Prominent Poonsters Reminisce on ABC

Former Poonsters reflected on their days in the Lampoon castle Monday on prime time television when ABC featured several prominent alumni on the program "Day One."

The 15-minute segment focused on Lampoon alumni who currently write humor for national television programs such as "The Simpsons," "Fresh Prince of Bel Air" and "Saturday Night Live."

Not a Good Career Move

Many writers told ABC that joining the Lampoon was not considered a positive career move back in their days.

Susan S. Borowitz '81, who now writes for "The Fresh Prince of Bel Air," said she wanted to be a "serious poet."

But she ended up at the Lampoon anyway.

"I was unqualified to do anything but tell jokes," Borowitz said.

Lampoon alumni said writing for the magazine provided valuable experience in writing humor, but also noted that the time-consuming activity did not enhance their social lives.

"I wasn't a nerd, but I was definitely a geek" said Andrew D. Robin.

He now earns $2,200 a week writing for NBC's "Seinfeld."

"Day One" reported that 49 graduates of the Lampoon write for 19 different programs.

The Lampoon presence is particularly strong at the "The Simpsons," where nine of 17 writers are Lampoon alumni.

Generating Ideas

In addition to reminiscing about their days at Harvard, writers for "The Simpsons" discussed the difficulties of constantly generating new and different material.

"[We] often end up making fun of [ourselves]," one writer said.

Current Lampoon writers gathered Monday night in the castle headquarters to watch the coverage.