Born Standing Up

The 2007 memoir was written by the legendary American comedian and actor Steve Martin. It focuses entirely on his intense, decade-long career performing live stand-up comedy rather than his later film and television work.

The book centers on the late 1960s through the late 1970s, which was the peak era of Martin's stand-up career. He details his grueling schedule of performing up to three shows a night in empty clubs before finally achieving massive, rockstar-level fame.

Yes, the memoir explores his eventual burnout and his conscious decision to walk away from stand-up at the height of his massive fame in 1981. He realized his crowds were too large and chaotic, prompting him to pivot completely toward acting and writing.

The title references the physical nature of his profession, as well as the fact that he essentially grew up performing in comedy clubs. Martin famously started working at Disneyland selling guidebooks and doing magic tricks at the Main Street magic shop as a teenager.