Douglas C. Kenney
| Douglas Kenney | |
|---|---|
Mid-1970s portrait by Pedar Ness
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| Born | Douglas Clark Francis Kenney December 10, 1946 West Palm Beach, Florida, U.S. |
| Died | August 27, 1980 (aged 33) Kauai, Hawaii, U.S. |
| Occupation | Screenwriter magazine editor |
| Nationality | American |
| Genre | Humor |
| Notable works |
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| Years active | 1965-1980 |
Douglas Clark Francis Kenney (December 10, 1946 – August 27, 1980) was an American writer and actor who co-founded the magazine National Lampoon in 1970. Kenney edited the magazine and wrote much of its early material.
Kenney was born in West Palm Beach, Florida, the son of Estelle "Stephanie" (Karch) and Daniel "Harry" Kenney. He was named after General Douglas MacArthur. Kenney was of Irish and Eastern European descent. His family moved to Mentor, Ohio in the early 1950s, before settling in Chagrin Falls, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Kenney lived in Chagrin Falls from 1958-1964 and attended Gilmour Academy, a Catholic prep high school for boys in nearby Gates Mills, Ohio.
While at Harvard University, Kenney was a member of the Signet society, president of the Spee Club, and editor of The Harvard Lampoon. There, he was part of the first group of newcomers who restyled the college humor magazine. Another of these writers was Henry Beard, with whom Kenney frequently collaborated, and who became a lifelong friend. Together with Beard, he wrote the short novel Bored of the Rings, which was published during 1969. Kenney graduated in 1968. Soon after, he, Beard and fellow Harvard alumnus Robert Hoffman began work on founding the humor magazine National Lampoon.
Kenney was one of the originating forces of what was to become known during the 1970s as the "new wave" of comedy: a dark, irreverent style of humor Kenney used as the basis for the magazine. Kenney was Editor-in-Chief from 1970 to 1972, Senior Editor 1973 to 1974, and Editor from 1975 to 1976.
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