Lampoon Makes Janitor Film

Lampoon humor may be enigmatic, but nothing could be as mysterious as the 50-year legend of their mascot, Elmer W. Green.

A Lampoon-sponsored film is setting out to document the life of Green, who started working at the Lampoon in 1930 as janitor and is now mentioned on the masthead of every issue of the group's infrequent, slightly humorous magazine.

During Elmer's tenure as the Castle's janitor, which ended with his death in 1977, the Lampoon promoted him to such exalted positions as Grand Culinator, Generalissimo and Prevailing Symbol of the Lampoon. The Lampoon's award to visiting comedians is named the "Elmer" in his honor.

"Although the titles Elmer earned can be misleading, Elmer was a man for whom the Lampoon had a lot of respect," said Brian L. Kenet '88, Parade Marshall Emeritus and Resident Elmer Scholar at the Lampoon, who is making the film. "There was a unique relationship between Elmer and the Lampoon; this relationship was one that evolved over many years."

The film will consist of a series of videotaped interviews with Lampoon alumni from the past 50 years. Kenet said he has learned from the interviews that Elmer was "a person, a persona, a legend, and a myth."

Most of all, the interviews have shown that Elmer was a mystery, Kenet said. Although Elmer lived in the basement of the Lampoon Castle for his entire career with the magazine, some Lampoon alumni claim to never have seen him.

Kenet said the mystery is enhanced because it is difficult to do a documentary about a person who has been dead for 10 years. "You have to rely on other people's memories of him and these memories can only be taken with a large grain of salt," said Kenet.

The film will depict Elmer as an "ordinary" man who lived in the midst of a "strange" environment, Kenet said. "He came a long way from being just a janitor," Kenet said. "The Lampoon was his family."

There will be two different versions of the film, one for the Lampoon staff, and the other for the general public, Kenet said.

The film, to be finished in the spring, is part of a multi-faceted Lampoon program to remember Elmer. Two days ago, the Lampoon began celebrating the annual Elmer Commemoration Month, which this year will end on the 10th anniversary of his death, December 2.

The Lampoon will also erect a bronze statue of Elmer that will resemble the John Harvard figure, establish a resident Elmer Scholar position, and endow an Elmer fund to spend on Elmer research.