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May You Live in Interesting Times: A Memoir
Publisher's Summary
From growing up in Los Angeles with movie star neighbors, bearing witness to the music scene in the 1960s and seeing the rise of comedy in the early 70s, to studying mime in Paris under the tutelage of Marcel Marceau to becoming a founding member of the seminal comedy troupe The Groundlings, it's no wonder that Lorne Michaels offered Laraine Newman a spot in the original cast of Saturday Night Live.
There, along with famous cast members John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Garret Morris, and Gilda Radner - Bill Murray was passed over at first and joined in a later season - Laraine was part of the show that changed TV - and comedy - forever.
But it isn't all yuks and glamor. Laraine struggled with demons.
Arriving in New York City with an attraction to drugs that started as a vice and grew to be an all-consuming addiction even as she sky-rocketed to fame via her memorable characters on SNL.
May You Live in Interesting Times is a warm, funny, heartfelt snapshot of 1970s New York City and SNL's unexpected rocket to success, with all the giddy headiness that that entailed.
After five seasons, Laraine left SNL, worked in movies and television, while having adventures and relationships in Hollywood that, in her words, “should have gotten me killed.”
Now with long term sobriety, she became a parent and reinvented herself as a voice over actor and has a thriving career working on such animated favorites including Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Despicable Me, Inside Out, Shrek, and Minions.
©2020 Laraine Newman (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.
From growing up in Los Angeles with movie star neighbors, bearing witness to the music scene in the 1960s and seeing the rise of comedy in the early 70s, to studying mime in Paris under the tutelage of Marcel Marceau to becoming a founding member of the seminal comedy troupe The Groundlings, it's no wonder that Lorne Michaels offered Laraine Newman a spot in the original cast of Saturday Night Live.
There, along with famous cast members John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Chevy Chase, Jane Curtain, Garret Morris, and Gilda Radner - Bill Murray was passed over at first and joined in a later season - Laraine was part of the show that changed TV - and comedy - forever.
But it isn't all yuks and glamor. Laraine struggled with demons.
Arriving in New York City with an attraction to drugs that started as a vice and grew to be an all-consuming addiction even as she sky-rocketed to fame via her memorable characters on SNL.
May You Live in Interesting Times is a warm, funny, heartfelt snapshot of 1970s New York City and SNL's unexpected rocket to success, with all the giddy headiness that that entailed.
After five seasons, Laraine left SNL, worked in movies and television, while having adventures and relationships in Hollywood that, in her words, “should have gotten me killed.”
Now with long term sobriety, she became a parent and reinvented herself as a voice over actor and has a thriving career working on such animated favorites including Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc., Despicable Me, Inside Out, Shrek, and Minions.
©2020 Laraine Newman (P)2021 Audible Originals, LLC.
Audiobook
Published March 11, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews
November 13, 2021
Laraine Newman was situated in the exact right place and time to be a part of a lot of cool things, often at their onset. She partied hard with many famous friends and boyfriends, and lived to tell the tale with this audiobook.
Newman was a founding member of The Groundlings. She was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live (which she talks about in depth, offering up a few scintillating details of the experience and her fellow cast members). She even had insider information on a key aspect of the Robert Durst murder investigation and testified at his trial.
The book begins at childhood and takes you forward to today. Growing up in Los Angeles and attending Beverly Hills High School, her encounters with famous people (or those who would be someday) started early. Some of the names she recounted weren't known to me (she loves jazz and blues a lot more than I do), but many were.
I'd love a Kindle version of this book so I could highlight the most fascinating details, and go back and Google names I didn't recognize, but unfortunately this is Audible only. Never mind, it was a good listen.
