God, If You're Not Up There...: Tales of Stand-up, Saturday Night Live, and Other Mind-Altering Mayhem - Softcover

Hammond, Darrell

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0062064568 ISBN 13: 9780062064561

Publisher: Harper Paperbacks, 2012

Synopsis

From his harrowing childhood filled with physical and emotional abuse at the hands of his parents to a lifetime of alcoholism and self-mutilation, psychiatric hospitalizations and misdiagnoses to the peak of fame and success as the longest-tenured cast member of "Saturday Night Live", Darryl Hammond delves into the darkest corners of his life both in front of and behind the camera with brutal honesty and a fierce comic wit. On the back of his hilarious dead-on impressions of Bill Clinton, Dick Cheney, Chris Matthews, and a hundred other prominent figures, Hammond was invited to the inner sanctums of the country's political leaders, including three presidents, all the while suffering debilitating and largely undiagnosed anguish that resulted in horrifying flashbacks, shocking benders, a hair-raising stint in a Bahamian jail, and ultimately a long, dark night in a Harlem crack house. His long fight for sobriety, filled with heartbreaking relapses, was propelled by a desire to do right by his young daughter and to set the record straight about how he fell so low while achieving such heights. Throughout, Hammond dishes on fellow cast members and celebrity guest hosts, and lays bare the real inner workings of an iconic television show.

About this title

Review:

"Hammond's moving memoir contains surprising detours. . . . [His] breezy style and facile storytelling will keep readers entertained even while reading about his struggle with alcoholism. . . . This funny man's serious life can be an inspiration to all." --Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

From the Back Cover:

A raw, poignant, and often hilarious look inside the troubled life and mind of an American comic icon.

From his harrowing childhood filled with abuse to a lifetime of addiction and psychiatric hospitalizations, to the peak of success as the longest-tenured cast member of Saturday Night Live, Darrell Hammond delves into the darkest corners of his life, on both sides of the camera, with honesty and a fierce comic wit. Beneath his hilarious dead-on impressions of Bill Clinton and others, Hammond suffered from largely undiagnosed mental anguish that resulted in horrifying flashbacks, a stint in a Bahamian jail, and ultimately a dark night in a Harlem crack house. He fought to learn the truth about his past for three decades, determined finally to do right by his young daughter and to set the record straight about falling so low while achieving such heights.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0062064568
• ISBN 13: 9780062064561
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 304