I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era by William Knoedelseder

Jun 02, 2012 Gerard Collins rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I'd never heard of this book, but it popped up on some list of titles under $3 available for the Kindle, so I tried a sample. I whipped through that pretty quickly, so the few bucks weren't much of a consideration as I wondered what came next.

Written by a reporter who covered the comedy club scene in L.A. for the Los Angeles Times, the book focuses primarily on a period between 1972 and 1979, when a new and distinct generation of comedic talent broke through into the entertainment industry, and...more
I'd never heard of this book, but it popped up on some list of titles under $3 available for the Kindle, so I tried a sample. I whipped through that pretty quickly, so the few bucks weren't much of a consideration as I wondered what came next.

Written by a reporter who covered the comedy club scene in L.A. for the Los Angeles Times, the book focuses primarily on a period between 1972 and 1979, when a new and distinct generation of comedic talent broke through into the entertainment industry, and into television in particular.

Johnny Carson moved "The Tonight Show" from New York to Burbank in 1972, and when he did, the local comedy scene took off in a big way as the scouts who used to look for talent in NYC looked for new standups a little closer to the new home. Back then, if you wanted to make it as a comic, you had to play for Johnny. There just weren't that many places for standup comedians to play on TV, so if you could kill the audience, if you could break up Johnny, and most especially if you could get the "OK" sign from him at the end of your five minutes, you had it made. You were blessed, and you were going to get work. You might headline in a real night club, or you might get a TV deal, or you might open for someone big in Las Vegas, and to kill on Carson was the surest way there.

But to get on Johnny's show, you had to be seen by one of his scouts. How to be seen by a scout? Enter Mitzi Shore. At around the same time as Carson's move to the west coast, Shore took over a ratty little club, "The Comedy Store", that her husband owned as a kind of clubhouse for him and his friends, and turned it into a showcase for young and emerging talent. Jimmie Walker, Richard Pryor, Freddie Prinze, Tom Dreesen, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Elayne Boosler, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman—all got, if not their starts, then huge exposure in "The Store".

If not THE Golden Era, it certainly was A Golden Era, for this generation, at least. The comics worked for free, grateful for a stage and mic to try their material in front of an audience, hopeful that a scout, an agent, or a network executive might be in the audience that night and like what they saw and heard. They often did. Jimmie Walker went on to "Good Times," Freddie Prinze to "Chico and the Man," Robin Williams to a one-shot on "Happy Days" that led straight to "Mork and Mindy". David Letterman's 30-plus-year career in late-night television is traceable back to his time at "The Store" and his work as emcee.

But not everyone was as lucky. A struggling comic named Steve Lubetkin makes recurring appearances in the story, never quite in the right place at the right time, never with the right material that fit the tenor of the time, never with the look or the delivery that got noticed, never with the breakout bit that made him the star he so desperately wanted to be. He seems to be a stand-in for Everyone Else, all of the others who took the stage at "The Comedy Store" or "The Improv" or "The Laugh Factory" and didn't get a TV pilot or a chance to open in Las Vegas. Most probably headed back to the real world and took straight jobs, regaling friends and coworkers with stories about knowing Jay or Dave back in the day. But some had things end tragically, like Lubetkin, who jumped from the roof of the hotel next door and to his death in the parking lot of "The Store."

Lubetkin's death came in the midst of a walkout by the comics over a lack of compensation for their work for Shore. They argued that the dynamic had long since shifted from people coming to a club for some drinks and getting to see a comic to people coming specifically to see comics and getting to have some drinks. The comics were the draw, and while some had been able to parlay their sets at "The Store" to steady paying work, many had not. It struck Tom Dreesen as deeply unfair that a comic who had killed the night before, who had managed to make a room full of people laugh and applaud and buy another round, was reduced to begging $5 from one of the headliners for breakfast, especially after the members of that audience had paid a cover charge ostensibly to "cover" the cost of the entertainment.

"Comedians for Compensation"—CFC—was formed as a way to bring the grievances to Mitzi Shore and to try and find a way to get the up-and-comers a little something—$5 a set as "gas money"—and to recognize the comics as talent worth compensating. Shore countered that the club was a showcase—a workshop or a college, even—where the comics could take their material, try it out, and hone it into something polished. That experience could lead to bigger and better work, and the cover charge and bar receipts helped her to cover her expenses in keeping the place up and running.

