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National Lampoon, Inc.

American brand assets company

Layered newspapers, civic records and oral-history reels arranged as chronological evidence
History and societyInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionSep 23, 2026
Entity authorityQ6973983 ↗
Source-derived summary

National Lampoon, Inc. is a company formed in 2002 in order to use the brand name "National Lampoon" in comedy and entertainment following the tradition of its magazine predecessor, The National Lampoon. In the words of its prospectus, the role of the company was to "develop, produce, provide creative services and distribute National Lampoon branded comedic content through a broad range of media platforms."

Since 2002, the company has overhauled its corporate infrastructure several times, with former CEOs Dan Laikin and Tim Durham being convicted of financial crimes related to the company.

History

Laikin era

In 2002, Dan Laikin and Paul Skjodt bought J2 Communications, license holder of the National Lampoon brand, and renamed the company National Lampoon, Inc. Laikin's relationship with J2 Communication CEO James P. Jimirro was contentious. During this period, the surprise success of National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002) validated Laikin's belief in the brand's potential. However, ongoing conflicts drained resources and demoralized staff. Eventually, Laikin and Jimirro reached a compromise to share control, but the dual leadership structure was confusing and demoralizing for employees. Jimirro stayed on as National Lampoon, Inc. CEO until January 2005.

Editorial summary

The public source identifies “National Lampoon, Inc.” as american brand assets company. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around National, Lampoon and American.

Editorial reviewMost valuable as an event-and-institution map that identifies actors, dates and record creators for deeper historical inquiry. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—2002, 2005—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 2002. Its value is orientation rather than verdict, with National, Lampoon and American providing the first useful test.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “National Lampoon, Inc.”, the useful work is to connect “american brand assets company” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.

Evidence profile

Contemporary correspondence, administrative files and participant testimony can test how later narratives organized the event or institution. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 23, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6973983. VIAF identifies the subject as 127077184. The Library of Congress control number is no2009191988. 3 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2002 and 2005.

Critical limits

Later summaries often reconcile disputed chronology or motive more neatly than the contemporary record permits. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.

Best used for
  • Event chronology
  • Institutional context
  • Locating named record creators
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Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “National Lampoon, Inc.”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow National Lampoon, Inc. primary sources, National Lampoon, Inc. archive and National research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

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  3. What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “National Lampoon, Inc.” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.