lorne Michaels, despite their (often hilarious) professional differences. Davis's portrait of Franken, though, is most endearing. Fellow Minneapolisians, Franken and Davis were a comedy team throughout their young careers; Davis recreates their partnership in rich, funny details, bolstered by transcripts of their recent e-mail correspondence. Though it features some lurid and hysterical SNL stories, Davis's memoir is less a backstage expose than a winning coming-of-age story featuring a funny Midwestern kid following his unlikely dream to the top.
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Review

"Funny, spiky, and twistedly entertaining . . . Davis' tales are engrossing and darkly humorous." --Entertainment Weekly

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 302 pages
• Publisher: Grove Press (March 3, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802118801
• ISBN-13: 978-0802118806
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #810,870 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Driving That Train, High On Cocaine....., April 5, 2009

By 

Mark Demos (Milwaukee, WI) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There (Hardcover)

I'm a HUGE fan of SNL (especially that of the early years), so I snapped this title up almost as soon as it became available. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of believing that a book with the subtitle, "The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There", might actually focus on, you know, THE EARLY DAYS OF SNL !!!

But that's really not the case.......

Instead, what we get are a patchwork of recollections from Tom Davis's drug-addled life and career, with emphasis on his friendship/partnership/break-up with Al Franken, some adventures and experiences shared with his pal Dan Aykroyd, and numerous exploits involving Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead (Davis's favorite band).

To be fair, over the course of the book Davis DOES relate a number of stories from his time as a writer (and occasional performer) on SNL, however, nowhere near as many as I expected, or had hoped for, based on the misleading title.

The other stories that are told are, for the most part, interesting, and help the reader better understand the truly atypical life that Tom Davis has led, however, it's the way he relates those stories that are this book's biggest problem................simply put, they're ALL over the place.

The story line (what little there is) is disjointed, and rather difficult to follow. The narrative constantly jumps back and forth from the present to the past (and back again) without much explanation (or segue) in between, leaving the reader in a semi-constant state of confusion regarding 'time and place'.........and THIS from a man who makes his living as a writer!!! (Though I realize that the writing of one's bio is VERY different from the scripting of comedy "bits" for tv, movies and stand-up, understanding that fact doesn't make the reading any easier.)

In the end, it's up to the reader to make some kind of sense out of the 'jumbled' story line. I did, and am (mostly) glad that I did, since I learned a few things about 'Saturday Night Live' that I didn't already know.

Still, I can't recommend this book to anyone looking for a highly informative read on that particular subject. In fact, I guess I wouldn't recommend it to anyone but the most diehard of 'SNL'ers', or possibly to those looking for a glimpse into some of the formative experiences of Tom Davis's onetime partner, (Minnesota Senator) Al Franken (and "Deadheads" too, might enjoy reading the various exploits of their 'heroes').

Having completed this work, my vote for the best SNL 'history' book is still "Live From New York: An Uncensored History of Saturday Night Live, as Told By Its Stars, Writers and Guests", by James A. Miller and Tom Shales. It provides a decent overview of the show from a number of different perspectives, and is a VERY entertaining (and often surprising) read, to boot (It's even been updated!). Comprised almost entirely of first-hand quotes culled from numerous interviews with the producers, writers, performers, and hosts from the show's past, it touches on every 'era' in SNL history.

And hopefully we'll one day still get the 'definitive' book on the early days of SNL from "someone who was there", but, sad as it is to say, it's now beginning to look like that may never happen.......

Hmmmmmmmm............."Paging Mr. Michaels, Mr. Lorne Michaels..."

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Sorry about the cancer, Tom, January 14, 2010

By 

N. S. Freed "N. Freed" (Armonk, NY) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There (Hardcover)

From an ad on the back of the NY Times Magazine, I found out that Tom Davis was treated for tongue cancer and is in remission. I wish him well. Surprising though that his body didn't fail him previously, based on this tedious recounting of a charmed life on drugs.

Hearing endless descriptions of how cool it was to do crack with Jerry Garcia, and how a person with incredible opportunities, access, and, maybe, some talent, threw it all away, was even more of a drag than I thought it could be. I listened to this entire poorly written, rambling, annoying book, read by the author, waiting for
a. the funny, b. any insight that age brings to a wasted life, c. recognition of the obvious deep-seated, self hatred told in a post-modern, clever way. Other than a mention of suicide in a final epigram, this guy remains entirely clueless about what a fool he was/is.
Note to Tom and others who might think their lives are interesting.
A readable memoir should not include:
How many stunningly gorgeous women you slept with.
How many hits of acid you consumed or procured for famous people.
How terrific you thought that comedy you wrote decades ago was.
How you went to amazing places around the world and missed everything important because all you wanted to do was be stoned.

Watch some old SNLs and try not to think about him. I also feel sorry for Al F. He must have borne the brunt of this guy's pathology.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but not a must read, July 4, 2009

By 

Joe Duke "Duke" (New York USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss: The Early Days of SNL from Someone Who Was There (Hardcover)

The book contains some interesting tidbits, but is not very well written. Every other paragraph ends with the author thanking someone. The book is disjointed, and out of sequence. Photos would be more elucidating if they were all captioned with subject's name. Strange how he refers to the "Franken and Davis" comedy duo, as if he wasn't the Davis of Franken and Davis. It's similar to a baseball player referring to himself in the third person.

Read "Wired"- Belushi's biography if you want a great SNL primer.