"I was born a poor black child" from the lips of Steve Martin struck me as one of the funniest things I'd ever heard when I was 7. At that young age and for years after, his humor resinated with me and I never fully understood why until reading his autobio,
Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life. Martin's humor, especially early on, was based on the absurd. It didn't always make sense, it was often silly and that appealed to me as a kid. He was the reason I enjoyed the child-like humor of characters like Pee-wee Herman and Ed Grimly after I'd grown into a more serious teenager. These days I watch some of those old performances and cringe a little bit at their hokeyness and simplicity, occasionally forming the subconscious thought that a little more wit might have been cultivated to enhance that bit and wishing that pratfall hadn't been repeated. But beyond learning more about myself,
Born Standing Up also showed me a side of Martin I never knew was there. Aside from hearing all the interesting insider stories about the biz, reading about Martin's journey to comic brilliance is what makes this a very good read.
