Kenney lived in Chagrin Falls from 1958 to 1964 and attended Gilmour Academy, a Catholic prep high school for boys in nearby Gates Mills, Ohio.

[2] Thomas Carney, writing in New Times, traced the history and style of the National Lampoon and the impact it had on comedy's new wave.

[5] To escape the pressures of running a successful magazine, Kenney sometimes took unannounced extended breaks; despite these absences, "Mrs. Agnew's Diary" was always submitted to the Lampoon.

National Lampoon 1964 High School Yearbook Parody, which Kenney co-wrote with P. J. O'Rourke, was the best-selling edition of the magazine.

[7] It was based on an earlier two-page piece by Kenney and Michael O'Donoghue, a National Lampoon writer and editor.

[9] Kenney remained on the staff until 1977, when he left the magazine to co-write the screenplay to National Lampoon's Animal House with Chris Miller and Harold Ramis.

"[10]Kenney had a small role in Animal House as Delta fraternity brother "Stork", with two lines of dialogue.

Stork's key scene is in the big parade climax, when he pushes the drum major away and leads the marching band down a blind alley.

Produced on a very modest budget, National Lampoon's Animal House was, until Ghostbusters in 1984, the most profitable comedy film in Hollywood history.

Not only had we planned to meet, but John Landis, the director of Animal House, said Doug also wanted to see him back in Los Angeles when he returned from Hawaii.

[14][12] The National Lampoon published a tribute to him by Matty Simmons, as well as a cartoon showing a sign reading "Doug Kenney Slipped Here" next to the edge of a cliff.

[A friend] and I considered starting a food fight, inspired by that scene in Animal House in honor of Doug — 'He would have wanted it that way' — but we decided it would be in terrible taste, and out of respect for all the other mourners, we resisted the temptation.

"[13][a]Kenney received a nomination from The Writers Guild of America for his National Lampoon's Animal House screenplay (along with Harold Ramis and Chris Miller).

Chris Miller paid homage by naming the main character in his 1996 film Multiplicity "Doug Kinney".