A tiny sampling of the interesting stories Newman shared includes:
-While she was in Paris studying mime with Marcel Marceau (yes, really), she briefly stayed with a friend at an apartment that was often rented out (like an early Airbnb). A frequent renter was Jim Morrison. Newman and her friend even found photos of Morrison and his girlfriend wedged in the back of a drawer (nothing salacious). The girls lounged in a bathtub, chatting and probably smoking weed (can't recall and can't search audio. Damn you, no ebook version!). She and friends often lounged together in bathtubs over the years in the tales she recounts; maybe it's a "growing up in the '60s" kind of thing? Anyway, after she left the apartment, Morrison rented it again — and died in the very bathtub she'd been in a few days earlier. When you think of how famous Morrison was, and how his death at 27 must've been a huge shock to a vast number of fans and been massive news internationally, this had to be an intensely chilling, if tenuous, connection to his death.
-Some of her stories were about her friend and fellow SNL pioneer, Gilda Radner. Gilda lived in The Dakota at the same time as John Lennon, including when he was killed out front. She didn't witness the murder, but living where it happened, and being present for what must have been throngs of fans and press outside your building daily, would be intense.
-Newman dated Warren Zevon for about a year. Zevon could see a billboard of Richard Pryor from his apartment, which infuriated him because he felt Pryor got away with being a junkie while he himself couldn't (I guess Zevon thought he caught more criticism for his drug and alcohol addiction?) So he grabbed one of his guns, took aim, and shot at the billboard. Realizing the gunshots would mean police, he asked Newman to hide the gun in the trunk of her car. She wisely refused; the police came, and ultimately confiscated Zevon's guns but didn't arrest him. Zevon dumped her.
-And, a fascinating tidbit for fans of the The Jinx docuseries about Robert Durst, Newman had insider information that might've helped the investigation after the disappearance of Durst's first wife — but she didn't realize it. Newman was longtime friends with Susan Berman, who confided to Newman that she'd made a phone call to help Durst, pretending to be his wife after the woman had disappeared. Newman didn't realize the importance of this, and didn't really believe her friend, who years later was killed by Durst. In 2020, Durst was convicted of murdering Berman; Newman testified at the trial.
Suffice it to say, Newman genuinely lived in interesting times, and it was both a curse and a blessing. It made for a good audiobook, too!
Newman was a founding member of The Groundlings. She was an original cast member of Saturday Night Live (which she talks about in depth, offering up a few scintillating details of the experience and her fellow cast members). She even had insider information on a key aspect of the Robert Durst murder investigation and testified at his trial.
The book begins at childhood and takes you forward to today. Growing up in Los Angeles and attending Beverly Hills High School, her encounters with famous people (or those who would be someday) started early. Some of the names she recounted weren't known to me (she loves jazz and blues a lot more than I do), but many were.
I'd love a Kindle version of this book so I could highlight the most fascinating details, and go back and Google names I didn't recognize, but unfortunately this is Audible only. Never mind, it was a good listen.
A tiny sampling of the interesting stories Newman shared includes:
-While she was in Paris studying mime with Marcel Marceau (yes, really), she briefly stayed with a friend at an apartment that was often rented out (like an early Airbnb). A frequent renter was Jim Morrison. Newman and her friend even found photos of Morrison and his girlfriend wedged in the back of a drawer (nothing salacious). The girls lounged in a bathtub, chatting and probably smoking weed (can't recall and can't search audio. Damn you, no ebook version!). She and friends often lounged together in bathtubs over the years in the tales she recounts; maybe it's a "growing up in the '60s" kind of thing? Anyway, after she left the apartment, Morrison rented it again — and died in the very bathtub she'd been in a few days earlier. When you think of how famous Morrison was, and how his death at 27 must've been a huge shock to a vast number of fans and been massive news internationally, this had to be an intensely chilling, if tenuous, connection to his death.
-Some of her stories were about her friend and fellow SNL pioneer, Gilda Radner. Gilda lived in The Dakota at the same time as John Lennon, including when he was killed out front. She didn't witness the murder, but living where it happened, and being present for what must have been throngs of fans and press outside your building daily, would be intense.