The strike and its negotiations take up a considerable part of Knoedelseder's book, which, at the equivalent of about 170 pages, isn't that long to begin with. It's hardly a comprehensive history of that period, and I'd be hesitant to term it, or probably any era, as a Golden Era of standup. Certainly there were comics working on the east coast at the same time who were pushing their own boundaries; the eighties brought a boom in outlets for comedians, both on stage on and TV; and the nineties and early 2000s brought in an alt-comedy scene that remade things yet again. The generation that came before—Lenny Bruce, Bill Cosby, George Carlin, Robert Klein, et al—could lay claim to the idea of a standup being a sui generis talent in itself. But it is hard to deny that, in that time and in that place, there was a considerable concentration of talent and ambition, and that it was shaped and nurtured by Mitzi Shore.(less)

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Dec 10, 2011 Michael Clayton rated it 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed this book, but not as much as I figured I would as the nature of the content is a bit misleading. I thought it would be a history of many of the comics displayed on the cover and summary (Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Richard Lewis are huge figures in the book, for sure, but less for their careers and more for the overall contribution they had to the main story. As for Andy Kaufman, hes mentioned only briefly throughout). The book is really about Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore and the...more

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Apr 13, 2010 Fred rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: 2010-read

An interesting book about the rise of the Comedy Store stand-up club in Los Angeles and the strike by stand-up comedians which occurred as a result of the comedians not being paid by the owners. This is the main part of the book and it's quite interesting. Comedians organizing a union makes for an interesting labour history lesson.

The detailed history includes the accounts of many famous comedians coming to LA before they made it big. Letterman, Leno, Richard Lewis and Robin Williams among other...more

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Nov 10, 2012 Owen rated it 3 of 5 stars

I found this book pretty fascinating. At least in it subject, is it concerned many of the folks I have watched growing up and still watch today. I was not blown away by the treatment of the subject which is why I only get 3 stars. I should disclose that I listen to it and then I don't think the narrator has ever been funny for a day in his life and I think that took something away from it. Still it was fast and hear about how comedy migrated in Diboll from New York to Los Angeles and how they tr...more

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May 17, 2010 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

I love it when a book just jumps out at me. I was at the library and saw this book on display. I like comedy, but it's not something I would generally read about - yet there was something about this book that appealed to me, so I checked it out. And I loved it. I found the story of how David Letterman, Jay Leno, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams and a host of others got their starts in small clubs--usually for no money--fascinating. The author spent time covering these guys and the comedy scene in L...more

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Mar 05, 2012 Brandon rated it 3 of 5 stars

Dealing with the standup comedy scene in Los Angeles during the 1970's, I'm Dying Up Here focuses on Mitzi Shore's The Comedy Store and the efforts of the comedians to make it big and attempt to get paid until they did. The book focuses on several different comedians, but the main character is the venue, with Pauly Shore's mom serving as the villain of the piece. Shore's argument was that the comics used the store as a showcase to hone their craft while the comedian's argued that the renovations...more Dealing with the standup comedy scene in Los Angeles during the 1970's, I'm Dying Up Here focuses on Mitzi Shore's The Comedy Store and the efforts of the comedians to make it big and attempt to get paid until they did. The book focuses on several different comedians, but the main character is the venue, with Pauly Shore's mom serving as the villain of the piece. Shore's argument was that the comics used the store as a showcase to hone their craft while the comedian's argued that the renovations, cocktails, meals, cover and assortment of different rooms provided Shore with enough money to pay the folks that everyone else paid to watch.

The problem with nonfiction audiobooks with a large cast of characters is that it's impossible to keep everything straight. There are at least four Steves and three Toms named over the course of the book, and keeping their stories straight considering that some play ancillary roles and others are vital to the narrative without the visual aspect of seeing how their last names are spelled creates a disconnect that makes it easy to get lost.

The last quarter of the book consists of the negotiations between Shore and the comedians to get compensated for their time on stage, and the minutiae of what each performer should receive and the accompanying back and forth was a numbers game that made me want to skip to the next chapter every time. The same applies to Steve Lubetkin's list of things he felt he required to continue his comedy career, including boots, money for singing lessons and a host of 18 other things with reasons that served to explain why he experienced the outcome he did. My audiobook experience prior to this consisted of books by comedians and fictional stories focusing on a single character's arc, neither of which asks the listener to keep track of too many things other than the narrative.

