Lorne is such an inscrutable individual and this biography both challenges and confirms any preconceived notions you may have of this iconic producer. It's well researched, chock full of interviews and extends beyond tired oft-repeated anecdote and rarely veers into hagiography. Exhaustive, and at times exhausting, this is everything I crave when it comes to show-biz non-fiction..

My thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for an advance copy of this book is a biography of a man many now from his satirical appearances in different mediums, but a man who has changed television, movies, how we laugh, or don't laugh, and most importantly changed himself over the last 50 years.

There is one thing that united people, doesn't matter their age, their politics, even their views on sexuality; Saturday Night Live isn't funny. Many say this, citing the the original Not Ready for Prime Time Players, the Eddie Murphy years, the mid-nineties as the prime example of a show that was funny. Much has changed in America in 50 years, and comedy has changed too. Sometimes grudgingly, sometimes dragging its heels, sometimes returning to ugly humor, but the one constant in all this, from rotating casts, to movies, to digital snippets is the creator of Saturday Night Live, Lorne Michaels. From the beginning, with a short time away from the monitor, Lorne has shepherded SNL through wars, political upheavals, break-ups, Pope ripping episodes, curses on air, and more. Lorne, as he is best known has changed how television was viewed, what it was capable of, and how people laughed. Your results might vary. Lorne has appeared on TV, been parodied on the Simpsons, used as a model for Dr. Evil, but to the general public not much is known about this man from the North, who seems to have his finger on the pulse of entertainment. Until now. Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live by Susan Morrison is a magisterial study of a man, with a plan, and a unique ability to work without a net, live for almost 50 years, and the comedic world he has given us.

Lorne Lipowitz was born in Canada with a love of television, and a passion to entertain. Lorne's interest in entertainment served him well, becoming friendly with one part of comedy duo who appeared on Ed Sullivan, who shared stories about timing, jokes, and entertainment gossip. Something Lorne has never become tired of. Lorne began to work as a writer and performer, but soon found he was better at getting things to work. The lights, the scenery, setting the comedic mood, and finding the jokes inside a lot of words. This gift earned him an Emmy, and a job offer. To take over late night on Saturday night, and fill it with something, anything. Lorne had an idea. A live variety show, with different hosts, music guests, but repertory players. And Saturday Night was born. There were some hiccups, some budget issues, but soon the show was doing well, and Lorne was on his way.

I love books on entertainment, and this has to be one of the best I have read. This is a warts, warts and more warts and all study of a man, who for better or for worse, has controlled the destiny of comedy for the last fifty years, and considering the amount of people he has mentored, probably for much longer. This book is a mix of biography of Lorne, which is quite good and a bit of Julie Salamon's The Devil's Candy about the making of one SNL show from 2018. Either one of these would be interesting, together, one gets a one of a kind look of a complicated man, who comes across as a bit braggadocious with a celebrity obsession, but with a unique skill to make a show out of nothing, fix it on the fly, and keep the players safe and want to do it all over again. Lorne loves his celebrity friends, and the high-life, which like I said is a little annoying, but then as Morrision shows Lorne doing what he does, one gets a different appraisal of the man. Lorne is the only one who could make a show like SNL work. The writing is great, the fly on the wall aspect is really good. The research on the man and his past, unbelievable. One of the best entertainment books I have ever read.

One ends this book with a lot of thoughts. One gets why humor seems a little stagnant. One also does not ever want to hear a story about Paul Simon or Paul McCartney ever, ever again. Yet when reading about making the show work, putting things together, harnessing talent, and stroking egos, one gets a great appreciation for the man. I can't recommend this book enough, for fans of comedy, entertainment, or just people who like good writing.

I would like to thank Random House and Net Galley for the opportunity to read this book as an ARC. So a few things about my interest in Saturday Night Live. I did not watch the premeire episode on 10/11/75 for 2 reasons. One, my local NBC affiliate in Pittsburgh did not show, opting instead to show
horror movies with its host- "Chilly" Billy Cardille. ( and after a few weeks, we were able to see it on a local channel).The second reason was it was my wedding night. So we have been married as long as SNL has been on TV. As a child who watched a lot of TV growing up, and saw a lot of shows cancelled ,it's a milestone:)
I do not watch it now, I do not seem to the the target audience any more. However I have long been fascinated by the show, its stars and Lorne Michaels. I have read a number of books about the show , and its creators over the years. This was a well thought out and well written story. It has 2 main threads, which are presented in alternating chapters. One is a "week in the life", where the author gets access to the show and the cast during a week in 2018, and presents each chapter in terms of what happens on that day. ( Monday, Tuesday, etc). The other chapters are biographical, of Lorne's life, upbringing, family and friends. The show of 2018, is interesting, but I could not help but wonder about the delay. There is no clue in any of the notes, but I am guessing the covid lockdown was at least partially responsible. It is a bit jarring, because a lot of the people on the show are not on any more. I would have liked a note somewhere about the delay. The biographical information is fascinating and the author clearly got access to all of Lorne's friends( and foes).It is a good book and one I would recommend.

