World Famous Comics: Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
By: Steve Martin Publisher: Scribner Average Rating: Binding: Hardcover Label: Scribner Number of Items: 1 Number of Pages: 224 Publication Date: November 20, 2007
The Emmy and Grammy Award-winner's candid, spectacularly amusing memoir of his years in stand-up
In the mid-seventies, Steve Martin exploded onto the comedy scene. By 1978 he was the biggest concert draw in the history of stand-up. In 1981 he quit forever. Born Standing Up is, in his own words, the story of "why I did stand-up and why I walked away."
At age ten Martin started his career at Disneyland, selling guidebooks in the newly opened theme park. In the decade that followed, he worked in the Disney magic shop and the Bird Cage Theatre at Knott's Berry Farm, performing his first magic/comedy act a dozen times a week. The story of these years, during which he practiced and honed his craft, is moving and revelatory.
Martin illuminates the sacrifice, discipline and originality that made him an icon and informs his work to this day. To be this good, to perform so frequently, was isolating and lonely. It took Martin decades to reconnect with his parents and sister, and he tells that story with great tenderness. Martin also paints a portrait of his times: the era of free love and protests against the war in Vietnam, the heady irreverence of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the late sixties, and the transformative new voice of Saturday Night Live in the seventies.
Amazon.com Review: At age 10, Steve Martin got a job selling guidebooks at the newly opened Disneyland. In the decade that followed, he worked in Disney's magic shop, print shop, and theater, and developed his own magic/comedy act. By age 20, studying poetry and philosophy on the side, he was performing a dozen times a week, most often at the Disney rival, Knott's Berry Farm. Obsession is a substitute for talent, he has said, and Steve Martin's focus and daring--his sheer tenacity--are truly stunning. He writes about making the very tough decision to sacrifice everything not original in his act, and about lucking into a job writing for The Smothers Brothers Show. He writes about mentors, girlfriends, his complex relationship with his parents and sister, and about some of his great peers in comedy--Dan Ackroyd, Lorne Michaels, Carl Reiner, Johnny Carson. He writes about fear, anxiety and loneliness. And he writes about how he figured out what worked on stage.
This book is a memoir, but it is also an illuminating guidebook to stand-up from one of our two or three greatest comedians. Though Martin is reticent about his personal life, he is also stunningly deft, and manages to give readers a feeling of intimacy and candor. Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs collected by Martin, this book is instantly compelling visually and a spectacularly good read.
Amazon.com Exclusive Three Bonus Deleted Passages from Steve Martin's Born Standing Up
On Returning to Disneyland Ten years later, after the Beatles, drugs, and Vietnam had changed the entire tenor of American life, I returned to the magic shop at Disneyland and stood as a stranger. As I looked around the eerily familiar room another first came over me, a previously unknown emotion, one that was to have a curious force over me for the rest my life: the longing tug of nostalgia. Looking at the counter where I pitched Svengali Decks and the Incredible Shrinking Die, I was awash with the recollection of indelible nights where the sky was blown open by fireworks and big band sounds drifted through trees strung with fairy lights. I remembered my youth, when every moment was crisply present, when heartbreak and joy replaced each other quickly, fully and without trauma. Even now when I visit Disneyland, I am steeped in melancholy, because a corporation has preserved my nostalgia impeccably. Every nail and screw is the same, and Disneyland looks as new now as it did then. The paint is fresh, and the only wear allowed is faux. In fact, only I have changed. In the dream-like world of childhood memories, so often vague and imprecise, Disneyland remains for me not only vivid in memory, but vivid in fact.
On Meeting Diane Hall During the day, I attended Santa Ana Junior College, taking drama classes and pursuing an unexpected interest in English poetry from Donne to Eliot. I would occasionally assist on a college stage production--never appearing in one--as a member of the crew. Years later I was looking through a box of memorabilia and noticed a silk-screened playbill of the musical Carousel, May, 1964, which listed me as a stagehand. The lead actress was Diane Hall. Something connected and I remembered that Diane Keaton's name was once Hall, (hence, Annie Hall). I confirmed with her that she was in that production. Neither of us remembers meeting the other, yet we must have worked in proximity. More evidence that I was a wallflower. Decades later, we ended up "making love" on the floor of a movie set on Father of the Bride.
On the Kennedy Assassination One Friday in 1963, I had finished a class and was about to drive to Knott's Berry Farm for the afternoon shows when I saw a clump of agitated students across the campus. I asked someone what was going on. "They're saying that the president's been shot."
