You’ve seen the Saturday Night Live clips. You’ve watched their movies. You’ve maybe seen them in person, watched their comedy specials, read their books, listened to their music. You’ve quoted their lines a million times. And now you have a chance to hear the whole story, from the backstage fights to the drugs to the collaborations and the reconciliations. The icons of 1980s comedy came, they made us laugh, and they changed the world.
Nick de Semlyen’s Wild and Crazy Guys looks at all the most iconic moments of ‘80s comedy. Saturday Night Live. Animal House. The Blues Brothers. Caddyshack. The Jerk. SCTV. National Lampoon’s Vacation. Ghostbusters. Beverly Hills Cop. Three Amigos!
Following the careers of Chevy Chase, John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, John Candy, Eddie Murphy, and Rick Moranis, this book doesn’t just stick with the obvious moments, the films everyone knows, the facts you can get on the first paragraph of an internet search. It goes deeper, telling the behind-the-scenes stories like a true insider.
Wild and Crazy Guys also steps back from the iconic moments and the one-liners we all know and gives a broader overview of these men’s careers and the long-term effects on the fields of comedy, television, and film.
Starting with the moment that Bill Murray hit Chevy Chase backstage at SNL in 1978, and moving through all the hits and misses of the following decades, Wild and Crazy Guys is a thrilling roller coaster of memories and moments that helped to define a decade of comedians, and reading it feels like a celebration of the best ‘80s gut-busting laughs.
Galleys for Wild and Crazy Guys were provided by Penguin Random House through their First-to-Read program, with many thanks.
