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20 unusual facts about National Lampoon


Breckenridge, Colorado

Breckenridge was the film location of the 1989 comedy National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation and some scenes in Dumb and Dumber (shots of Aspen in the movie are actually Breckenridge).

Chandelier Tree

A vintage postcard of the Chandelier Tree was shown during the opening credits of National Lampoon's Vacation.

Charlie Laine

She also appeared in an episode of Fat Guy Nation produced by National Lampoon.

Edward Barbanell

Also in 2011, he played the part of "Testiclees' Cousin" in National Lampoon's 301: The Legend of Awesomest Maximus.

Florida Military School

The 1960 Senior Trip was to also to the Mardi Gras in New Orleans, with Major Steely in attendance, where the cadets participated in one of the Mardi Gras parades.

Ford Country Squire

A heavily modified Country Squire Wagon was used by the Griswolds in National Lampoon's Vacation.

Four flush

In National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, Clark refers to his boss as "four flushing" in his tirade over his corporate Christmas present; in Home Alone 2: Lost in New York it's used by the mafia boss Johnny in the fictional film Angels with Even Filthier Souls; and in Uncle Buck, Pooter the Clown calls Buck a four flusher, which results in Buck punching the clown right in the face.

Hotel Hell Vacation

Although sanctioned by Warner Bros. (which holds the underlying rights to the Vacation series characters and concepts), this film was not sponsored by National Lampoon, Inc., which initiated the Vacation series.

Jasmin St. Claire

She has made appearances in the world of professional wrestling and such motion pictures as Communication Breakdown and Lionsgate's National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2.

Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel

The Kittatinny Mountain Tunnel's western portal is featured on the first postcard during the opening sequence of National Lampoon's Vacation.

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation is a 1989 Christmas comedy film directed by Jeremiah S. Chechik.

Janet Maslin of The New York Times gave the film a mediocre review explaining that the "third look at the quintessentially middle-American Griswold family, led by Clark and the very patient Ellen is only a weary shadow of the original National Lampoon's Vacation."

National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation 2

It premiered December 20, 2003 on NBC and stars Randy Quaid and Miriam Flynn, reprising their roles as Cousin Eddie and Catherine.

National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2

National Lampoon's Dorm Daze 2 (2006) is the mystery/farce sequel to the 2003 comedy National Lampoon Presents Dorm Daze.

Added to the ensemble are Vida Guerra, Charles Shaughnessy, Richard Riehle, Jasmin St. Claire, and Oren Skoog with Justin Whalin as "Foosball." The film was directed by the brothers David and Scott Hillenbrand and written by Patrick Casey and Worm Miller.

National Lampoon's Funny Money

A special episode featuring Babs and Flounder from the movie Animal House played for charity aired in 2003.

National Lampoon's Joy of Sex

It was written by Kathleen Rowell and J.J. Salter, based on the sex manual by Alex Comfort.

National Lampoon's Pledge This!

Pledge This! received universally negative reviews; the film is the third lowest-rated film on the Internet Movie Database.

The Almost Guys

Worldwide rights to the independently produced film were acquired by National Lampoon.

Wally Joyner

The film National Lampoon's Vacation had featured a fictional theme park by that name, and the Angels' proximity to Disneyland may also have helped inspire the moniker.


Arrive Alive

Cusack was an up-and-coming actress, working on Saturday Night Live, Dafoe was getting terrific buzz from The Last Temptation of Christ and Chechik had just directed the successful National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation.

Autzen Stadium

It was also used as the location for the fictional Faber College football stadium in the 1978 movie, National Lampoon's Animal House.

Bobby Lewis

"Tossin' And Turnin'", composed by Ritchie Adams and Malou Rene, was featured in the soundtrack for the 1978 film, Animal House.

Burly Bear Network

The station was initially a privately held company, under CEO Howard Handler, with Ted Jessup as the head of programming, but in September 2002, the station was bought by National Lampoon for an undisclosed amount.

Censorship in Samoa

In August 2009 media reports indicated that four films were newly banned, including National Lampoon's Van Wilder: Freshman Year and The Cell 2.

