Steve Martin put his stand-up career behind him after making it in Hollywood 25 years ago. Now he’s written an autobiography looking back at that period of his career. He calls the book a biography instead of an autobiography, “because I am writing about someone I used to know.” In reality, it is a memoir, and a good one at that.
“Born Standing Up” follows Martin’s path from struggling artist to landing his first gig in hippie-happy San Francisco. Born in 1945, Martin grew up in a tract home in California to a showbiz-wannabe dad and a starstruck mom. Martin examines the strained relationship with his father often throughout the book. What began as an abusive relationship turned into one of respect, albeit with scars still on the surface.
Beginning as a child employee of Disneyland and then another nearby amusement park, Knott’s Berry Farm, Martin writes about his days picking up magic tricks, one-liner jokes and his live education in what eventually formed his own unique comic repertoire. He also delves into his personal life, sharing his love trysts and painful crushes, meetings with the rich and famous, and his many theories of comedy.
His success wasn’t due to some stroke of luck but to a passion to succeed. He studied the science of what makes people laugh and tried the theories onstage. Martin’s ability to adapt and create new forms of comedy would eventually become his impetus.
Studying the psychology of laughter got him thinking in a different way from what was common practice of the time, such as Johnny Carson placing his hand on the stomach, prompting the audience to laugh. Martin wished to create an original style.
He says, “What if there were no indicators? What if I created tension and never released it? What would the audience do with all that tension?” His first attempts were a huge failure, but soon after those initial failures, success was his for the keeping. Things would never be the same for the star.
Martin is well-read, having dabbled in e.e. cummings and Lewis Carroll, in addition to being a writer himself. He surprised many people when his “Shopgirl,” a novel of life and love of a girl behind the counter at a department store, became a best seller. He followed “Shopgirl” with another best-selling novel, “The Pleasure of My Company.”
He is a product of his generation and he even shares with us his minimal drug use — ending early after a scary anxiety attack. His decision to share himself and not hold much back is what makes the book good; well that, and the great pictures.
Although he dabbled in drugs and the hippie movement, he didn’t get lost there. He made careful decisions throughout his career and adapted to change as necessary. When the hippie movement waned, he cut his hair and gave up the hippie attire for a white three-piece suit. His career, and his art, always came first.
Most surprising about this memoir is Martin’s contemplative and sensitive vulnerability. It’s an honest book and an analytical look at himself.
He’s somber — something you don’t see in his acting or comedy acts. Onstage he may have been a “wild and crazy guy,” but he’s a shy guy underneath.
Martin says of himself: “I am fundamentally shy and still feel slightly embarrassed at disproportionate attention.”
He goes on to say he went into show business, even though it seemed against his nature, because, “who wouldn’t want to be in show business?” He’s not as funny in the book as he is onstage and acting and is unusually serious if you aren’t used to that side of him.
“Born Standing Up” is worth reading. Being a Martin fan is not a prerequisite. His honesty and self-analysis connects the reader and the book is an interesting look into the evolution of comedy over the past few decades.
Renee Warner is a freelance writer in Atlanta.
Nonfiction
Born Standing Up, by Steve Martin, $23
