Adventures with Al Franken - Tom Davis April 2, 2009

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Complete video at: http://fora.tv/2009/03/18/Tom_Davis_The_Early_Days_of_SNL

Tom Davis, one of the original writers for Saturday Night Live and longtime friend of comedian-turned-politician Al Franken, recounts an incident where the two of them were detained at the US-Canada border for looking like "young, hippie freaks." He then reads a recent e-mail exchange with Franken about their clash with standards and practices over using the word "horny."

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Thirty-Nine Years of Short-Term Memory Loss is a seriously funny and irreverent memoir that gives an insider's view of the birth and rise of Saturday Night Live, and features laugh-out-loud stories about some of its greatest personalities - Al Franken, Lorne Michaels, Dan Aykroyd, John Belushi, Bill Murray, and Chris Farley.

Tom Davis, an original SNL writer and comedy partner of Al Franken, tells the story of coming of age in the 60s and the spellbinding account of the birth of one of television's most celebrated shows. Davis's memoir is filled with wry, candid anecdotes but it's also a coming-of-age tale of his generation and a graphic description of the cannon he was shot out of: suburban childhood, high school in the 60s, the discovery of sex, and reveling in the hippie culture from San Francisco to Katmandu.

Tom Davis also wrote for New Show, The Coneheads, Steve Martin's Best Show Ever, and The Paul Simon Special. He won a Writers Guild Award for the SNL Twenty-fifth Anniversary Special and four Emmy Awards. Tonight he comes armed with a number of terrific clips from his careers, including some from the early SNL. -- Berkeley Arts and Letters