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Gasping for Airtime
by Jay Mohr
Hyperion
ISBN 1-4013-0006-5
Published June 2004 - Hardcover - 293 pages - $23.95

We know funnyman Jay Mohr from his TV and film appearances and more recently, as the creator and executive producer of television's Last Comic Standing.  I was so looking forward to having a few laughs in this book but sadly, I first broke a smile when I reached page 72.  This is an account of the day-to-day workings of putting together Saturday Night Live shows when he was there from 1993 to 1995.  Lots of name-dropping but not much else.  Mohr tells about how he found out he had panic attacks and that he was not dying during this time.  I liked the story about Chris Farley, who Mohr believes is the funniest man in the world, and their sketch about a "Motivational Speaker" and about their "wealthy Spanish father of two".  The second smile came to me on page 166 and 167 about Bob Newhart.  I won't give you the details as it's something to look forward to if you decide to give this boring book a go.  Mohr comes across as a young upstart (21 and part of a great show but so much drinking and pot smoking) with the usual "sense of entitlement" so many young people are afflicted with.  No wonder he was so panicked.  With age comes experience and confidence - it's not handed to you, and neither is respect.  To Mr. Mohr I say, "Don't give up your day job - you're not remotely entertaining in print."  Basically, I felt, what he had to say wasn't that interesting.
Conclusion - Ho hum.