While Knoedelseder is exhaustive in his research and clearly put the time in to get the story straight, there's very little insight into why these men and women felt the need to become comedians or how they became inspired to do the jokes they did, something that would be just as important as the history of the comedy club that launched so many careers. In that regard, it falls short. The history is pretty fascinating, but keep in mind that history is pretty much all the reader gets.(less)

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Feb 27, 2013 Jeremy rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The camaraderie and rivalry between comedians is fascinating. It's almost like a bond between people who have experienced some horrible crisis together, only the comedian's crisis is played out on a stage in front of strangers.

The job of a stand-up comic is one I would never want but will always want. I'm a funny enough guy in social situations, but I've never thought I could parlay that into some sort of career. I don't want to purposefully put myself in crisis.

This book details the explosion...more The camaraderie and rivalry between comedians is fascinating. It's almost like a bond between people who have experienced some horrible crisis together, only the comedian's crisis is played out on a stage in front of strangers.

The job of a stand-up comic is one I would never want but will always want. I'm a funny enough guy in social situations, but I've never thought I could parlay that into some sort of career. I don't want to purposefully put myself in crisis.

This book details the explosion of stand-up comedy in Los Angeles in the 1970s, a time when the post-World War II generation was just beginning to really take over. The sad story of Steve Lubetkin frames the book that is painful and inevitable. He performed at the Comedy Store, which was ground zero for American comedy. The performers who graced its stage are legendary: David Letterman, Jay Leno, Richard Lewis, Richard Pryor, Robin Williams, Andy Kaufman. I would count Elayne Boosler among that list, too, because I used to like her a lot when I was a kid.

Pauly Shore's mom, Mitzi, owned the store, but her offspring isn't what makes her the books villain. That she is the villain is up for debate, I suppose, but hear me out. She ran the Store after her husband gave it up, and she made it a success. She provided a place for comedians to hone their acts in front of an audience, and she made a lot of money doing it. When the comedians formed the Comedians for Compensation and decided they should be paid for their efforts, Shore balked. Her argument was that she provided a showcase atmosphere for untested material. The comedians argued that their talent and energy filled her pockets while leaving theirs empty (not to mention their pantries and their coke vials). Picking sides in that fight is a no-brainer.

Many of the club regulars felt they owed her a debt of gratitude because she took a chance on them, encouraged them, LOANED them money, and gave them tips about their act, but Shore made money because she owned a building, one which would stand empty if there weren't funny people around to draw crowds to fill it.

What's amazing about this book is that Letterman and Leno are still as big players as they are. Neither wields the influence over comedians and their careers the way Johnny Carson did over the Comedy Store generation's (at least it doesn't seem that), but they're both granddads of American comedy, and they were both on the side of the angels during the Comedians for Compensation fight with Shore.

(less)

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Nov 09, 2012 Beth Mechum rated it 3 of 5 stars

I've become increasingly interested in stand up comedy after I discovered the Marc Maron podcast. I think I even found this book through his Twitter feed. The first half of the book was exactly what I wanted - great stories and inside knowledge of stand up comedians and their relationships. The book really stalled when the conflict between the comedians and the Comedy Store with Mitzi Shore. Most of the rest of the book was about that conflict and the formation of (or the proposed formation of)...more

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Mar 20, 2010 Bart rated it 3 of 5 stars

This is a well-reported book about a time and place that is of only esoteric importance today.

Do not read this book for deep insights into the comedic impulse or what enables a person to climb before strangers and tell unsolicited jokes. That would be a fascinating subject - maybe better for the psychology section of the bookstore - but it's not really in here.

Again, this book is a report. It chronicles the Comedy Store strike of 1979. It's germane to contemporary times, somewhat, because it fea...more

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Jun 18, 2010 Jeanne rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: nonfiction

This is an entertaining and engrossing look at the stand-up comedy scene in the 1970s. Topics include:

• Why stand-up moved from NYC to CA (hint: Here’s Johnny!),
• An in-depth account of Mitzi Shore and The Comedy Store,
• The great comics’ strike of 1979,
• The life and death of an aspiring comedian, and
• Tidbits about big name comedians, including Leno, Letterman, Robin Williams, and Richard Lewis.

