By Anna Tingeley, Variety, August 5, 2019
The doc, captured by director Michelle Esrick, portrays the ‘Saturday Night Live’ star’s decades-long struggle with substance abuse, self-harm and misdiagnoses as he rose to fame on the iconic sketch show. Known for his iconic impersonations of Sean Connery, Regis Philbin and former President Bill Clinton, Hammond held the record for the longest tenure on the show (14 seasons) until he was surpassed by Kenan Thompson in 2017.
Despite the years of comedy, Esrick’s film reveals that Hammond was actually suffering with repressed memories throughout his ‘SNL’ stretch.
“I am deeply humbled by the impact the film has had since our DOC NYC festival premiere, from helping congress pass a bill into law recognizing trauma as a root cause of addiction – to a woman deciding not to commit suicide because they heard Darrell and myself talking about the effects of childhood trauma on a radio show,” Esrick said. “I can’t wait for this film to be available to everyone.”
Comments (1)