Darrell Hammond Will Not Be Another OD'ed SNL Star
Former "Saturday Night Live" star, Darrell Hammond almost went the route of fellow comic legends John Belushi and Chris Farley, but cleaned up his act to live to tell the story.
The 16-year veteran of "SNL,” Hammond opens up about his behind the scenes struggles and vices in his autobiography, "God, If You're Not Up There, I'm F*****."
Hammond said one of the darkest moments in his life occurred in 1998 when police took him from the NBC infirmary to the hospital in a straight jacket.
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"I’d started adding an obscene amount of cocaine to my binges ... I had to be creative about how I did it without other people catching on or letting it interfere with the work. At least too much," he said in the book.
The actor enjoyed a small period of sobriety, but in 2009 he relapsed when he tried crack after spending some time in a crack house, he said in his book.
"I kept a pint of Remy in my desk at work. The drinking calmed my nerves and quieted the disturbing images in my head ... when drinking didn't work, I cut myself," an excerpt from the book read.
Copies were sent out to "SNL," and the book doesn't drop until Nov. 8.
"I don’t have anything bad to say about anyone there,” he told the Post. “They all really went above and beyond the call for me.”
The first cast member to struggle with severe drug addiction was John Belushi who overdosed in 1982 and was found dead in his hotel room.
Belushi died after taking a drug concoction called a speedball, a combination of cocaine and heroin. The death was initially ruled a drug related accident.
Catherine Evelyn Smith, a backup singer/ groupie drug dealer, said she gave the lethal dose of speedball to Belushi right before he died.
She was sentenced to 15 months in prison and charged for involuntary manslaughter.
Chris Farley suffered a similar fate in the mid-90s after going on a drug, alcohol, and food binge that proved to be too much for his larger than life persona.
It is reported Farley sought treatment for his obesity and drug problems on 17 separate occasions, but all failed.
On Dec. 18 1997, Farley was found by his younger brother John in his Chicago hotel after a fatal dose of morphine and cocaine.
