Table of Contents
Guide
Thank you:
To my dad, Kip (Rest in Power, Pop), for sharing his love for comedy, being my best friend, and allowing me to be the parent. To my mom, Hajni, for always being there for me, for giving me those beautiful albeit short genes, and for letting Kip think he was the funnier parent even though its always been you. To my other dad, Marc, for always being the sturdy, dependable rock of the family, and showing me real dedication through Buddhism even when I get antsy while meditating.
To my brother, Andrew, for showing me what it is to be a truly good person, and for putting up with being Mangos brother in high school (Im sorry, forever!) and to Bruce.
To my best friend, my teacher, and the only person who gets to yell at me. This book wouldnt exist without you. You kept me on point and revived the project after I let grief take over. You inspire me Billy Bill, Jennifer Schultz.
To everyone else in my family: my dads side, my moms side, and the Joslyns. Thank you for always letting me be who I am.
To Will for being the beginning of everything. There are no words. I just love you. I wouldnt drop trou with anyone but you!
Jimmy! Youre the light of all those NYC nights, the karaoke master, and my savior through dark times. Your friendship has meant more to me than Ive ever been able to express.
To Seth, Ariel, Alexi. Youre like family.
Carmen, John, Zooey, Michelle, Sunshine, China, Drew, Amy, Jennifer, and Elisa. Also to Jane for three of the best years while in New York and Italy.
To my babysitters, Lisa and Melanie. And my grade school teachers at Mt. Baldy: Ellen, Janice, and others. I know I was a handful, but you made it fun. My Bainbridge High School drama teacher, Mr. McAllister, for casting me in serious plays like The Crucible.
Harper Simon, Marci Klein, Mike Shoemaker, Fred Armisen, Horatio Sanz, Chris Parnell, Amy Poehler, Janeane Garofalo, Rachel Dratch, Tina Fey, Darrell Hammond, Jeff Richards, Ana Gasteyer, Molly Shannon, David Spade, Tim Meadows. Eva Mendez, Gary Shandling, Ted Demme, Amanda Demme.
Stacey Shear, Kari. Richard LaGravenese. Danny DeVito. Paul Thomas Anderson. Shauna Robertson for some of the happiest times. Maya, Parker, and Gracie.
Cameron for making me cooler than I was by being my friend, and also for teaching me how to handle fame.
Parker, the only woman who could be my man of honorI love you more than words. Youre both the good and the bad whisper in my ear...
To my friends, who appear then disappear, but remain unconditional and allow me to come and go in their lives without guilt. I adore you all. Call me!
To Mary Ellen Matthews for her brilliant photos.
To the Monday night guys.
To Paul Dinello and Amy Sedaris for jumpstarting my creativity.
To Travis Thrasher for organizing and polishing me up to sound like a real writer. Can I still call you and share stories?
To Alexa Stevenson for your brilliant editing, and everyone at BenBella for being patient and believing in me and this project.
To Steve Ross for guiding and pushing this project forward.
To Win Butler and the rest of Arcade Fire for personally allowing me to use a brilliant lyric and the most appropriate quote I could find for this book.
Adam Ginivisian
Adam McKay
Adam Sandler
Alan Covert
Amy Heckerling
Andrew Steele
Andy Samberg
Anita Patrickson
Anthony Kiedis
Ben Stiller
Beyonc
Bono
Brooke Shields
Charlize Theron
Cheri Oteri
Chris Henchy
Chris Redd
Christie Will
Colin Quinn
Conan OBrien
Coolidge
Dana Carvey
Daryl Hannah
Dave Becky
Dave Chapelle
David Letterman
Denise Richards
Dianna Oliver
Ed Norton
Eddie Griffin
Ellen DeGeneres
Fax Bahr
Fiona Apple
Flea
Geoffrey Rush
Guy Oseary
Harrison Ford
Heath Ledger
Hugh Fink
Jake Gyllenhaal
James Brown, for teaching me to spin
James Franco
Jason Bateman
Jay Leno
Jennifer Allen
Jill Fritzo
Jim Wise
Joie Rice
Jon Hamm
Jon Lovitz
Josh Deu
Karen Maruyama
Kathy Griffin
Katie Feldman
Keanu Reeves
Kristen Bell
Kristen Purdy
Larry Mullen Jr.
Lisa Kudrow
Lyle Jackson
Madonna
Martin Short
Matt Piedmont
Melanie Graham
Michael Stipe
Mike Myers
Natasha Lyonne
Neal Brennan
Patricia Arquette
Patricia Heaton
Patty Stafford
Paul Reubens
Paula Pell
Phil Hartman
Renee Zellweger
Ron Burkle
Roy Jenkins
Scott Wainio
Steve Higgins
Steve Koren
Steven Soderbergh
Thomas Jane
Tom Cruise
Tom Hanks
Vince Vaughn
To Chaplin for The Rink and Modern Times
Buster Keaton for One Week and The General
W.C. Fields for Its a Gift and The Bank Dick
The Marx Bros. for Duck Soup and A Night at the Opera
Jack Benny
Bob Hope
Pinocchio
To anyone I may have forgotten, please forgive me.
CHRIS KATTAN began his comedic career as a member of Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, of which his father was an original member. He joined the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1996, and over the next seven seasons, his recurring characters included Mr. Peepers, Mango, Azrael Abyss, Gay Hitler, Suel Forrester, and, most notably, one half of the head-bopping Butabi Brothers with fellow SNL (and Groundlings) cast member Will Ferrell. Kattan has appeared in numerous film and television roles. His credits include A Night at the Roxbury, Undercover Brother, the IFC series Bollywood Hero, The Middle, How I Met Your Mother, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, and Late Night with Seth Meyers. Kattan now travels the world doing stand-up, lives in Los Angeles, and enjoys making toast for house guests.
Bestselling author TRAVIS THRASHER has written more than 50 books and worked in the publishing industry for more than 20 years. He has penned fiction in a variety of genres, and his inspirational stories include collaborations with filmmakers, musicians, and athletes. Thrasher lives with his wife and three daughters in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
![S o there I was hanging upside down by my bare feet which were wrapped around - photo 1](/uploads/posts/book/146170/images/line.jpg)
S o there I was, hanging upside down by my bare feet, which were wrapped around the neck of a seven-foot-tall gentleman by the name of Roy Jenkins.
Holy shit, I thought to myself, Im hanging upside down with my feet around someones neck. When did I learn to do this?
It was a Monday night in 1993. Monday nights class was the one you never wanted to miss because not only was it the one time you got to do improv exercises, it was the only night to pitch sketches that might get you in the lineup for the upcoming Groundlings Sunday show.
The Sunday show director was Melanie Graham, whod started as a member of the Groundlings main company and would years later become a writer for SNL for a few seasons while I was on the show. Melanie bore a strong resemblance to Edna Mode from Disneys The Incredibles (as well as to legendary Hollywood costume designer Edith Head, who I believe the Incredibles character was based on). Melanie was intimidatingly smart, but encouragement was not her forte. She was critical, with high expectations, and it was easy to feel like she was being too hard on you. But ultimately, Melanies expectations made us all better performers and better writers. At the time, I didnt realize that writing was such an important backbone of comedy. Looking back now, I can honestly say Melanie was one of the greatest teachers Ive ever had.
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