-Newman dated Warren Zevon for about a year. Zevon could see a billboard of Richard Pryor from his apartment, which infuriated him because he felt Pryor got away with being a junkie while he himself couldn't (I guess Zevon thought he caught more criticism for his drug and alcohol addiction?) So he grabbed one of his guns, took aim, and shot at the billboard. Realizing the gunshots would mean police, he asked Newman to hide the gun in the trunk of her car. She wisely refused; the police came, and ultimately confiscated Zevon's guns but didn't arrest him. Zevon dumped her.
-And, a fascinating tidbit for fans of the The Jinx docuseries about Robert Durst, Newman had insider information that might've helped the investigation after the disappearance of Durst's first wife — but she didn't realize it. Newman was longtime friends with Susan Berman, who confided to Newman that she'd made a phone call to help Durst, pretending to be his wife after the woman had disappeared. Newman didn't realize the importance of this, and didn't really believe her friend, who years later was killed by Durst. In 2020, Durst was convicted of murdering Berman; Newman testified at the trial.
Suffice it to say, Newman genuinely lived in interesting times, and it was both a curse and a blessing. It made for a good audiobook, too!
April 7, 2021
Laraine Newman's exhaustive memoir is truly a gift to SNL fans. I suspect there's not another biography out there by a former cast member containing as many memorable anecdotes as the listener will find here. I say 'listener' intentionally, since Newman's document is only available on Audible, an ideal format for her voiceover talents. Given the format, I found myself wishing I'd taken some notes as I was listening, since numerous references are made to somewhat obscure films and artists and musicians throughout the work that I wanted to go back and check out later. And there are plenty...
As a fan of SNL from the show's inception, I've always found Laraine Newman something of an enigma. Where did she come from? Where did she go after her five year stint on the show ended? What is she up to now? It's all in here, warts and all. Not literal warts, but plenty of figurative warts.
Did I mention she loves horror movies? Or that she studied mime under Marcel Marceau in Paris right out of high school? That she was a founding member of The Groundlings? No?
As a fan of SNL from the show's inception, I've always found Laraine Newman something of an enigma. Where did she come from? Where did she go after her five year stint on the show ended? What is she up to now? It's all in here, warts and all. Not literal warts, but plenty of figurative warts.
Did I mention she loves horror movies? Or that she studied mime under Marcel Marceau in Paris right out of high school? That she was a founding member of The Groundlings? No?
February 25, 2025
A piece of history and a work of art 🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼🙌🏼
October 31, 2021
I have accidentally become an omnivore when it comes to memoirs by Saturday Night Live performers. This is, I think, my ninth after those by Chris Kattan, Tina Fey, Sarah Silverman, Steve Martin, Darrell Hammond, Rachel Dratch, Norm MacDonald, and Al Franken. Thanks, I guess, Audible budget bin.
I read them all for the same central question: how does a successful comedian describe the effort of being funny. Tina Fey’s is good because it’s one of the fullest (and most generous) descriptions of how improv works. Steve Martin’s is good because he’s Steve Martin and because he reflects on how he embraced a comedy of silliness at a moment when the world was wearying of political comedy. And, to my enduring surprise, Chris Kattan’s is good because he reflects on what it took (and how he often failed) to convert physical comedy to the television screen.
As it happens, I always liked Laraine Newman. I suppose, looking back, that she was my crush from the original cast. And she has one enduring character – her child psychologist who is, in fact a child herself – whom I think of as enduringly brilliant.
With that, there are strange holes in this memoir. For all that she recounts several favorite skits – a staple of this genre as I have experienced it – she never mentions that little kid impersonation. (And, weirdly, she talks of being inspired to become a performer when she was a kid and got taken to see an aged Fanny Brice – again, never mentioning that Brice’s Baby Snooks could be a progenitor of that great child character.)
In fact, with the not-fully-mined exception of her training with Marcel Marceau, we hear little about the sources of Newman’s comedy. She’s just sort of funny all along, and then in the right place at the right time – or, more tellingly, in the right place just before the right time.
