# Henry Beard
**Henry Beard** (Henry Nichols Beard, born 1945) is an American humorist who co-founded *National Lampoon* magazine and later wrote or co-wrote more than 30 humor books, including *Bored of the Rings*, *Miss Piggy's Guide to Life*, and a series of parody dictionaries.[1](https://big-lies.org/mileswmathis/natlam.pdf) • [2](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/1718/henry-beard/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1945; grew up in a television-less home in New York City[1](https://big-lies.org/mileswmathis/natlam.pdf) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-05-ls-16616-story.html) |
| Education | Harvard University, class of 1967; member of the Harvard Lampoon[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/) • [5](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Henry-Beard/1271644) |
| Signature work | Co-founder of *National Lampoon* with Douglas Kenney and Robert Hoffman; executive editor of the first issue, dated April 1970[2](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/1718/henry-beard/) • [6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon) |
| Early success | *Bored of the Rings* (Signet, 1969), a Tolkien parody that sold 750,000 copies and reached its 32nd printing[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon) • [7](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf) |
| Magazine peak | *National Lampoon* circulation peaked in 1974 at more than 1 million copies[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/) |
| Later career | Left after a 1975 buyout; author of over 30 humor books, including *Golfing*, *Sailing*, *Latin for All Occasions*, and *X-Treme Latin*[1](https://big-lies.org/mileswmathis/natlam.pdf) • [2](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/1718/henry-beard/) • [8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/henry-beard/) |
## Early life and Harvard Lampoon
Beard grew up in New York City in a home without television. His father, a transplanted Southerner, had been a Yale literary magazine editor and was a great-grandson of [John C. Breckinridge](https://www.edgepedia.org/john-c-breckinridge), who ran for president against [Abraham Lincoln](https://www.edgepedia.org/abraham-lincoln) in 1860. Beard described his choice of Harvard, his father's alma mater's rival, as an early act of teenage rebellion.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-05-ls-16616-story.html)
At Harvard he joined the Harvard Lampoon, the campus humor magazine founded in 1876. He later said he did not really go to class; he went to the Lampoon.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-05-ls-16616-story.html) In the mid-to-late 1960s Beard and fellow Lampooner Doug Kenney oversaw a series of special parody issues that brought the magazine national attention, beginning with a takeoff of *Mademoiselle* that the magazine itself commissioned for $5,000 and distributed to its own subscription list.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/)
**Bored of the Rings.** While still undergraduates, Beard and Kenney wrote a book-length parody of [J. R. R. Tolkien](https://www.edgepedia.org/j-r-r-tolkien)'s *The Lord of the Rings*, published by Signet in 1969, which ran to numerous printings.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon) Beard recalled that they telephoned Tolkien about the project; Tolkien replied that he would not say permission, but would not give any difficulty either.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/) The book eventually sold 750,000 copies.[7](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf) A second Lampoon parody of *[Time](https://www.edgepedia.org/time-magazine)* magazine, on newsstands the same week, earned the Lampoon $200,000, most of which went into an endowment.[7](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf)
## National Lampoon
In June 1969 Beard, Kenney, and former Lampoon business manager Robert Hoffman cut a deal to publish a national humor magazine with Twenty First Century Communications of New York, the publisher of *Weight Watchers* magazine. [The Harvard Lampoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-harvard-lampoon) licensed the Lampoon name in exchange for a percentage of the new magazine's circulation revenues, so the college magazine would be paid even if the National Lampoon ran at a loss.[7](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf) The first issue was dated April 1970.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon)
