Our favorite funnymen of the 1980s reached glorious heights and managed to endure the decade despite some appallingly unfunny lows. Sharing “SNL” in their DNA, most of them worked together in front of the camera at some point and, behind the scenes, commiserated at times over the vagaries of show business.
Offering colorful film backstories and insightful portraits of Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd, author Nick de Semlyen’s “Wild and Crazy Guys” explores the nature of stardom itself — the struggle to be noticed and the even greater struggle to stay noticed. Interestingly, their careers often followed similar trajectories.
