A gift from my sister for some occasion, this book had sat on my shelf for some time before I decided to read humor this month as a balm for the disaster that is unfolding with the new administration.

I had always loved Steve Martin’s brand of zany, farcical, physical humor and had been dimly aware of his multi-faceted talents, but this book delivered up a new Martin—-insecure, solitary, neurotic, and incredibly talented though without the natural gifts of voice, music, and dance that characterize so many of the comedians of the past.

We learn of his childhood with a cold and harsh father and a sibling who he basically ignored, his multiple college careers in philosophy, his early performing attempts in magic shows and banjo at Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm in LA in the 1950’s, and ultimately his incredibly successful shows which packed auditoriums and arenas with up to 20,000 people.  His dozens of appearances on the Johnny Carson Show and his turns on SNL were new to me.   We get only a brief hint of his expertise and taste for fine art which was on display in the recently read “Art of Dying” by Peter Schjedahl for which he wrote the introudction.

As with so many creative and talented individuals, Martin is a complicated guy.  Under all of that nuttiness and silliness, there’s a sensitive and intelligent man full of  triumphs, and defeats that characterize all lives. The book is very readable and a fun return to the TV and comedy clubs of the late 20th C.  Janet Maslin reviewed the book in the NYT in 2007 and wrote: “Even for readers already familiar with Mr. Martin’s solemn side, “Born Standing Up” is a surprising book: smart, serious, heartfelt and confessional without being maudlin. Decades after the fact, he looks back at a period of invention and innovation, marveling at the thought that his efforts might have led absolutely nowhere if they had not wildly succeeded. While there is much to validate his sense of having been lucky, nobody put it better than Elvis Presley, whom Mr. Martin once encountered backstage when both were enjoying the status of show-business kings. “Son,” he says Presley told him, “you have an ob-leek sense of humor.”

Thanks, Sis, for sending this book my way.