That is, the most compelling parts of this are the ones where Newman reflects on how she failed to take advantage of that extraordinary break. As the first cast exploded into cultural phenomenon, Chevy Chase/Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, and Gilda Radner all became not just celebrities but tastemakers. She, Jane Curtin, and Garrett Morris all languished in semi-obscurity, and Curtin managed eventually to become “bigger.” But Newman, despite lasting five years on the show, never seemed to find her niche – except to become one of the poster girls for the cocaine addiction that riddled the entire cast.
By the final third of this, then, it’s an often interesting reflection on what it means to be a failure. Without quite beating herself up, Newman considers what she might have done differently: kicked her addiction, taken her craft more seriously, treated others more thoughtfully, or advocated more thoughtfully for roles on the show.
Few celebrity memoirs get to what I think of as the real work of memoir – with Patti Smith maybe the sole exception of someone who can do an emotional and experiential striptease on the page – but late parts of this show Newman finding real vulnerability. That’s effective enough that it feels genuinely earned when she tells of eventually earning a place as a legitimate and successful working actor, carving out a successful voice-acting career that certainly seems to take advantage of her gift for mimicry.
This is often weighed down by name-dropping – in a reporting rather than boastful way – so I can’t call it an outstanding example of the SNL look-back, but it has its clear rewards, and I leave it thinking even more kindly toward Newman than I did.
Oh, and bonus points for reporting that Gilda Radner once told her she thought her grandfather was involved with The Purple Gang. I have to save that nugget.
I read them all for the same central question: how does a successful comedian describe the effort of being funny. Tina Fey’s is good because it’s one of the fullest (and most generous) descriptions of how improv works. Steve Martin’s is good because he’s Steve Martin and because he reflects on how he embraced a comedy of silliness at a moment when the world was wearying of political comedy. And, to my enduring surprise, Chris Kattan’s is good because he reflects on what it took (and how he often failed) to convert physical comedy to the television screen.
As it happens, I always liked Laraine Newman. I suppose, looking back, that she was my crush from the original cast. And she has one enduring character – her child psychologist who is, in fact a child herself – whom I think of as enduringly brilliant.
With that, there are strange holes in this memoir. For all that she recounts several favorite skits – a staple of this genre as I have experienced it – she never mentions that little kid impersonation. (And, weirdly, she talks of being inspired to become a performer when she was a kid and got taken to see an aged Fanny Brice – again, never mentioning that Brice’s Baby Snooks could be a progenitor of that great child character.)
In fact, with the not-fully-mined exception of her training with Marcel Marceau, we hear little about the sources of Newman’s comedy. She’s just sort of funny all along, and then in the right place at the right time – or, more tellingly, in the right place just before the right time.
That is, the most compelling parts of this are the ones where Newman reflects on how she failed to take advantage of that extraordinary break. As the first cast exploded into cultural phenomenon, Chevy Chase/Bill Murray, John Belushi, Dan Ackroyd, and Gilda Radner all became not just celebrities but tastemakers. She, Jane Curtin, and Garrett Morris all languished in semi-obscurity, and Curtin managed eventually to become “bigger.” But Newman, despite lasting five years on the show, never seemed to find her niche – except to become one of the poster girls for the cocaine addiction that riddled the entire cast.
By the final third of this, then, it’s an often interesting reflection on what it means to be a failure. Without quite beating herself up, Newman considers what she might have done differently: kicked her addiction, taken her craft more seriously, treated others more thoughtfully, or advocated more thoughtfully for roles on the show.
Few celebrity memoirs get to what I think of as the real work of memoir – with Patti Smith maybe the sole exception of someone who can do an emotional and experiential striptease on the page – but late parts of this show Newman finding real vulnerability. That’s effective enough that it feels genuinely earned when she tells of eventually earning a place as a legitimate and successful working actor, carving out a successful voice-acting career that certainly seems to take advantage of her gift for mimicry.
This is often weighed down by name-dropping – in a reporting rather than boastful way – so I can’t call it an outstanding example of the SNL look-back, but it has its clear rewards, and I leave it thinking even more kindly toward Newman than I did.
