Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life
Steve Martin's riveting, mega-bestselling, beloved and highly acclaimed memoir of a life, a vocation, and an era—named one of the ten best nonfiction titles of the year by Time and Entertainment Weekly.
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. This book is, in his own words, the story of “why I did stand-up and why I walked away.”
Emmy and Grammy Award–winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Martin has always been a writer. His memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written.
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. The dedication to excellence and innovation is formed at an astonishingly early age and never wavers or wanes.
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.
Throughout the text, Martin has placed photographs, many never seen before. Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time.
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. This book is, in his own words, the story of “why I did stand-up and why I walked away.”
Emmy and Grammy Award–winner, author of the acclaimed New York Times bestsellers Shopgirl and The Pleasure of My Company, and a regular contributor to The New Yorker, Martin has always been a writer. His memoir of his years in stand-up is candid, spectacularly amusing, and beautifully written.
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. The dedication to excellence and innovation is formed at an astonishingly early age and never wavers or wanes.
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.
Throughout the text, Martin has placed photographs, many never seen before. Born Standing Up is a superb testament to the sheer tenacity, focus, and daring of one of the greatest and most iconoclastic comedians of all time.
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Community Reviews
I've always liked Steve Martin as an actor and comedian. I've even liked the novellas he's written. So I was curious to see what he had to say about life as a stand-up comic. And I was pleased and delighted that BORN STANDING UP was such a good book. The book is autobiographical but focuses on Steve Martin's evolution from amateur performer and magician at Disneyland, to the dawn of his film career beginning with THE JERK. And throughout the whole book, it's stand-up comedy that takes center stage.
Reading the book--a very quick read because I was captured by it--was like sitting in a room with Martin, having him talk about how *he* became a successful stand-up comic. One thing I liked was that he really did't try to tell anyone else How To Do It, and I imagine that is because the process is different or everyone. But there is a clear evolution to Steve Martin's career and he was very specific in the details of the things he attempted, the lucky accidents, and how he learned to be a comedic performer over the years.
Martin write colloquially but with a charming, self-deprecating style that makes the book feel more like a conversation. He is down-to-Earth and at the same time he is a force for comedy. There are hilarious moment and touching ones. All told, I'm glad I decided to pick this one up and I'm better for having read it.
Reading the book--a very quick read because I was captured by it--was like sitting in a room with Martin, having him talk about how *he* became a successful stand-up comic. One thing I liked was that he really did't try to tell anyone else How To Do It, and I imagine that is because the process is different or everyone. But there is a clear evolution to Steve Martin's career and he was very specific in the details of the things he attempted, the lucky accidents, and how he learned to be a comedic performer over the years.
Martin write colloquially but with a charming, self-deprecating style that makes the book feel more like a conversation. He is down-to-Earth and at the same time he is a force for comedy. There are hilarious moment and touching ones. All told, I'm glad I decided to pick this one up and I'm better for having read it.
Just as you'd expect him to be: self-deprecating, humble, very grateful for where he is now and eager to thank everyone who helped him along the way. Nice read.
Interesting insight into Steve Martin and his road to fame. I thought it would be a bit funnier, but it's not a waste of time!
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