Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

A tender and thoughful look at Martin's career. So well-written. I appreciate his brilliance even more now.

Funny, honest, poetic autobiography of a man whose philosophy of comedy eviscerated ideas about “successful celebrity.” Loved it - a new facet of appreciation for someone who I have always regarded as completely brilliant.

“Born Standing Up” is a solid, well written debut memoir from the stand-up comedy legend Steve Martin. It's quite short and to the point at around 200 pages total but Martin does a great job covering his massive rise to fame and decision to step away from performing stand-up and pivoting to film. It could've been a bit meatier, that's my only complaint.

I wasn't too familiar with Steve Martin's stand up prior to reading this. Definitely made me want to go back and find old clips from his sets. “Stupid funny” is my favorite type of comedy and Steve Martin does that perfectly.

I've always been a bit of a comedy fan, and I grew up watching VHS tapes of Martin's early movies, so it was a foregone conclusion that I was probably going to enjoy this book. That being said, I was amazed at how riveted I found myself by the anecdotes and the writing in general. I highly recommend this book.

This one kept popping up on my radar. Steve Martin is my favorite comedian and this book is short. Once I started it I just kept going – read it in one day. (Some Saturdays can be like that). It's a very interesting account of his trajectory to being the hottest stand-up performer in 1978. He quit stand-up in 1981. He was not an overnight success. There are many illuminating bits in this short memoir. It also includes the reasons for the white three-piece suit he wore during his heyday in stand-up. And yeah, of course, it's funny... in places. It's not a joke book. But's it's a fascinating account of a comedian's life.

Listened as an audiobook. Very interesting glimpse into Steve Martin's life.

Simple and insightful. Thanks for broadening my understanding of comedy, apprenticeship and celebrity, Steve.

A very fun book to read. I didn't know much about Steve or his life but as it turns out he lived his life with a mindset that I try to embody myself, and that is the mindset of a master.

When he was a kid, he was interested in magic and while working in a magic shop in Disneyland, he learned tricks that he would perform in front of customers. That was where his fascination with performing had begun, which continued and eventually bloomed into something much greater.

The most important insight that I've got from Steve's autobiography is the importance of attitude towards one's work. His relationship with comedy and being a comic made him a star. He deliberately practiced to make his performance as best as he could, and after thousands of hours on stage and lots of trial and error, he became one of the best.

I'll always remember the phrase that he said in one of his interviews: “Be so good that they can't ignore you”.

That's the recipe to succeed basically in everything in life, and this book perfectly illustrates how to live a life to become so good that people can't ignore you anymore.

Like many memoirs, the early years started a little slowly. It was nice to see where Steve Martin came from, but the real fun came in the second half, and the book became a real page turner.

Executive Summary: Interesting, but not as funny or intersting as I hoped. I have a new appreciation for Mr. Martin's rise to fame though. If you're interested in the business of stand-up comedy, you may find this one a better read than I did.

Audiobook: Mr. Martin does an excellent job narrating his own book.

Full Review
I was born in the early 80s so Steve Martin the comedy movie star and SNL Host was part of my childhood. Steve Martin the stand-up comedian was not. I was too young.

I was interested in his rise to fame, and he covers that well here. There was a good mix of childhood/family anecdotes mixed in with career stories that show how he went from being a nobody to being the top stand up comedian and why he walked away. OK that sounds like the book blurb, but really that's exactly what you get here.

For someone as funny as Steve Martin though, it wasn't that funny. He mentions a few jokes here and there, but his execution in the audio is that of a narrator, rather than a stand up.

The book is pretty good evaluation of his career and early life, but it's not a comedy book. If you're looking for that, you'll be disappointed. It's a short read but I'm glad I picked it up. It makes me glad I never wanted to be a stand up comedian, or in show business of any kind for that matter.

What time is it?

Reading “A Comics Life”, I picture Steve speaking with the same wit and charm as his “A Holiday Wish” skit on SNL. I love the soft and gentle writing style which made reading it feel cozy and warm. It's amazing how aware he was of himself at such an early age,likely due to his heavy interest in psychology.

It's not a complete bio since its mostly about how he became a comedian, but a reminiscing of who he was, who his family was and how he got to where he is.

I'm not a huge Steve Martin fan or anything, but I picked this up because it was on sale and I had heard good things about it. And it was fairly interesting. His humour comes through in the writing and he is open and honest about his personal relationships with his family and with women.

I was hoping it would cover a little more later into his life, but as the title suggests it mostly focuses on his stand up days (as well as his early life and breaking into the comedy business).

I'm not really sure how to articulate just how much I loved this book. I just... I really, really loved this book. (I guess I did figure out how to articulate it, please ignore the first part of this review)

Kind of wooden. Some interesting stories, intermittent funny and smart bits, but even at a short 200 pages, those bits seemed to be pretty sparse. Felt like he was trying to be serious or touching at times. Not sure. I get the feeling I might've loved this if it were on tape.

Borrowed from Sarah at work. I have been a fan of Steve Martin since I was 10 years old. Great Book.

I'm not sure how I ended up reading an autobiography of Steve Martin, probably because the cover caught my eye and I think it's cool that he picks a mean banjo. I'm not a huge fan, but despite that, it was a pretty fascinating glimpse into a world and career I knew almost nothing about.

Show business is rough and stand-up seems like the roughest of it. Traveling alone, at the mercy of the crowd, constantly having to come up with new material (jokes don't age like songs)... Steve Martin is tenacious and introspective and that combination makes for an interesting read.

I have never seen any of Steve Martin's stand up routine nor have I ever listened to any of his albums, but I didn't feel lost or confused even though this book is about him honing his act. The lessons of persistence are universal, except Martin can be funny while talking about his experiences.

Steven Martin's a smart cookie and thoughtful so I expected this book to a bit more than it was. Still I loved listening to it (he narrates), and appreciated that his focus was not on the personal (although that enters a bit) as much as on his development of his comedy routine. He talks about his comedic life post his first album and SNL, but a full 3/4s or more is devoted to his life pre-fame and you get a real sense of how he worked through his comedic kinks. He is also very respectful of those people who helped him and supported him over the years. I don't think there's a nasty word about anyone except his father, and even that is mediated by his admission that he contributed to ensuring that the two of them would have a difficult relationship.

A short biography of Steve Martin which focuses on his Comedic career. I've been a fan since memorizing my sister's 8-tracks of “A Wild and Crazy Guy” and “Comedy is Not Pretty” back in the seventies. It's great to understand how each element of his classic style came into being. Martin explains his philosophy of comedy as well as his solitude and depression during his greatest success. The book is a great insight into a unique brand of comedy.