I drove across town to Knott's and punched radio buttons. I could hear the scheduled programs clicking off and being replaced by live broadcasts. Assassination seemed so ancient and inconceivable, I was sure that someone would soon correct the erroneous report. President Kennedy died that day and I didn't know that news could be taken so personally by a nation. Sitting backstage, watching the Birdcage's black-and-white TV drone out the increasingly grave report, we were all mute. We assumed the performance that night would be canceled, but as show time neared, word came down that we were going on. We couldn't fathom why; we believed no one would show up, much less enjoy us. I still can't explain the psychology, why the very full house that night was able to roar with laughter. The obvious must be correct: our silly show was providing some kind of balm that soothed the ache.
In 2003 I hosted the Oscars on the particular weekend that the United States invaded Iraq. The news was grim and just hours before the show I flipped on the TV and saw a report, subsequently proven false, that our captive soldiers were being beheaded. I quickly turned the TV off, sick. I knew, from my experience forty years earlier with the Kennedy assassination, what my job was, and I harbored a secret knowledge that the audience would laugh. I also felt that soldiers who might be watching would be tuning in to see the Oscars and all its hoopla, not a cheerless comedian doing what he doesn’t do best. I decided to acknowledge the circumstances early in the show and then get on with the jokes. The academy had announced that the show would "cut back on the glitz." I walked out for the opening monologue, took a look around the stage at the dazzling, swirling staircases, mirrored curtains and polished floor, and simply said, "I'm glad they cut back on the glitz." It got a laugh of relief and the show could go on.
More from Steve Martin
The Alphabet from A to Y with Bonus Letter Z!
Shopgirl
The Pleasure of My Company
Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays
Pure Drivel
Praise for Born Standing Up "[A] lean, incisive new book about the trajectory of [Martin's] life in comedy...Born Standing Up does a sharp-witted job of breaking down the step-by-step process that brought Steve Martin from Disneyland, where he spent his version of a Dickensian childhood as a schoolboy employee, to both the pinnacle of stardom and the brink of disaster...tightly focused...Born Standing Up is a surprising book: smart, serious, heartfelt and confessional without being maudlin." --Janet Maslin, The New York Times
"Absolutely magnificent. One of the best books about comedy and being a comedian ever written." --Jerry Seinfeld, GQ
"The writing is evocative, unflinching and cool. When Martin takes a scalpel to his life, what you feel is the precision of the surgeon more than the primal scream of the unanaesthetized patient...Born Standing Up is neither fanfare nor confession. It gives off a vibe of rigorous honesty. With lots of laughs." --Richard Corliss, Time Magazine
"A spare, unexpectedly resonant remembrance of things past…Martin's one true subject is the evolution of his comedy--the transcendent moments...A smart, gentlemanly, modest book…winning." --Jeff Giles, Entertainment Weekly, EW Pick: A
"A charming memoir tracking what the great comic characterizes as his 'war years.' Martin offers an eloquent and exacting account... [and] approaches his subjects with generosity, warmth and integrity." --Kirkus Reviews
"Sure to delight fans and create new ones." --Laura Mathews, Good Housekeeping
"What fun to discover the humble beginnings of some of his iconic personas...inspiring." --Rachel Rosenblit, Elle
"The archetypical story of the underdog's rise and a particularly American story...beautifully written, honest, engaging, and quietly brave." --Frederic Tuten, Bomb Magazine
"Son, you have an ob-leek sense of humor." --Elvis Presley
A fascinating look into a fascinating life When I was younger I did some standup. I must have been halfway good because I got approached by an agent who asked me if I wanted to take it to the next level. I told him I wouldn't dedicate my life to this unless he thought I would have it in me to be as good as Steve Martin. His answer explains why you've never seen any of my movies or HBO specials.
Now I know what Steve Martin went through to become the guy who I wanted to be as good as, and I know why I never could have been him. This book walks you through the painstaking construction of his public standup persona. That last sentence makes it sound more artificial than it reads, though. The thing is, you're always looking for your hook. Martin found his, and slowly constructed an act and a routine based on it. Martin's false starts doing magic tricks bear fruit later by giving him a level of comfort with physical items without becoming Carrot Top in the process.