Oh, and bonus points for reporting that Gilda Radner once told her she thought her grandfather was involved with The Purple Gang. I have to save that nugget.
November 5, 2021
Loved this book. Wished it was available beyond Audible so more people could read it. That being said, a big highlight is that Laraine does so many hilarious voices throughout the book. Very fun to listen to, and went through it very quickly.
April 27, 2021
I know this is repetitious of my audio reviews, however, I rate the story and how the story was told. Laraine Newman tells a very good story, like some other audio memoirs I've listened to, it's not like she's reading a book. She is talking to you, it is like listening to an old time radio show, you can really get into the story.
Also, the story itself was a fun and interesting read. I never knew so much about her, if I wouldn't have listened to this, I would have just thought she "disappeared" after SNL, I'm so glad I know more now.
As far as memoirs go, she did meet and know many famous people but for the most part I would not consider it "name dropping", it did not (for the most part) feel like that. Some of the stories seemed a bit one sided or slightly embellished but it doesn't matter, it fit within the context. Overall a pretty good listen. One of my top 5 memoirs to listen to.
Also, the story itself was a fun and interesting read. I never knew so much about her, if I wouldn't have listened to this, I would have just thought she "disappeared" after SNL, I'm so glad I know more now.
As far as memoirs go, she did meet and know many famous people but for the most part I would not consider it "name dropping", it did not (for the most part) feel like that. Some of the stories seemed a bit one sided or slightly embellished but it doesn't matter, it fit within the context. Overall a pretty good listen. One of my top 5 memoirs to listen to.
September 23, 2021
More like 3.5 but I love Hollywood Drug Memoirs, and anything about the 70s-80s and this one is honest and has some very fun moments (though also very tragic and mildly disturbing at times, Newman has known a lot of people who've died prematurely or been murdered. Also a faintly triggering scene where she 'lost her virginity' in what we would now definitely call a rape). She's very honest about how her bad attitude/behaviour might have affected her success, and this was refreshing. Some slightly problematic bits (she is almost 70) but plenty of joy to be had for fans of SNL, comedy, and funny voices!
October 18, 2021
I was somewhat disappointed in this Audible Original, as it wasn’t that funny. Laraine Newman was a tragic drug addict who got lucky to be picked for SNL, but never was as funny or original as the rest of the cast. She narrated the book herself, and would randomly adopt another voice. If I was supposed to recognize the “character” she had adopted, I failed, so that change added nothing to the narrative. The story was interesting in the celebrity memoir kind of way, but throughout she seemed like a name-dropper, enlarging her status by her associates and friends.
November 17, 2021
I thoroughly enjoyed this walk through the life of Laraine Newman. From the early SNL I’ve watched, I thought she was under-utilised (even in that small cast) and had been unfairly become a footnote in the shows history. I hope this book clarifies some of that.
All the cultural touchstones are there: the beginnings of SNL, Belushi’s death, transitioning into TV and voiceover roles, Hartman’s death, Coneheads, all the way through the SNL 40th (of which she co-wrote the Californians sketch with Fred Armisen). This is for the fans, and worth your time.
All the cultural touchstones are there: the beginnings of SNL, Belushi’s death, transitioning into TV and voiceover roles, Hartman’s death, Coneheads, all the way through the SNL 40th (of which she co-wrote the Californians sketch with Fred Armisen). This is for the fans, and worth your time.
July 11, 2021
I just lost my audible virginity by listening to this riveting memoir by Laraine Newman. I resisted because I like to hold and read a book. But, it's Laraine Newman! Her voice is extraordinary. And, I mean that in more than one way. Her voice as a writer -- brilliant. And, her actual voice and the characters she brings to life. Bravo. Go ahead if anything is holding you back from listening to a book and start with this one. I related to so many of her stories. I'm sure you will too.
