Book Review - Born Standing Up by Steve Martin
Category Book Review Steve Martin Born Standing Up
A fellow reader/reviewer tipped me to the book Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. It's a memoir of Martin's life from childhood to 1981, when he walked away from stand-up comedy. Unlike many memoirs that are the product of a ghostwriter, Born Standing Up is all Martin. It helps that he's an actual writer, as well as a comedian and actor. Because of that writing skill, you get a close-up, intimate look into the events and people who made him the hottest comedian of his time. And it also explains why, seemingly at the pinnacle of his success doing stand-up, he walked away from it all.
The book traces his early infatuation with magic and comedy. He worked at Disneyland in the magic shop that was there at the time, and he started learning the tricks and techniques that would form the beginning of his act. Along the way, he picked up a banjo and learned to play it. This combination of banjo, magic, and humor had him doing the coffeehouses and storefront venues that were everywhere during the '60's. He also spent a fair amount of time working The Birdcage at Knott's Berry Farm doing more of a vaudeville style of comedy. Overall, it was what he wanted to be doing, but he also knew that you couldn't make a living with it at this level. He knew he had to get a break somewhere or give up his dream of becoming an entertainer.
The late 60's and early '70s were a turbulent time in our country. Society was changing, and Martin was studying what effect that had on comedy. He started to do routines that were more cutting-edge, routines that required the audience to look at humor in a different light. These self-deprecating, physical routines started to catch on, and he also began to be booked on more TV shows. Before long, his appearances went from 100 seat rooms to sold-out venues all over the US. But while his act was becoming part of the culture and lexicon of society, he was personally struggling. Relationships were hard to maintain due to the schedule, and he was trying hard to deal with parental relationships that were highly dysfunctional as he grew up. His standup career ended in 1981 after a third successive night of something going wrong in his Vegas King Tut act. What looked to be anger on the surface was actually the grind of the last 20 years coming to a head. He walked away from his act at that point and spent time healing the rifts between him and members of his family.
What made this book so fascinating was to see the reality behind the public image. It's easy to imagine that actors, singers, and comedians have it all... popularity, money, travel, friends. But really, it's a hard existence full of doubt, hard work, and loneliness. Born Standing Up shows that being funny is painfully difficult, and comes at a high cost. While I've always liked Steve Martin as an entertainer, I'm now pretty sure that I'd also like the real Steve Martin, the man who's there when the film stops rolling and the footlights are turned off. This is an excellent read...
A fellow reader/reviewer tipped me to the book Born Standing Up by Steve Martin. It's a memoir of Martin's life from childhood to 1981, when he walked away from stand-up comedy. Unlike many memoirs that are the product of a ghostwriter, Born Standing Up is all Martin. It helps that he's an actual writer, as well as a comedian and actor. Because of that writing skill, you get a close-up, intimate look into the events and people who made him the hottest comedian of his time. And it also explains why, seemingly at the pinnacle of his success doing stand-up, he walked away from it all.
The book traces his early infatuation with magic and comedy. He worked at Disneyland in the magic shop that was there at the time, and he started learning the tricks and techniques that would form the beginning of his act. Along the way, he picked up a banjo and learned to play it. This combination of banjo, magic, and humor had him doing the coffeehouses and storefront venues that were everywhere during the '60's. He also spent a fair amount of time working The Birdcage at Knott's Berry Farm doing more of a vaudeville style of comedy. Overall, it was what he wanted to be doing, but he also knew that you couldn't make a living with it at this level. He knew he had to get a break somewhere or give up his dream of becoming an entertainer.
The late 60's and early '70s were a turbulent time in our country. Society was changing, and Martin was studying what effect that had on comedy. He started to do routines that were more cutting-edge, routines that required the audience to look at humor in a different light. These self-deprecating, physical routines started to catch on, and he also began to be booked on more TV shows. Before long, his appearances went from 100 seat rooms to sold-out venues all over the US. But while his act was becoming part of the culture and lexicon of society, he was personally struggling. Relationships were hard to maintain due to the schedule, and he was trying hard to deal with parental relationships that were highly dysfunctional as he grew up. His standup career ended in 1981 after a third successive night of something going wrong in his Vegas King Tut act. What looked to be anger on the surface was actually the grind of the last 20 years coming to a head. He walked away from his act at that point and spent time healing the rifts between him and members of his family.
What made this book so fascinating was to see the reality behind the public image. It's easy to imagine that actors, singers, and comedians have it all... popularity, money, travel, friends. But really, it's a hard existence full of doubt, hard work, and loneliness. Born Standing Up shows that being funny is painfully difficult, and comes at a high cost. While I've always liked Steve Martin as an entertainer, I'm now pretty sure that I'd also like the real Steve Martin, the man who's there when the film stops rolling and the footlights are turned off. This is an excellent read...
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