Susan Morrison, an editor from The New Yorker, expertly tells the story of Lorne Michaels and the institution he created in Lorne: The Man Who Invented Saturday Night Live, which releases on February 18. Thanks to Random House for offering me an advanced eBook copy in exchange for an honest review.

The expansive book – 656 pages, which was intimidating at first – is broken up into six parts, Monday through Saturday. Monday begins on October 29, 2018, as Michaels and his troops begin preparing for an episode hosted by Jonah Hill. Before they get down to business, though, he checks in with Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon (Michaels, of course, executive produces the show), who’d just received a death threat and some justifiable criticism for a decades-old blackface performance on an episode of SNL. Then we get an introduction to the intense preparation process for Hill’s episode.

We soon travel back in time to Michaels’s time in Canada. We’re introduced to his family and given insight into his first experience in broadcasting. Each section has several chapters that alternate between that era, the early days of SNL, and the aforementioned prep work for Hill’s episode. Insight is also given into Lorne’s relationship with the network, Conan vs. Leno, and easing Fallon into becoming a late-night host.

Morrison spoke with many SNL luminaries and spent a good deal of time with Lorne himself. I applaud her for her unbiased depiction of her subject. You hear good things, bad things, and everything in between. This is one of the most honest, insightful and riveting biographies I’ve read. Now I feel like I should watch Jason Rietmen’s Saturday Night again.

***Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of this upcoming book***
This was a truly fascinating and endlessly readable book that gives you 2 biographies for the price of one: Lorne Michaels and his seemingly never ending pop culture sensation, Saturday Night Live. Reading about titans of their respective industries always makes for an incredible reading experience, and this is a 5 star entry into that genre. How does someone create something like Saturday Night Live? It has launched untold careers of the most famous comedy stars of all time and has stayed relevant for 50 years.

The book has 2 intertwining narratives. The first focuses on Lorne Michaels getting set to have Jonah Hill host a SNL episode (2019, I think) which gives you a look at the insanity that goes into making the world famous sketch show on a weekly basis. The second follows Lorne from his upbringing to becoming the grand poo bah of NBC and SNL which essentially acts as a history of the show. Some of the stories I have heard before, but there are lots of great ones that I read about for the first time in this book.

This book was amazing! It is a must read for all fans of SNL or anyone interested in how someone creates a show that will seemingly live forever. Give it a read!

Lorne Michaels is an interesting guy, isn't he? I've never really gotten a feel for who he is as a person, so this bio was super cool, and perfect timing, as SNL 50 is gloriously upon us. The format made it compulsively readable, each section starting with individual days of an SNL production week (week in the life?) leading up to Jonah Hill's five-timers episode. Then the actual chapters start chronologically from Lorne's upbringing and goes through his Canadian comedy roots, how hard he had to fight for SNL to even be on the air, to the present day. And of course, all the excitement and drama in between.

This one is definitely for the deep-dive nerd fans. (So, me.)

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley!

Being a big fan of Saturday night live for years it was a pleasure to read this extensive book about Lorne Michaels. The man is a genius and a vision 50 years ago to create probably one of the best and most important shows in the history of television.
The writing was excellent and very detailed and it told the story so well, I highly recommend this book to everyone who is fascinated with Lorne as I am.

Lorne by Susan Morrison is an in-depth look into the career of famed SNL producer Lorne Michaels. Set against the backdrop of the week before a show, Morrison unspools Michaels' career. She sourced it with interviews from those who have worked with him, names you'll likely know well if you ever watched SNL. To the author's credit, it's not gossipy at all but well-reported. There are some intriguing behind-the -scenes aspects to the narrative as well. That said, it does not move quickly. I may have expected the pace of the writing to match the frenetic pace of putting together a live weekly show, but this does not. It's a slow read but a good one. If you're a fan of SNL, you'll want to read this. Many thanks to #netgalley and #RandomHouse for the opportunity to preview this book.

This is what you want in a celebrity biography - or any biography, really. Deep reporting. Stories you haven’t heard a million times. Clean, incisive writing. And the feeling that you never know, moment to moment, just what you think about the subject, your assessment changing with the evidence.

Lorne Michaels is a source of constant fascination of anyone who comes into contact with him. Seemingly every SNL alumnus has a theory about him, and literally every SNL alumnus can’t seem to.stop thinking about him.

Michaels, through author Morrison’s reporting, emerges as an act of will and self-creation. What he has made of himself is not always flattering, but is always fascinating. I simply loved and devoured this book.

Many thanks to Random Hoise and NetGalley for the advance reviewer copy.

This man is an enigma! What an interesting biography. I loved that I got to learn more about Lorne, but also SNL. It felt like going behind the scenes, learning how pitch meetings work on Mondays and how Lorne organizes the shows. I’m younger, but have watched SNL for almost 20 years now. Knowing the show has been on for 50 seasons, its clear that Lorne was on to something. I recommend this book for anyone who loves Seth Meyer’s impression of Lorne, or loves Lorne himself.