Tony Hendra

Tony Hendra
Hendra in 2015
Born	Anthony Christopher Hendra 10 July 1941 Hertfordshire,England, UK
Died	4 March 2021(2021-03-04)(aged 79) Yonkers, New York,US
Occupation	Satirist, author
Genre	Fiction, non-fiction, satire,social commentary
Years active	1961–2018
Spouse	Judith H. Christmas ​ ​ (m.1964;div.1985)​ Carla Hendra ​ (m.1986)​
Children	5

Anthony Christopher Hendra(10 July 1941 – 4 March 2021) was an Englishsatiristand writer who worked mostly in the United States. He was probably best known for being the head writer and co-producer in 1984 of the first six shows of the long-running British satirical television seriesSpitting Imageand for starring in the filmThis Is Spinal Tapas the band's manager Ian Faith.

Early life and education

Hendra was born in Hertfordshire. His surname isCornish,and he also had Irish ancestry.Educated atSt Albans School(where he was a classmate ofStephen Hawking) and atSt John's College, Cambridge,he was a member of the Cambridge UniversityFootlightsrevue in 1962, alongsideJohn Cleese,Graham ChapmanandTim Brooke-Taylor.

Comedy performer

In 1964, Hendra moved to America, with actor and comedianNick Ullett.For the next five years they worked successfully as a comedy team, appearing at theCafe Au Go Goin New York withLenny Bruce,at thehungry iin San Francisco withNina Simoneand atthe Shadowsin Washington, DC, with various headliners, includingWoody Allen.They were regular guests onThe Merv Griffin Showand appeared six times onThe Ed Sullivan Show.in 1969 Hendra broke up the comedy team and in 1970 began writing forNational Lampoonmagazine, from its inception. In 1971 he became the first editor hired by foundersDoug KenneyandHenry Beard.

In 1972, Hendra co-createdNational Lampoon's first albumRadio Dinner,withMichael O'Donoghue,on which Hendra performed a parody ofJohn Lennon,titled "Magical Misery Tour".In 1973, Hendra produced, directed and co-wrote (withSean Kelly) theLampoon'soff-BroadwayrevueLemmings,in which Hendra castJohn Belushi,Chevy Chase,Rhonda Coullet,Christopher GuestandAlice Playtenin their first starring roles. Hendra continued as an editor of theLampoonuntil 1975, when he became co-editor-in-chief with Kelly until 1978.

Freelance editor

After leaving theLampoonin 1978, Hendra began working as a freelance editor, writer and actor. During the New York newspaper strike of 1978, he edited and co-created the parodyNot The New York Timeswith Rusty Unger,Christopher Cerf,andGeorge Plimpton,and published by Larry Durocher and Josh Feigenbaum.

In 1979 he co-edited (with Cerf and actor Peter Elbling)The 80s—A Look Back.In 1980 he packaged and editedThe Sayings of Ayatollah KhomeiniakaThe Little Green Book of Ayatollah Khomeini,a collection of the Ayatollah's actual teachings with an introduction by Clive Irving, which was regularly featured onJohnny Carson's Tonight Show.

In 1982 he was editor-in-chief ofOff the Wall Street JournalandOff the Wall Street Journal II,which between them sold almost a million copies and featured such contributors as Kurt Andersen. Other parodies Hendra created and edited includedThe Irrational Inquirer,Playboy: the ParodyandNot the Bible(1983). He was featured on the cover of Newsweek (25 April 1983) with Sean Kelly and Alfred Gingold. Hendra was a writer for and became editor-in-chief ofSpy Magazinefrom 1993–94.

In the mid-1980s, he decided to devote himself exclusively to writing and in 1987 publishedGoing Too Far,a history of "sick," "black," "anti-establishment" American satire from the 1950s to the 1980s, which featured interviews of some of the chief satirists.

Television and films

In 1984, Hendra co-created, co-wrote, and co-produced the British television satirical showSpitting Image,for which he, Jon Blair, and John Lloyd were nominated for aBritish Academy Awardin 1985. He was ousted from the production after the first six shows, being replaced byRob GrantandDoug Naylor.He playedIan FaithinThis Is Spinal Tap.

He appeared in several other films and television programs, includingMiami Vice,The Cosby Mysteries,andLaw & Order: Criminal Intent.In 1997, Hendra and directorRon SheltonwroteThe Great White Hype,a satire of racism in bo xing, starringSamuel L. Jackson,Damon Wayans,Jamie Foxx,Jeff Goldblum,andPeter Berg.He co-conceived and wrote the Englishdubsof three of the films created by Belgian animatorPicha,includingThe Missing Link(1980),The Big Bang(1987), andSnow White: The Sequel(2007).

