Comedy genius Michael O'Donoghue (1940-1994) was a writer-editor for The National Lampoon Magazine, a writer-performer for the National Lampoon Radio Hour and a performer and head writer for “Saturday Night Live” for its first three seasons. The first SNL sketch ever was written by O’Donoghue and performed by O’Donoghue and John Belushi. The first SNL episode’s opening credits reveal that O’Donoghue was a founding member of the Not Ready For Prime Time Players.
A dodgy representation of O'Donoghue’s copious talent, “Mr. Mike's Mondo Video,” remains a strange and compelling artifact fans of the funnyman are obliged to seek out.
O'Donoghue made a deal with NBC and Lorne Michaels to write, produce and direct “Mondo,” a pre-recorded affair designed to air in SNL’s timeslot when SNL would take a week off. “Mondo” is littered with naked female nipples, laser-emitting brassieres and shots up the skirt of someone purported to be supermodel Cheryl Tiegs. Its finale featured spear-carrying primitives worshiping discarded lava lamps.
It’s difficult to know what state of mind O'Donoghue was in for him to believe that NBC could air something as dark and weird and nudity-riddled as “Mondo Video.” NBC never broadcast it. Instead it was sold to a very young New Line Cinema, which gave it a very limited theatrical release in 1979.
“Mondo” features two segments built around Dan Aykroyd, and very brief cameos by Carrie Fisher (her sole big-screen appearance in the three years between “Star Wars” and “The Empire Strikes Back”), Wendie Malick (almost the first thing she ever did on screen), Teri Garr, Margot Kidder, Deborah Harry, Sarah Holcomb, Susan Forristal, Jane Curtain, Laraine Newman, Gilda Radner, Paul Schaffer and Bill Murray.
“Mondo’s” first five minutes:
All four of the “Mondo” screenwriters writers made their big-screen debuts on the project and all four went on to arguably bigger things. O’Donoghue would write Dolly Parton’s hit 1982 country single “Single Women,” return to write and produce SNL in the early 1980s, and co-write the big-screen Bill Murray vehicle “Scrooged.”
“Mondo” writer Dirk Wittenborn (who played the cat-swimming instructor) went on to write 2005’s “Fierce People” and 2008’s “The Lucky Ones” for the big screen.
“Mondo” writer Mitch Glazer, at the time of “Mondo” a Rolling Stone contributor, went on to write or co-write the movies “Scrooged,” “Three of Hearts,” “Great Expectations” and “The Recruit.”
“Mondo” writer Emily Prager went on to a career as a journalist (contributing to the New York Times, the Village Voice, the Daily Telegraph and The Guardian) and author. Her novels include “Visit From The Footbinder,” “Eve’s Tattoo” and “Roger Fishbite.”
Like O’Donoghue himself, all of the “Mondo” musical guests – Sex Pistols bassist Sid Vicious, Boogie-rock singer-songwriter Root Boy Slim and otherworldly David Bowie associate Klaus Nomi (one of the first men claimed by the AIDS virus) – died young.
EXTRAS:
I strongly urge all viewers, familiar with O’Donoghue’s legacy or not, to first watch the four indisputably hilarious “Mr. Mike” sketches included on the disc. They offer what I regard as indispensable context.
* “Mr. Mike’s Least-Loved Bedtime Tales: The Enchanted Thermos,” an SNL sketch from Oct. 30, 1976 (1:51). The Littlest Eskimo encounters an unhelpful genie.
* “Mr. Mike’s Least-Loved Bedtime Tales: The Little Train That Died,” an SNL sketch from Nov. 27, 1976 (2:22). A teen Jodie Foster climbs into Mr. Mike’s lap for a tale of locomotive misadventure.
* “Mr. Mike’s Least-Loved Bedtime Tales: Willy The Worm,” an SNL sketch from Jan. 22, 1977 (2:26). It’s Gilda Radner’s turn in Mr. Mike’s lap for the story of a hospitalized invertebrate. O.J. Simpson (!) is spotted in the balcony applauding this one.
* Bill Murray’s Eulogy For Michael O’Donaghue, incorporating Mr. Mike’s Least-Loved Bedtime Tale “The Soiled Kimono” (6:05). Murray explains that O’Donaghue went straight to hell, but only to visit.
* Commentary by co-writer Mitch Glazer (1:09:46). Learn that “Mondo” was actually a pilot for a series intended to fill SNL’s time slot once a month. Learn that Malick is one of the bewigged lingerie girls leaping over a campfire. Learn that Prager was the girl who threw away her crutches. Learn that Glazer met O'Donoghue while writing a cover story on John Belushi for Crawdaddy. Learn that the masked zombie girls under the title theme are associate producer Tricia Brock (in recent years a busy director of episodic TV ranging from “Veronica Mars” to “The United States of Tara”) and Emily Prager. Learn that a ticket-taker at a cinema playing “Mondo” was beaten by an angry mob demanding their money back. Learn that ASPCA members monitoring the cat-swimming shoot were armed with pistols. Learn that O'Donoghue loved cats, and several of the swimming cats were O'Donoghue’s pets. Learn the Jack Lord sequence was shot in an abandoned hotel. Learn that the hula singer was Rhonda Coullet, who starring in National Lampoon’s “Lemmings” stage show with John Belushi, Chevy Chase and Christopher Guest. Learn that Jon Stewart’s future manager played the Italian official watching the LaserBra footage. Learn that O'Donoghue hired an all-girl band called The Clits to play at the “Mondo” premiere. Learn that Glazer’s uncle Sidney produced Mel Brooks’ “Twelve Chairs” and “The Producers” and Woody Allen’s “Take The Money and Run,” and yelled “Do you think this is funny?” repeatedly during the premiere screening of “Mondo.” Learn that O'Donoghue dated Margot Kidder. Learn that supermodel Patty Oja was writer Witterborn’s girlfriend at the time. Learn that future marrieds Malick and Glazer met on “Mondo.” Learn that O'Donoghue and Carrie Fisher were really close friends, then endured a feud that lasted until he died. Learn that Brian McConnachie, an O'Donoghue favorite, wrote the dying-mall sketches for SNL. Learn that Belushi was one of the few SNL players not in “Mondo” due to a prior movie commitment. Learn that Glazer and O'Donoghue were joking around by phone just a few hours before a brain aneurism unexpectedly claimed O'Donoghue’s life. Learn that Glazer harbored no filmmaking ambitions before O'Donoghue convinced him to co-write “Mondo.” Learn that the Christmas Past cabdriver character played by David Johansen in “Scrooged” was written for Sam Kinison. Learn that Klaus Nomi would show up at O’Donoghue’s parties in his plastic butterfly outfit. Learn that O’Donoghue’s enormous paint-by-number collection now resides at the Smithsonian.
remains a strange and compelling artifact fans of the funnyman are obliged to seek out. 