The book ends when he stops doing standup. We get nothing on his film career, his novels, his later life, except as brief anecdotes tied back to activities in this time of his life (the story about Diane Keaton in the Amazon review is a good example). If later-life anecdotes are what you want, don't buy this book. But if you want one man's retelling of how he got to be where he is, you'll never regret this purchase.
Too Little, Too Late Mildly autobiographical, Steve Martin's memoir mostly covers the humble beginnings of his entertainment career from a teen working at Disneyland, the many mild successes and even more failures in his early years, and the almost overnight and overwhelming madness that was being on top of the comedy circuit, and how he had to walk away from it all.
Steve Martin refers to his early years growing up in an aloof household, particularly about the strained relationship between him and his emotionally distant and resentful father. His father is the reason he pursued an entertainment career, and that's basically why his family was mentioned in this memoir in the first place. He doesn't go into much detail pertaining to them. He just gets to the point.
He also speaks fondly about alot of names who have greatly affected the course of his career, many friends, acquaintances, and particularly well connected girlfriends. But don't expect Martin to get ultra personal as he doesn't. He simply explains their purpose in his career. In fact, he never mentions any marriages or divorces, anything that wouldn't relate to his stand up career. This book is ALL business.
The only details he gets into were his personal feelings at the time of each career period. He doesn't really remember specific performances, but can remember his emotional status at each place. He recalls the highs of his first legit paychecks to the extreme loneliness and personal detachment from his craft at the height of his fame. He discusses his first anxiety attacks and even divulges his repulsion towards his fans during his superstardom. Once again, these feelings pertain to his work, not from much else.
If you are less interested in him as a person, and more as a comedian, or if you are someone in the comedy circuit yourself, this book is for you. He makes alot of references to places and people that are significant in the business. Martin discusses in detail how he created and honed his stage skills and comedic style and pays dues to those who helped him develop his talent. He also provides plenty of personal (professional) photos archiving his career.
While I found his career ups and downs interesting, I didn't feel any emotional attachment to him, whatsoever. It makes me wonder why such a private person would even attempt to write an autobiography in the first place. I am not looking for juicy gossip, but he doesn't give you an autobiography's worth of information.
why recommend this book on a marketing site? I normally would not include a biography on this review page, unless it was a business biography. So you might ask yourself why Steve Martin's autobiography of his stand-up comedy days has ended up as a recommended business and marketing book.
First, it is a great read. If you are a fan of Martin's early work (I am), or a fan of his work as an actor or a writer (again, I am), you will certainly enjoy this book that focuses on his early days as a writer and performer. There are some great insights into his troubled family life, his struggle to gain fame, and then his ultimate struggle to handle the fame for which he had always strived, once it was thrust upon him.
So why recommend this book on a marketing site? Great question. Steve Martin explains in detail how he had a goal to be a performer, but he wanted to be a performer that had a unique act. He studied his competition, and through this research knew what he didn't want to be, and what he wanted to accomplish to set himself apart. He performed for 15 years before he really became successful, and he achieved this success despite many people telling him to do it differently. As I read this book, I could not help from thinking of it in marketing terms, and thinking of some great lessons that can be culled from Martin's rise to fame:
* Hard Work * Perseverance * Always Refining your Product to Make it Better * Create a True Point of Difference, "A Reason to Be" * Every Single Day, Do What Needs to be Done to Be the Best
It is a quick read, and you should be done with the book in a few hours. I highly recommend the book for pleasure, as well for the lessons that can be learned from his quest for success. Enjoy!
Great book, horrible condition! This is a great book and I enjoyed it so much I bought a copy for my brother in law to read. It was a cheapo splurge at $5 or so bucks but there's a lot to choose from in sellers of this book at that price. This seller claimed it was in good condition but it was quite the opposite. Embarrasing condition to pass on even to family. The cover was all follded up and bent, the pages stained. I don't appreciate companies selling used products in this kind of condition online. !
The Story Behind A Classic American Comedian Being too young to really enjoy Steve Martin's formulative years, I nonetheless have always enjoyed his work, and having grown up in Orange County myself, I was curious to see how he got where he is.
The book did not let me down, it provides an interesting and easy read about his life and comedic work. His writing proves he is an intelligent guy with a great perspective on life and will keep you hooked and turning pages. He seems like a great guy, someone to put on your list of "celebrities to hang out with for an afternoon." Recommended for anyone interested in Steve Martin, a bit of comedy history, or the life on stage.
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On Returning to Disneyland
