Chris Kattan’s new book never mentions monkeys. (Except for his character Mr. Peepers, which was very monkey-like.) I would’ve bought this book for myself, because I like Chris and all things SNL-related, but my brother beat me to it, giving it to me for my birthday.
He gifted it to me a few days before the book made headlines for a chapter about Lorne Michaels asking Chris to sleep with director Amy Heckerling to keep her happy as they shot A Night at the Roxbury.
The headlines were out of context. In the book, Chris recounted being told by Lorne that Amy had a crush and him, and Chris was pleasantly surprised. They started secretly dating. The real drama occurred after they finished shooting. Because Chris kept the relationship hidden from his co-star/best friend Will Ferrell, Will lost trust in Chris, and refused to return his calls. Back at SNL, Will finally pulled Chris aside and said that while there wouldn’t be a problem with them working together, their friendship was over.
This is a very quick read – which is rare for me and my only-on-the-elliptical reading habit. Chris has led an interesting life. His dad was a Groundling and an actor as well, who appeared in Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Chris broke his neck doing a prat-fall during an SNL sketch, and then, afraid he’d lose his job, he risked paralysis by refusing to tell anyone or see a doctor about it. Eventually he did, and needed five separate surgeries. He became hooked on pain pills and cocaine.
Very good book. I recommend it.
