Saturday Night Live: Equal Opportunity Offender

The Uncensored Censor

The book is an attempt to put a human face on one of the most maligned creatures in broadcasting the Censor! Each network has them; unseen, unrecognized, unsung. Well, theyre not really a bunch of pinch-faced prudes in green eye shades wielding blue pencils. Theyre hard working, dedicated professionals trying to make television acceptable to a large and culturally diverse audience and, not incidentally, to keep the FCC and the U.S. Congress off the backs of their employers.

And it is not easy, for he (or she) catches it from all sides the creative community that wants to push the envelope management that wants ratings and increased profits special interest groups interested in their image educators who want a classroom and preachers who expect a catechism. Did I say the censor was also a juggler, balancing those interests without compromising the creativity or diluting the entertainment value?

There has never been a book written form the viewpoint of a censor. Until now. The book is semi-autobiographical, based on my forty years in the business (twelve with Saturday Night Live!). Eddie Murphy, Billy Crystal, Gilda Radner, Ronald Reagan, Groucho Marx, Bing Crosby: I knew them all. The book tells about them and about censoring, with hopes that the reader will be entertained, but also acknowledge a deeper appreciation of the standards we were attempting to uphold. Sometimes successfully!