Book · 2007 · Biography & Autobiography
Born Standing Up
A Comic's Life
Why people recommend it
Born Standing Up by Steve Martin is a poignant and deeply analytical memoir chronicling the comedian's arduous decade-long journey to master stand-up comedy before walking away at the peak of his fame. Jimmy Carr enthusiastically recommended the book on The Joe Rogan Experience, calling it an essential roadmap filled with invaluable secrets for anyone interested in the inner mechanics of comedy. Bill Burr also praised the memoir on the podcast and referenced specific industry anecdotes from its pages, including stories about the early naming origins of the rock band Eagles on his Monday Morning Podcast. Joe Rogan discussed the memoir with Brendan Schaub, highlighting Martin's disciplined retirement from stand-up and his unconventional early performance style, and revisited the book with Rick Rubin to examine the ten-year timeline Martin set for himself. On SmartLess, Martin Short humorously joked about the publication age of his friend's book, while Steve Martin himself reflected on the creative process of writing an autobiography and preserving historical mementos like old hotel receipts to reconstruct his early career timeline. Across these podcast appearances, the memoir is consistently celebrated as a masterclass in artistic dedication, perseverance, and the evolution of modern entertainment.
Who recommended it
- Bill Burr Recommended
- Jimmy Carr Recommended
- Joe Rogan Recommended
Bill Burr — 2 mentions
“he's got a great the book that's the book born standing up you know what kills me is I loaned that to somebody there gave it up in 81”
“um that's another thing from Steve Martin's book he was talking to one of the members of the band and they said we're putting we're putting together a band and he goes what's it called and he goes Eagles and Steve was going the Eagles he's like no just Eagles”
Jimmy Carr — 2 mentions
“I mean I think there's breadcrumbs there like Steve Martin's book born standing up M I think that's the if anyone's interested in the secrets of Comedy they're out there and it's about $10.99 in all good bookshops”
“I mean I think there's breadcrumbs there like Steve Martin's book born standing up”
Joe Rogan — 2 mentions
“did you ever read born standing up Steve Martin yes yeah such a great book it's a great book”
“have you ever read that book born standing up yeah he said he went out there and he had this like ukulele thing and would come down”
Mentioned on the show without a named speaker — 2
“Um, and number one is walking, uh, Steve's new book is for Tracy. Uh, that's—that's what they call two years old!”
“So, but when I wrote my autobiography, I did have one little plastic box where I just threw things in, and that had things like a receipt from a hotel in Salt Lake City in 1971, so you knew where you were at that date and you could remember her name though. It was like, uh, it was like archaeological”