Live From New York - James H. Miller [282]
LARAINE NEWMAN, Cast Member:
Lorne was so close to our age, and because he was the person he was, he was uncomfortable being “the boss.” I don’t think he liked the barrier that that put between him and having true friendships with the people he worked with. I think the worst you can say is that he mismanaged or underestimated the impact he had on people who depended on him, and when he couldn’t make it good for them, how betrayed they felt. It’s tough, but I think that’s why a lot of people felt that the rug was pulled out from under them. I did too. I just felt like he was my guardian, you know, he had brought me from Los Angeles to do this show, yet all these people were getting more airtime than I was. I thought, why wasn’t he protecting me? Why wasn’t he making sure that I had as much time as anybody else? And it’s because I was one of many. It’s not as if he said to me, “Tough shit,” you know, or “That’s the way it is,” or “Love it or leave it.” He really tried to work with me. He really tried.
CHRISTINE ZANDER, Writer:
We worked with him before he had children, and I think we were probably all his children before he had children. Lorne somehow manages to be a paternal figure, and I think that’s because he enjoys being a father. If he didn’t make eye contact with me for a day, I thought, okay, for sure I’m fired. And there would be nothing to support that paranoia.
JANE CURTIN, Cast Member:
I think he picked the right profession, because he gets to lord over people who want to kneel at his feet and he doesn’t acknowledge them — which makes them work harder.
ANA GASTEYER, Cast Member:
I think a lot of us are comfortable with or afflicted by or taken with distant fathers. I’m sure there’s a lot of alcoholism in a lot of families connected to the show, that’s what I gather. People here are comfortable with chaos. People here are comfortable with distance, with what’s not being said, and being able to read what’s not being said. So I think that there’s a comfort with Lorne’s silence for a lot of us.
ADAM SANDLER, Cast Member:
Lorne does have a great way of making you feel comfortable. He can also make you feel nervous if he chooses to. But when Lorne would tell a cast member that their skit was funny or you did a good job in a particular bit that you did on the show, it felt great and it really helped your confidence. You felt secure and you felt like, “This guy’s seen a lot of different styles of comedy,” and he made you feel part of a cool group.
JON LOVITZ, Cast Member:
Lorne says I made him like my dad, which I didn’t, but he was the boss, you know, and you want to please the boss. But he would say to me, “Come to me with any career problems or any problems you have.” I was supposed to do a movie with him and it didn’t happen. He blames the studio, and he told a friend of mine that it was my fault, and I got really angry. So then I said stuff about him and it all got back to him, so for four years we really didn’t get along. But the last few shows we made up.
I think a lot of us have mixed feelings for Lorne. We’re so grateful that he hired us and gave us this opportunity that we’d do anything for him. Then you want his approval. You want approval from your boss and the audience, and he’s just not the kind of guy who could do it all the time. I confronted him once, because every Monday he’d be screaming at me. I said, “Lorne, my characters are hit characters, I’m here until seven in the morning, I write three sketches every week.” Most of the other people weren’t writing for