THERE ISN’T THAT MUCH distance between funny and sad. As Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong says, “When people talk about comedy, you talk about tension. It’s one in the same.”
Take for example, Strong’s own life during 2020. First there was shooting SNL during the pandemic. Then it was figuring out how to safely film her new Apple TV+ musical comedy series Schmigadoon! At the same time, amid waves of anxiety and depression, Strong was grappling with having to put a new relationship on hold over a COVID-19 diagnosis and the death of her beloved 30-year-old cousin, Owen Strong, from brain cancer.
“My cousin just passed away and the guy I finally started dating gets COVID. I had this busted thermometer, and I’m like, ‘Am I gonna die? Is he gonna die?’ That’s over two weeks!”
Strong writes about it all in her new memoir This Will All Be Over Soon, set for release August 10 by Simon & Schuster. “It was such a weirdly personal thing to write this, and I didn’t quite know what it would ever turn out to be. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to write about Owen in the first place. How can I find the right words to explain something that’s so devastating and so full of love?”
Strong says she and her cousin had been close as kids but had since lost touch. “When I came to New York for SNL, Owen met me the night of my audition. I was like, ‘Who are you even? I don’t even know you as an adult.’”
This story is from the August 20, 2021 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 20, 2021 edition of Newsweek.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Ray Romano
\"I read about three scripts, and at the end of each there was a little twist, a little turn, [and] it was funny.\"
Has J.K. Rowling Won the Culture War?
After years of backlash over trans issues, the Harry Potter author has received major business backing
Nothin' Lasts Forever
Taylor Swift's Eras Tour' ends its record-breaking run..
SPY IN THE SKY
CHINA FACES ACCUSATIONS of ESPIONAGE and WEAPONIZING OUTER SPACE as it BUILDS a NEW OBSERVATORY in CHILE critics say WILL BE USED for MILITARY PURPOSES
'This Murder Is a Symbol of the Times'
Conservatives and liberals agree on the state of the health care industry following the killing of Brian Thompson
The Defense Industry's Fight With ESG
EUROPEAN DEFENSE COMPANIES, ESPECIALLY smaller businesses, are being blocked from investment they sorely need by sustainability rules, a senior NATO official and several industry figures have said.
Margo Martindale
Jamie Lee [Curtis, producer] called me and she says, \"Jamie Lee Curtis here. I have a project for you. And you're gonna do it.\"
Malala Yousafzai
\"AFGHANISTAN IS THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE world where girls are banned from access to education and women are limited from work.\"
In the Eyes of the Law
Jude Law is unrecognizable as an FBI agent on the trail of aneo-Naziterrorist group in real-crime drama The Order
Gonzo Intelligence
Instead of keeping a low profile, Moscow's spies are embracing the limelight and even being welcomed home by Vladimir Putin after their cover is blown
