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Summary:
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
Customer Reviews:
Average Customer Rating:
Unfortunately, D.O.A
Customer Rating:
Steve Martin is a genius. No question. He was extremely funny for a long time, and his post-comedy career has revealed him to be an artist capable both of graceful and inspired work (think Leap of Faith and L.A. Story) and some truly bottom-rate fare. Here, he tries but doesn't connect with a new genre for him: autobiography. The book's problem is simple: if you're going to tell a story, any story, you have to be willing to get in the depths of it and tell it, with all of the emotion you can muster. It's a messy business. But Steve Martin is apparently a deeply private person. Faced with the choice of revealing himself or remaining private, Martin chooses the latter. That kills the story. So this book delivers on the details of his career, much as a train schedule delivers on the details, and with about as much interest for the reader. Where did he work, and when, and how many seats were in the venue? You'll find out. What was he thinking, what was he feeling, what did he learn, who is he, and how did he grow? You won't find out much about those things. Martin is everywhere absent from his own narrative. Eventually, the entire book gets sucked into this vacuum. The great disappointment for the reader is that Steve Martin must have an interesting story to tell, but he cannot or will not do it. I am sure that he can write a more compelling book than this about his life, and I hope that someday he does.
just okay
Customer Rating:
Be aware going in that this is the story of Steve Martin's trip from childhood to mega-star, not INTO mega-star. It is the story of how he got where he is -- in other words, for many, it's his story before you knew anything about him.
I like Steve Martin so I enjoyed this look into his trip to fame. On the other hand, if you're looking for discussions of his hostings on Saturday Night Live, or his movies, you won't find that here.
My only significant disappointment is in the way Martin reads the text. Almost every sentence is read with the same rhythm. It's as though he took pains to ensure his listeners know he's reading a story to them, not telling the story off-hand. Because it is his own voice, though, that repeated cadence isn't as annoying as it might be.
Narrators whose voices grate on me will cause me to bail out on any audiobook and I happily listened to all four discs of this one, and can recommend it to any Steve Martin fan.
Neither Wild Nor Crazy, just very, very good.
Customer Rating:
Steve Martin tells two stories here. One one level he retells the long, hard slog to fame. That part of the book is interesting, but predictable. The much more fascinating story is the parallel story of his long equally hard slog to being an expert at his craft. The show business stuff runs from Knotts Berry farm magig shows to unleashing "The Jerk" on American culture. I was just a child during that time but I admired him from an innoncent distance. I loved the arrow through his head. I made my sister play "King Tut" for me on her record player. I wanted to wear a white suit.
Martin does his best work describing the origin and evolution of his classic repetoire of gags. This is different from a magician revealing his tricks in that (as Steve almost brings himself to admit) the nature of most comedy is to become stale over time. Martin is the perfect example of someone creating something new only to have it harped on and stolen by a thousand hacks. The joke dies in the process but the original deserves credit for the effort. (And one thing I really enjoyed about this book was Steve's alacrity in giving credit to people who influenced him. The local magicians and 3rd rate comedians that graciously gave him a trick or shared a trade secret.)
There is one truly precious photo on page 182. Steve is shown from behind confidently strutting towards the microphone before what must have been a sold out show in Syracuse. He is wearing the King Tut head piece and you can see both the confidence that Steve is oozing and the pure joy that the paid crowd is flashing as they recognize what they are about to witness. The picture captures the moment and sums up my feelings towards the artist. Thank you Mr. Martin, for taking the time to go back and examine the first act of your professional life. There is much to be cherished there.
Touching, funny and thoughtful.
Customer Rating:
Steve Martin takes you by the hand and leads you through his Southern California childhood in the 1950's, his first job at Disneyland, his introduction and fascination with magic and then into the complex job of making people laugh as a stand up and comedy writer (for the controversial variety show The Smothers Brothers).
This memoir is touching and thoughtful. Not only do we see the process of what made Steve Martin an accomplished comedian, but it shows how the people in our lives shape our world and matter in our success.
I highly recommend this book.
Well Worth Reading
Customer Rating:
Steve Martin started out as a stand up comedian. Most people think of him today as a movie star, a zany comic whose performances seem spur of the moment and effortless. He confesses here in Born Standing Up that his image is far from the truth. Beginning with his adoration of magic and live audiences sparked by his job at Disneyland and ending with a reflection on his days in stand up comedy, Martin's book is a heartfelt and nostalgic reflection on days past. He admits to being a shy man who is overwhelmed when fans approach him like long lost friends and he brings us on the journey to reconnect with his family after he achieved fame.
This book is simple and easy to read. Martin doesn't self-indulge and praise himself for a job well done. He admits when he was good but also points out when he was bad. He is an excellent critic and a seemingly down-to-earth person, so the book functions as both an analysis and an autobiographical account. There are times to laugh and times to cry; it is all here. Born Standing Up is well worth reading.
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On Returning to Disneyland
