Top Notch Comedy Writers Come from the Harvard Lampoon

Everyone knows that getting into Harvard is very challenging. They only accept the cream of the crop, academically. The average high school grade point average to get into Harvard is a 4.0. Most students take AP or IB classes that make their g.p.a. above 4.0. Many people would not associate super academic people with people who are incredibly funny, but at Harvard, the humorous students write for The Harvard Lampoon. Members must demonstrate that they are funny on paper, by submitting six pieces of humor writing. These are evaluated by the Lampoon members, including the president of the organization. Founded in 1876 by seven Harvard undergraduates, The Harvard Lampoon is one of the world’s longest-running continuously-published humor magazines. The Lampoon publishes five issues annually and occasionally parodies other magazines (People, Time, Mademoiselle, Playboy, National Geographic, and many more) or the day’s popular literature (Bored of the Rings, The Hunger Pains, Nightlight, Lame of Thrones). The publication’s circulation is 30,000. It’s inside a castle-like building (pictured above) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a few blocks from Harvard Square. You have probably heard of The National Lampoon, which once had a magazine and was behind films such as Vacation, European Vacation, Christmas Vacation, Animal House, and others. The National Lampoon was founded by Harvard Lampoon members in 1970. But, everyone associated with National Lampoon was not a Harvard Lampoon member. The Lampoon name was licensed to National Lampoon and that provides much of the revenue for the Harvard Lampoon. The National Lampoon Radio Hour included Chevy Chase, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer. 1973 was the launch of a stage show called National Lampoon; Lemmings which was a launching pad for Chase, Guest and John Belushi. This was a precursor to Saturday Night Live. Alumni of the Harvard Lampoon include: business tycoon and newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst, authors George Plimpton and John Updike, MSNBC anchor Lawrence O’Donnell, and actor Fred Gwynne. Many of the top comedy writers in late night TV and sitcoms are Lampoon alumni such as: Conan O’Brien (SNL, The Simpsons, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, Conan), Greg Daniels (The Office, SNL, The Simpsons, King of the Hill, Parks and Recreation), Colin Jost (SNL), Jeff Martin (The Simpsons, David Letterman), Jim Downey (SNL, David Letterman), BJ Novak (The Office), Mike Reiss (The Simpsons, The Critic, Johnny Carson), Steve Young (David Letterman), Bill Oakley (The Simpsons), Josh Weinstein (The Simpsons), Robert Carlock (SNL, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Dana Carvey Show, 30 Rock), Al Jean (The Simpsons, The Critic, Johnny Carson), Jon Vitti (The Simpsons, The Critic, King of the Hill, The Office), Steve O’Donnell (David Letterman, The Simpsons, Seinfeld), Al Jean (The Simpsons, Johnny Carson, ALF, It’s Garry Shandling’s Show), Jon Beckerman (David Letterman, Ed), David X. Cohen (Beavis and Butthead, The Simpsons, Futurama), Andy Borowitz (The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, The Facts of Life, Square Pegs), George Meyer (David Letterman, The Simpsons), Eric Kaplan (David Letterman, The Simpsons, Futurama, The Big Bang Theory, Malcolm in the Middle), Ethan Cohen (Beavis and Butthead, King of the Hill, American Dad). An old copy of the Lampoon was shown in the season four finale of NewsRadio. It was called a "nefarious scandal sheet." Honorary members include: John Cleese, Bill Cosby, Billy Crystal, Jay Leno, Adam Sandler, Tracey Ullman, Robin Williams and more. It's incredible to think about how many Lampoon writers worked on very funny, popular shows, especially The Simpsons, SNL and David Letterman.