Cesare Danova

Two of his best roles were as the neighborhood mafia Don, Giovanni Cappa, in Martin Scorsese's Mean Streets (1973) and as the corrupt town mayor, Carmine DePasto, in National Lampoon's Animal House (1978).

Co-Ed Fever

The series attempted to capitalize on the success of the motion picture National Lampoon's Animal House.

DeWayne Jessie

DeWayne Jessie (a.k.a. "Otis Washington" and "Otis Day") (born 1953) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Otis Day in National Lampoon's Animal House.

Excel Saga

Mike Crandol of Anime News Network puts it in the same class as Airplane!, National Lampoon, Tex Avery, and Monty Python, adding that the "combination of character-based humor, outrageous slapstick farce, and a plot that is engaging if only for how weird it is make for a thoroughly enjoyable comedic experience".

Frank Thorne

His most notable works include being the creator/artist/writer of "Moonshine McJugs" for Playboy magazine, as well as Ghita of Alizarr for Fantagraphics Books, "Lann" for Heavy Metal magazine, Ribit for Comico, The Iron Devil and Devil's Angel for Eros Comix, and Danger Rangerette for National Lampoon and High Times.

Hanapepe, Hawaii

On August 27, 1980, Douglas Kenney, a co-writer of National Lampoon's Animal House, fell thirty feet to his death from the Hanapepe Lookout.

If You Don't Buy This Book, We'll Kill This Dog!

It is a history based on the author Matty Simmons' involvement with the National Lampoon magazine and its various spin-offs including the film Animal House.

Jeff Kanew

He also directed Douglas in 1983's Eddie Macon's Run, Troop Beverly Hills starring Shelley Long, V.I. Warshawski starring Kathleen Turner, Natural Enemies starring Hal Holbrook and Louise Fletcher, Babij Jar a holocaust drama, National Lampoon's Adam and Eve, several TV episodes, and the stage and video versions of the Kirk Douglas one man show "Before I Forget".

Joanne Baron

Joanne Baron’s film acting credits include Valley Girl, National Lampoon's Joy of Sex, Real Genius, Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Drag Me to Hell, Spider-Man 2, The Prince and Me, Allie & Me, Universal Soldier, Someone to Watch Over Me.

Lambda Lambda Lambda

Inspired by movies like Revenge of the Nerds and National Lampoon's Animal House, Lambda Lambda Lambda is a small co-ed social fraternity, unaffiliated with Greek Life, dedicated to the enjoyment and enrichment of pop culture and to the brotherhood of its members.

Lee Marvin vs. Derek Jeter

Jenna tells Liz that she wants to accompany her to her singles activities as her wingman since she is up for a role in National Lampoon's Van Wilder's Wingman, Incorporated, a reference to the National Lampoon's Van Wilder film series.

Matty Simmons

Simmons's most prolific film credits include acting as the producer of National Lampoon's Animal House and the National Lampoon's Vacation film series.

Oregon Film Museum

The museum features hands-on exhibits related to films that were made in Oregon, which include, in addition to The Goonies, Kindergarten Cop, Twilight, Sometimes a Great Notion and National Lampoon's Animal House.

Pig in a poke

The name of the TV game show hosted by John Astin in the Chevy Chase sequel National Lampoon's European Vacation in which the Griswolds win what they think is a deluxe vacation to England (London), France (Paris), Germany (Bavaria) and Italy (Rome).

Ralph Reese

Prolific from the 1960s to the 1990s, he is best known for his collaboration with Byron Preiss on the continuing feature "One Year Affair", serialized in the satiric magazine National Lampoon from 1973 to 1975 and then collected into a 1976 book.

Robert Cray

In the 1978 film National Lampoon's Animal House, Cray was the uncredited bassist in the house party band Otis Day and the Knights.

South Fork, Colorado

In the 1983 movie National Lampoon's Vacation starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold, the Griswold family spend the night at a camping ground in South Fork.

Teresa Ganzel

She often played ditzy busty blonde bimbo roles, as in the 1982 film The Toy with Jackie Gleason and Richard Pryor, in the Married... with Children episode: "A Three Job, No Income Family" (1989) and National Lampoon's Movie Madness.

Wayne McLoughlin

He first worked on creating illustrated humor parodies for national magazines, including Esquire, Omni, Next, Yankee, and National Lampoon.