Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life

We were comparing psychoanalysis with the making of art. I said, “Both require explorations of the subconscious, and in that way they are similar.” He agreed, thought about it, then added, “But there is a fundamental difference between the two. In psychoanalysis, you try to retain a discovery; in art, once the thing is made, you let it go.”

His memory was sharp as cheddar,

Oh yes, I have heard the argument that celebrities want fame when it’s useful and don’t when it’s not. That argument is absolutely true

You’ll use everything you ever knew.”

Were they beautiful? We were all beautiful. We were in our twenties.

o they get this show in Omaha?” Steve would answer, “They see it, but they don’t get it.”

Through the years, I have learned there is no harm in charging oneself up with delusions between moments of valid inspiration.

Like the burlesque comedian, I am abnormally fond of that precision which creates movement.”

My belief in the inevitability of our success charged me up before, during, and after the show, and it was not until days later when I acknowledged to myself that our debut in the tougher world of real show business had been met with only a polite response.

One day I was particularly gloomy, and Jim asked me what the matter was. I told him my high school girlfriend (for all of two weeks) had broken up with me. He said, “Oh, that’ll happen a lot.” The knowledge that this horrid grief was simply a part of life’s routine cheered me up almost instantly.