Life (Henry N. Beard and Douglas C. Kenney) - Harvard Lampoon - 1968 - 88 pages

https://madcoversite.com/modern_magazine_parodies.html

Two years before they conquered the humor world with National Lampoon (1970), Beard and Kenney were testing the waters with an ambitious parody of Life magazine that was completely authorized and applauded by the Time-Life people.  The Lampoon Life was also published before their classic pocket book parody, Bored of the Rings (1969) and a 96-page parody of Time (1969).  Beard & Kenney had contributed to the Harvard Lampoon parody of Playboy (Pl*yb*y) in 1966.  The feature story of this parody is "The End of the World" covered by Life reporters and photographers as "Humanity Greets the Apocalypse."  Lampoon made fun of typical Life magazine features including Medicine (the hunt for organ donors), History ("some tacky bric-a-brac"), Flying Saucers (really bad evidence of such), Science (cheeseburger digestion), Modern Living (your children with realistic toys inspired by the War in Viet Nam), Nature (common animals in the wild), Poetry (washing machine accident), Fashion (edible) and Housing (The Magfly Manor).  Kenney made his pictorial bow as "Eric Mouth" - a trash-can philosopher.  Beard is the three-armed alien ("Lt.-Colonel Xenos 'Bushwhacker' Zxylix"), an Air Force advisor on the UFO phenomenon.  Each Life-like article is punctuated with the signature Beard/Kenney articulate nonsense and usually some really bad, un-Life-like photographs.  The Beard/Kenney era of American humor dominance lasted for approximately fifteen years (1966-1980).  Kenney (Animal House, Caddyshack) checked out early (1980).  Beard still dabbles in humor (O.J's Legal Pad, The Dick Cheney Code, etc.).  Both made their mark.  [JAM 6/28/2017]

Front Cover - Broken Earth-Egg ("The End of the World")
3  Content; Editorial by George H. Punt
4  Editorials: Looking back on it all; Where do we go from here? (drawing by Lurid)
6  Movie Review: Responsible Film for Respectable People by "Richard Snorkel"; Book Review: A Strong Emetic for our Moral Heartburn by "Donald Stagnant"
11 Letters to the Editor ("Armand Hammer" "G.W.S. Trow", "Pvt. Parts" "Etaoin Shrldlu" et al.)
12 List of Contributors; Ad for Vanitas Records
13 The Feminine Eye: Where there's LIFE, there's hope by "Sauna Avocado"
14 The View From Here: No Man is an Island by "LoudonLondonbroil"
16 The World Hurtles to Oblivion: Humanity Greets the Apocalypse
22 The Presidency: Tying together the White House Threads by "Huge Sidestep"
24 LIFE on the Newsfronts of the World
31 Medicine: Organic a Go-Go
35 The Glory That Was Us
39 Close-Up: Grass-Roots Philosopher Eric Mouth
44 Flying Saucers: Threat or Menace
48 Special Report: Drink: Curse of the Thrill-crazy Middle-aged by "Burma Shafer"
51 Science: What Your Stomach Does to Your Lunch
56 Modern Living: The Guns of Christmas
63 Nature: The North Forty
68 Poetry: An Old Poop Finds There's Big Money in the Rhyme Racket - Harry Umbrage: Poet on the Make
71 Fashion: Munchable Mod
78 Ideas in Houses 146: Malarial Manse
82 Tolkein will never be the same (ad for Harvard Lampoon parody of Lord of the Rings)
84 Great Dinners Part 243: A Frazzled Fowl
88 Miscellany: No Hard Felines
Back Cover - The New Yorker - "Consider the Alternative" (real ad)