The riveting, mega-bestselling, beloved and highly acclaimed memoir of a man, 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.
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Good read. I bought this book a few months ago and zipped through it in two sittings. PG-rated take on his early career. Those thirsting for tales of debauchery will be disappointed. He does drop a few names, though.
Owning the ebook probably gets you a Whispersync discount on the Audible version (as others have said, also great. I bought the book when if first came out and later got the audio, and it's honestly interesting to "read" it both ways).
Since I already own the audio, I can't see what the discounted cost would be for owning the ebook. Anyone that wants to check, here's the Audible version[audible.com].
One of the stories I loved in this book is Dan Aykroyd telling Martin about having a motorcycle breakdown and thumbing a ride at 4 am, only to have the driver push him out of the speeding vehicle into the rainy street. The only response Martin could think of was to ask Aykroyd to go clothes shopping with him at Saks. Aykroyd replied, "Uh, man, that's not my thing."
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I think that means the pages are stuck together.
Since I already own the audio, I can't see what the discounted cost would be for owning the ebook. Anyone that wants to check, here's the Audible version [audible.com].
I need to do a re-read/listen soon.
I'm an absolute failure.