Excerpt from Born Standing Up

Due to illness and insomnia, I finally had the time to finish listening to Steve Martin's riveting memoir Born Standing Up.* Until now, I'd never heard any comedian explain in such depth how they shaped their comedic philosophy and honed their routine. Martin mainly touches on his personal journey and early career on stage. The book ends with the reasons he left stand-up behind, shortly after making The Jerk. I think he needs to write another book about his Hollywood years.

This is a great quote where he's talking about a girlfriend who left him behind:

"...Mitzi sent me a gentle and direct Dear John letter. She had been swept away by the director John Frankenheimer, who, 20 years later, tried and failed to seduce my then wife, the actress Victoria Tennant, whom he was directing in a movie.

Incidentally, Frankenheimer died a few years ago, but it was not I who killed him."

* I normally read novels but there are certain books I prefer hearing in audiobook format, such as memoirs read by the author.