April 15, 2021
This was a great read. Her stories about the early years were fascinating. Like most artist with drug issues, their stories are very sad. I'm glad she found her stride in life and her love of family. The ending was a bit abrupt. She is a very talented artist and I'm glad she has found a calling in animation voice overs.
June 9, 2022
2.5 stars rounded up. If your a fan of SNL, this is definitely an interesting story. I enjoyed hearing about her life and experiences being one of the original cast members. However, several times she went a little too in depth about how specific sketches came to be. The first couple times it was interesting but it got to the point where it took away from her story and really slowed things down.
October 17, 2022
I enjoyed this audio book immensely until about the last hour, when it got into the everyday minutiae of raising kids. I, too, have a child who will not eat anything I cook, but I wouldn't necessarily write about that ad nauseum in a book that's really more about my career. Anyway, it was super interesting, especially if you're into early SNL (which I am).
March 18, 2023
It was interesting enough, and OK for a fan of SNL, but a lot of it was just name-dropping famous people she knew and was friends with. There was some information about her personal struggles with low self-esteem and drug use, but to me that was outweighed by the list of people she knew that may not be familiar to the reader (at least not to me).
October 6, 2023
While Lorraine Newman lived in interesting times her retelling of it felt a bit lackluster with way too much emphasis on her addictions. It also wasn't funny. I know she has been through some rough times, but I expected some levity. She does a very good job narrating, and it is great to find out she has found her niche as a voice actor.
November 29, 2024
I really liked listening to Laraine Newman’s voice and her accents for different characters. Yes she’s a bit scattered with her stories, but they’re still great stories to hear, and it brings me back to a time when I was a child and life was simpler. I also loved hearing about her relationships with all the other SNL cast.
August 22, 2025
I enjoyed getting to know Laraine Newman better through this audiobook memoir. I’d always been curious about her, as I have very strong memories of those early SNL years. This audiobook was definitely enhanced by her reading. It was always a pleasure when she broke out one of her voices. I also appreciated her openness about her addiction and her insecurities and was definitely rooting for her.
March 27, 2021
What an amazing life Laraine has led. Her ups, downs, and incredible showbiz connections and stories. She's come out the other side appreciating the world of comedy in its current state. She seems like a very cool chick to hang out with. I fangirl.
July 11, 2021
Loved listening to Laraine Newman’s impressive panoply of voices in this hilarious and moving memoir. For lovers of comedy royalty this book is a must listen. She has lived a most interesting life and tells her story brilliantly.
July 16, 2021
For fans of Laraine Newman, and I am surely one, this is a surprising look into her life. It’s not particularly well curated - sometimes it feels like an acknowledgements section, but it’s honest and real.
August 20, 2021
This is excellent! At first I wasn't thrilled it was only available as an audio book. But after 10 minutes, I discovered audio is the only way this book works. You need Laraine's voice to hear her story! Such a great book. Thank you for sharing your story, Laraine!!
March 10, 2024
A pretty darn good memoir from one of my favourite performers. It’s very SNL focused, naturally but I found the early and later sections equally fascinating and entertaining. Huge bonus with the audible is Laraine slipping into various voices and impressions along the way.
March 21, 2021
Depression, anxiety, addiction, name dropping, fame.
April 2, 2021
It was great. Sometimes even laugh out loud funny. Sure hope she does more someday. Or maybe a cookbook?
May 13, 2021
An intriguing, entertaining, and honest memoir of SLN’s first seasons and the career of one its iconic cast members. Yeah, I wish there’d been more of Newman those first few seasons too.
October 17, 2021
I probably would have enjoyed this more if I was a SNL fan but I’m not. But nonetheless I found most of it interesting.
October 19, 2021
Forgettable.
June 17, 2022
Nice read. Interesting to hear about the early days of SNL.
August 11, 2023
Fun and interesting audiobook read by Ms Newman herself in a warm, eloquent, funny and brutally honest fashion. Absolute must for any SNL fan.
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August 30, 2025long live gilda
Displaying 1 - 30 of 35 reviews