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ISBN-10: 1-4165-5365-7
ISBN-13: 9781416553656
Publisher: Scribner
Country:
Year: September 2, 2008
Edition: Reprint
Size: 13.21 x 20.07 x 2.03cm
Number of pages: 224
Weight: 318gr
Binding: Paperback
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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 doesnt 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 |
| 
Pure Drivel |
Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays 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
In the midseventies, 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 awriter. 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.
reviews
When I read an autobiography, I come away from it either liking the author more or less than before. But never have I had the feeling (as I did in this book), that I was reading about an entirely different person than the author. As Martin recounts his early life and his beginnings in show business, I became so disoriented that I began to question whether this was the same Steve (Wild & Crazy Guy) Martin. I found myself trying to remember as I read the first half of the book just when I had first heard him perform, and what had been the act that had reeled me in. Martin's discussion of formulating his act over a period spanning roughly 30 years made me feel a little bit like I was reading a book in a foreign language that I had only the barest grasp of. Perhaps this is the language of Show Business. This book is a full-bodied treatise of what's involved and what's at stake in becoming successful in the world of comedy performance. It's a subject that those of us on the outside most assuredly take for granted. To the audience, a comedian is either funny or he isn't. A good comedian makes his observations and the resulting comedy seem effortless and natural. I can guarantee that most audience members have no inkling how much thought and work goes into developing a successful and solid act. The act of the young Steve Martin bore little resemblance to the act of the famous Steve Martin, and the reader is treated to the thought process and tweaking that went into the crucial changes and developments of his comedy. Much of it is very cerebral and precise. I hope that Martin has found that his ability to make the masses laugh throughout the years was worth the work and effort. Steve, I like you even more.
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.
This book by Steve Martin will not disappoint you. His crafty humor permiates throughout and if you are old enough to have seen him in his start-up, answers a lot of questions about his development. A must read!
I've always liked Steve Martin but never knew that he is such a deep thoughtful person. This guy is brilliant and determined and he's written a great book. Becoming a standup comic is a tough task, much tougher than I would have imagined. Steve details his start with magic kits and working at Disney World, his decision to try to make it in San Francisco, the appearances to near empty audiences, often not laughing either. His determination shows, making this book inspiring as well as entertaining. Now I'm waiting for a sequel since this book mostly covers the early days of his career. I recommend this one highly.
I loved this book and recommend to anyone who enjoys reading biography or who just wants to learn more about Steve Martin. I didn't realize that making it in the comedy world was so hard.
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- Biography & Autobiography
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- Comedy (Performing Arts)
- Entertainment & Performing Arts|Comedians
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- Martin, Steve
- Performing Arts|Comedy
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