TTP | Pain Song
Darrell Hammond -
November 11th, 2011
Without question there are numerous characteristics required to endure the occasional agony associated with the human condition. Perhaps three of the most critical are courage, perseverance and a good sense of humor.
Until recently we only knew comedian Darrell Hammond as Saturday Night Live’s hysterical and prolific impressionist. After reading his book, God, If You’re Not Up There, I’m F*cked, he is nothing short of a miraculous survivor.
Driven to drugs, drinking and cutting himself to cope with a vicious and loveless mother, Hammond rode out time in psych wards and rehab to find himself kicking ass on television’s most famous stage… live. If the man had an action figure, we’d put him right next to Rambo.
[Join the conversation about ... Darrell Hammond.]
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14
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Seasons Hammond was a cast member on SNL. It is the longest tenure of any cast member in the show’s history. Second to Hammond are both Al Franken and Seth Meyers at 11 seasons. |
Perhaps I know best why it is man alone who laughs; he alone suffers so deeply that he had to invent laughter.
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Friedrich Nietzsche
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gelogenic
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adj. producing laughter.
Used in a sentence: Few things are more consistently gelogenic than Darrell Hammond on SNL… okay farts in church are up there too.
At one point Hammond was on seven different medications prescribed by his doctors and psychiatrists. Before nearly every episode of SNL, Hammond took medications he called “soul killing drugs,” which he says were used to stabilize trauma patients and allow him to go out onstage and perform.
By His Own Mother’s Hands
| Had his tongue sliced with a steak knife. |
| Had his fingers forced into light sockets. |
| Was hit in the stomach with a hammer. |
| Had his hand slammed in a car door. |
| Brunch at Golden Corral. (No wait that happened to us.) |
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Millions of remarkable people manage to persevere through agonizing pain each day, but to make someone laugh when you’re emotionally crumbling inside is nothing short of heroic. Hats off to Darrell Hammond for having the balls to write and survive such a harrowing tale. You, sir, are an inspiration. |
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