Family life and child sexual abuse allegations

Hendra was married twice. His first marriage, to Judith Christmas in 1964, produced two daughters and ended in an acrimonious divorce in 1985. He and his second wife, Carla, lived in New York City with their three children.

In 2004, at the time that his memoirFather Joewas achieving best-seller status, Jessica Hendra, the younger of Hendra's two daughters from his first marriage, submitted an op-ed piece toThe New York Timesin which she asserted that her father failed to include in his narrative of "deliverance through faith and atonement for his failings" that he had sexually abused her as a young child. The newspaper declined to publish the piece but did assign a reporter, N. R. Kleinfield, to investigate her charges.

On 1 July 2004,The New York Timespublished Kleinfield's story,including details of the alleged acts of molestation and interviews with two of Jessica's therapists, three friends, her mother and her husband. All said that Jessica told them at different times of being molested: in her mother's case, when she was 12. A former boyfriend told Kleinfield however, that Jessica never spoke of it during their years together, that she was "very unstable emotionally" and that "I can't believe it happened."

Hendra responded, "I can only just categorically deny this. It's not a new allegation. It's simply not true, I'm afraid."In the wake of criticism of the paper's decision to publish the story in the absence of tangible proof,New York TimesombudsmanDaniel Okrentwrote a detailed examination of the procedures followed by the editorial staff prior to publication. While acknowledging that Kleinfield was convinced, based on information gathered during his reporting, that Jessica Hendra had indeed been molested, Okrent expressed concern over possible consequences should the charges prove to be false:

Even if the preponderant evidence indicates it's true... doesn't the small chance that it's false outweigh the value of giving readers access to the private miseries of the Hendra family? Either way, Tony Hendra will bear the scars of this article forever. People who did not write a book claiming spiritual salvation will suffer as well: his three young children from his second marriage, for instance. In the face of this risk, what do readers ofThe Times(or ofFather Joe) gain by believing Hendra guilty of abuse? There's a difference between the right to know and the need to know, and in this case, the need escapes me... I don't mean in any way to diminish the gravity of Jessica Hendra's charges... I can't imagine an accusation more serious, a transgression more detestable. If her story is true, Tony Hendra deserves punishment far greater than humiliation in the pages ofThe Times.As an editor, the verities of the profession might have led me to publish this article. But as a reader, I wishThe Timeshadn't.

In 2005, Jessica Hendra wrote a memoir withUSA Todayjournalist Blake Morrison,How to Cook Your Daughter,in which she repeated her accusations.

Death

Hendra died ofamyotrophic lateral sclerosison 4 March 2021.

Books

• The 80s: A Look Back at the Tumultuous Decade 1980–1989(1979) co-edited withChristopher CerfandPeter Elbling
• Not The Bible(1983) withSean Kelly
• Going Too Far: the Rise and Demise of Sick, Gross, Black, Sophomoric, Weirdo, Pinko, Anarchist, Underground, Anti-establishment Humor 1955–1980(1987)
• The 90's: A Look Back(1989) co-edited with Peter Elbling, designed byPaula Scher
• Tales from the Crib(1991) withBob Saget
• Born to Run Things: An Utterly Unauthorized Biography of George Bush(1992)
• Brad '61: Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man(1993) with Roy Lichtenstein
• The Book of Bad Virtues(1994)
• The GIGAWIT Dictionary of the English Language(2000)
• Brotherhood: A Photographic Tribute to the NYFD Heroes of 9/11(2001)
• Father Joe: The Man Who Saved My Soul(2004)
• "Dragula: Queen of Darkness" with Neal Adams
• The Messiah of Morris Avenue(2006)
• Last Words(2009) withGeorge Carlin

External links

• "Magical Misery Tour" Hendra's 1972 parody of John LennononYouTube
• Lemmings review
• A profile of HendrabyThe Independent.
• New York Times Book Reviewby Andrew Sullivan of Tony Hendra's bookFather Joe.
• Articles in Harpers Magazine by Hendra on bullfighting and the Spanish Civil War and his memoirs of life in comedy.
• Interview: Tony Hendra, On the Line with Joseph Planta (thecommentary.ca)Tony Hendra audio interview re: The Messiah of Morris Avenue (18 April 2006).
• God Save This BookAn essay by Davis Sweet defendingFather Joe.
• Tony HendraatIMDb
• Tony Hendraat theInternet Broadway Database
• Tony Hendradiscography atDiscogs