Words cannot express how much I can’t wait to read this book.
Excerpt from article:
Eventually he would ditch the turquoise and adopt a white three-piece suit for his stage act. He had the same kinds of lucid reasons for this as he did for other pivotal decisions. He wanted to be visible from a distance. He wanted a vest to keep his shirt from coming loose. He wanted to escape the politics of the period, finding it funnier to look âlike a visitor from the straight world who had gone seriously awry.â And he wanted to honor a piece of advice about audiences that he had heard early on: âAlways look better than they do.â
I am DYING to read the book. He’s one of my happy places … THAT era of his career. It just brings up so many memories – and I can’t wait to read his perspective on all of it.
And God. King Tut. Come on now. “Maybe we can all learn something from this …” SNL video clip below the jump.
“Put a live chicken in your underwear ….”
I love him so much. Have always had a HUGE crush on him.
I showed this to Cash this morning before he went to school. Total giggle fest. I like how UNPOLISHED it is, as if he just made it up, barely knows what he’s supposed to be saying, and probably improvs a bunch of it as he goes.
If only he hadn’t done The Pink Panther.
Bah, no one even remembers that Pink Panther thing now!!
I like the moments in King Tut in between his time singing – where he gyrates with that big wide INSANE smile. He is so brilliant.
And I recently read Shopgirl and it ripped my freakin’ HEART OUT. I love his writing – can’t wait to read his thoughts on comedy, on his major mega tours back when we were kids – before that whole comedy-blitzkrieg-tour thing even really existed.
I’ve been looking for the skit online that he did during one of his TV specials where he plays Socrates drinking the hemlock. It is one of the funniest stupidest things EVER and it’s been years since I saw it and I still remember some of it word for word.
“Hemlock’s poisonous?????? Why didn’t someone TELL me that?”
I love his face. Its the sqint and the huge mouth that shows a childish delight in what he does….
And, here you go:
http://cliff.uconn.edu/video/deathofsocrates.mov
I didn’t see The Pink Panther, but I thought Martin did good work in Sergeant Bilko (the more so because it wasn’t much of a movie). Not many guys could take on a role completely identified with Phil Silvers and not come off looking like an obvious second-rate Silvers impression, or otherwise foolish.
I’ve never really been crazy about any of his film parts – except The Jerk, frankly. Movies have tried to iron him out, calm him down. So I’m not a big fan of any of them.
I like him in Pennies from Heaven, too – and in Shopgirl (written by him) he was wonderful too – in those movies he was almost BLEAK in nature (there was always something strangely intellectual about martin – detached … which is fascinating when he is allowed to tap into it) It’s a strange dichotomy. Dude playing a banjo wearing bunny ears … yet there was always something about his humor that was very cerebral. As opposed to, say, belushi or someone like that – who was a physical comedian.
And movies just haven’t used him well, I don’t think.
it’s his standup that I think is truly genius. Like scary genius if you go back and watch it again. Nobody else like him.
I always though L.A. Story was vastly underrated. Almost as good as The Jerk, which he’ll probably never top (in my mind, at least). To this day, whenever the new phone books arrive, I jubilantly shout “THE NEW PHONE BOOK’S HERE! I’M SOMEBODY!”
“You mean ….. I’m going to STAY this color??????”
I forgot about LA Story – you’re right – very underrated movie. I loved it!
Oh yeah, I forgot to mention I also use “Bring us some FRESH wine!” on a regular basis.
Saw Steve Martin in Greensboro, NC on his “Wild and Crazy Guy” tour in 1978. Steve Goodman was his opening act. It was one of my more memorable concert experiences. Had front row seats for the show, and I remember looking around during the performance (the arena seated, as I recall, around 16,000 at the time) and almost all the seats were filled. This was while “King Tut” was on the charts, and he performed the song as his encore. Simply an amazing act. One of the handful of times I’ve been to something and left with my face sore from laughing so much.
Phil – so so envious that you saw that tour!! Thanks for sharing!
My favorite line from The Jerk:
“He hates those cans!”
I love him.
Jayne – HAHAHAHA Yes!!!
Death of Socrates was pure genius. He pops up every once and a while and does one sketch for an SNL, like the “Christmas Wish” that gets more involved and selfish and insane with every moment. “Oh – I forgot revenge against my enemies! They should rot like PIGS IN HELL.” The intensity of that line – the look in his eyes and his tone of voice – kills me every time.
Just finished reading “Born Standing Up” and it is one of the most interesting, insightful books about stand-up comedy that I’ve read. Some of the descriptions of and references to his act had me laughing out loud at them again. (And buying the most recent SNL “Best of Steve Martin” DVD.) At the other end of the emotional spectrum, passages about his parents towards the end of the book were so moving they had me tearing up. Something else of particular interest to me: in the book he reproduces a schedule sheet/itinerary of a week of performances from his popular heyday. The week selected is the week of the show I mentioned above. It was October 3rd, 1978.
Just finished reading “Born Standing Up” and it is one of the most interesting, insightful books about stand-up comedy that I’ve read. Some of the descriptions of and references to his act had me laughing out loud at them again. (And buying the most recent SNL “Best of Steve Martin” DVD.) At the other end of the emotional spectrum, passages about his parents towards the end of the book were so moving they had me tearing up. Something else of particular interest to me: in the book he reproduces a schedule sheet/itinerary of a week of performances from his popular heyday. The week selected is the week of the show I mentioned above. It was October 3rd, 1978.
Apoloogies for the serial posting above.
Good to see one of your Steve Martin posters (Phil) mention Steve Goodman. He often doesn’t get his due. You might be interested in my new 800-page biography, “Steve Goodman: Facing the Music.” The book delves deeply into the years of 1978-80 when Goodman opened for Martin more than 200 times.
You can find out more at my Internet site (below). The book’s first printing just sold out, all 5,000 copies, and the publisher has authorized a second edition that will be out later this month. The second edition includes hundreds of little updates and additions, including 30 more photos for a total of 575.
To sign up to be notified about the availability of the second printing, visit my Internet site (below) and click on the “mailing list” page. Or you can pre-order a second-printing copy at the “online store” page. Just trying to spread word about the book. Feel free to do the same!
Clay Eals
1728 California Ave. S.W. #301
Seattle, WA 98116-1958
(206) 935-7515
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ceals@comcast.net
http://www.clayeals.com