Beard served as executive editor, Kenney as editor-in-chief, and Hoffman as managing editor.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon) [Individual](https://www.edgepedia.org/individual) issues carried themes such as "The Future", "Death", and "Self-Indulgence", and after a shaky start the magazine grew rapidly.[6](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon) Circulation peaked in 1974 at more than 1 million copies, and the brand expanded into theater, radio, and film, beginning with *Animal House* in 1978 and continuing with the *Vacation* comedies starring [Chevy Chase](https://www.edgepedia.org/chevy-chase).[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/) In 1975 the three founders cashed in on a buyout agreement.[1](https://big-lies.org/mileswmathis/natlam.pdf)
Beard's role at the magazine was that of a steady editorial authority. Co-founder Rob Hoffman called him "the best humorous list writer of the twentieth century".[7](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf) Beard himself described the idea of a national humor magazine as, in his estimate, "one of the ten worst business ideas of 1969", adding that he and Kenney had youth and stupidity going for them; reserve military duty for Beard and faked epilepsy for Kenney kept both out of the Vietnam draft.[7](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf)
## Humor books
After leaving the magazine, Beard built a career as a book author. He has authored or co-authored over 30 humor books.[2](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/1718/henry-beard/) His best-known titles include *Miss Piggy's Guide to Life* and, with Christopher Cerf, *The Official Politically Correct Dictionary and Handbook*.[5](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Henry-Beard/1271644) He also produced a line of parody dictionaries for hobbies and pursuits, including *Golfing* (with illustrator Roy McKie) and *Sailing*, as well as *Zen for Cats* and *The Official Exceptions to the Rules of Golf*.[8](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/henry-beard/)
His later work applied the same parodic method to language, history, and politics: *Latin for All Occasions*, *X-Treme Latin: Unleash Your Inner Gladiator* (2004), *The Dick Cheney Code* (2004), and *Spinglish*, a satire of jargon and deceptive language.[2](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/1718/henry-beard/) • [9](https://notablepeopleproject.org/henry_beard) Asked in a 1995 interview whether he had ever considered writing anything serious, Beard answered no, saying he had absolutely nothing to say.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-05-ls-16616-story.html)
## Influence
*National Lampoon* fed directly into American television comedy. In 1975, talent recruited to the magazine and its radio and stage shows, including [Michael O'Donoghue](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-odonoghue), John Belushi, Chevy Chase, and [Gilda Radner](https://www.edgepedia.org/gilda-radner), was tapped for NBC's new *Saturday Night Live*, and Lampoon alumni went on to staff *Late Night with David Letterman*, *The Simpsons*, and *Veep*.[4](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/) Mike Sacks's 2014 interview collection *Poking a Dead Frog* included Beard among comedy writers it described as rarely interviewed, listing him alongside [Mel Brooks](https://www.edgepedia.org/mel-brooks), Terry Jones, and George Saunders.[10](https://www.latimes.com/books/reviews/la-et-jc-mike-sacks-poking-a-dead-frog-cracks-the-comedy-code-20140829-story.html)
## References
1. [National Lampoon history (PDF), noting Henry Nichols Beard, born June 7, 1945, and the 1975 buyout](https://big-lies.org/mileswmathis/natlam.pdf)
2. [Henry Beard author page, Penguin Random House](https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/1718/henry-beard/)
3. [Is Nothing Sacred to Henry Beard?, Los Angeles Times, January 5, 1995](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-01-05-ls-16616-story.html)
4. [An oral history of the Harvard Lampoon, The Washington Post, April 25, 2026](https://www.washingtonpost.com/style/2026/04/25/harvard-lampoon-150th-conan-snl/)
5. [Henry Beard, Official Publisher Page, Simon & Schuster](https://www.simonandschuster.com/authors/Henry-Beard/1271644)
6. [National Lampoon, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/media/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/national-lampoon)
7. [How Harvard Changed Comedy, Harvard Magazine](https://harvardmagazine.com/sites/default/files/media/How-Harvard-Changed-Comedy.pdf)
8. [Henry Beard, Hachette Book Group](https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/contributor/henry-beard/)
9. [Henry Beard, Notable People Project](https://notablepeopleproject.org/henry_beard)
10. [Mike Sacks' 'Poking a Dead Frog' cracks the comedy code, Los Angeles Times, August 29, 2014](https://www.latimes.com/books/reviews/la-et-jc-mike-sacks-poking-a-dead-frog-cracks-the-comedy-code-20140829-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Broadcasting and journalism › Periodicals and publishing › Magazines › Magazine industry › Magazine publishing people*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license