The lives of stand-up comics in the seventies were both fascinating and frightening (those precario...more

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Apr 02, 2010 Jason Gregg rated it 3 of 5 stars

I do have a sincere interest in the comedy business and did learn several new things about the lesser known comics of the 1970's. But, I thought it focused way too much on the comedy strike of the late 70's. It became very dry towards the end when describing the paper work and the agreements of the strike. The book started off strongly giving mini bios of the big names in the business (Leno, Letterman, Lewis, etc.) and I loved that. I loved hearing how these comics had to struggle and work their...more

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Sep 21, 2009 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: non-fiction, 2009

I'm not trying to get a blurb on the dust jacket or anything, but this was a real page turner. Focusing on the comedians' strike of 1979, author Knoedelseder does a wonderful job of illustrating the personalities of all these stand ups against the backdrop of their unionizing.

Honestly, if I have one complaint about I'm Dying Up Here is that it was almost too slight in its story. While there's a lot of new interviews here from the famous comedians who were born out of the Comedy Store, I would h...more

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Nov 03, 2012 Catherine rated it 4 of 5 stars

I searched out this book at the library after hearing Bill Knoedelseder talk on the podcast "Am I Right". His interview on this podcast made the comedy scene of the late 1970s sound like it really was a Golden Age of some sort. Jay Leno, David Letterman, Robin Williams, and a bunch more household names came from this fabulous circle of comedians all trying to make it in this time and place, LA in the 70s. It really did seem like a magical time in comedy, and I love the insider's view you get fr...more

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May 05, 2010 Joshua rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-in-2010

Interesting and entertaining look into the heyday of the late 1970s/early 1980s stand-up comedy scene in NY/LA at places like the Improv and the Comedy Store. Cast of dozens and most I knew and remember, some I didn't. Amazing what a putz Jay Leno is now but seemed like an okay guy back then, helping to lead the comic strike--now? He's an incredibly unfunny, mainstream vanilla idiot. Yes, I'm angry what he did to Dave AND to Conan ala backstabbing but that is neither here nor there. This is a fu...more

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Mar 23, 2013 Bryan rated it 3 of 5 stars

A great history of Stand up in New York and LA in the late 70's/early 80's. I learned a lot about some of my favorite comics from that era. Highlights for me were Richard Lewis, Andy Kaufman, and Letterman. Learned a lot about "legends" also and how they may have been the most flawed people of this ilk. (Robin Williams comes to mind)..
However, the second half of this book slowed down a little. It was very "strike centric" and bored me a touch. And the last quarter wrapped up way too quick. I wou...more

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Feb 27, 2010 Roy rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: anyone who is intereasted in Leno, Letterman, Richard Lewis, or stand up comics

Recommended to Roy by: Bill Simmons

If the Late Shift, a TV movie about the battle over the Tonight Show, had been a blockbuster, this story would have made for a worthy prequel. It would have been almost Star Warsian, in the way that the villain of the original, Jay Leno, becomes one of the good guys of the prequel.

In I’m Dyine Up Here Leno is part of a young group of soon-to-be famous comedians who strike against Mitzi Shore’s Comedy Store for the right to be paid. No, not paid more, just paid, like 5 or 10 dollars a set. It’s...more

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May 15, 2013 Ally rated it 4 of 5 stars

I don't really know that much about stand-up comedy, and I haven't seen that much in my life. But after the last couple of years of listening to Marc Maron's podcast, I've become more interested in learning about the behind-the-scenes stories. Maron, who worked as a doorman at the Comedy Store while honing his chops, recommended this book as an accurate and definitive account of the late 70s LA comedy scene. And boy was he right. This book is a fascinating look at the opening of the Comedy Store...more

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May 14, 2011 Jamie rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: comedy-n-humor

Reading this book I was torn. Every time I needed to pause I wished I could set aside time to read it straight through. On the other hand, I wanted to break it up so that it would last longer. I laughed, and in several spots my eyes teared up. But I have been performing stand-up comedy for two years now. I'm not sure that this book would have such a poignant effect on those who have not tried to pursue their artistic passions as a performer of some sort. Nevertheless, it was a great story highli...more

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Dec 01, 2012 Lenny Husen rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This wasn't quite as good as Comedy At the Edge, which I listened to first. However, this was excellent in its own right. I am fascinated by comedy of all kinds. To be fair and honest, the copy I was given had several chapters missing, which didn't make any difference, because I had no interest in hearing the blow-by-blow account of the strike and Steve's suicide. As it was, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and recommend both this one and the other I mentioned to anyone interested in stand-up come...more

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Aug 31, 2010 Liz rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I love stand up. It's the kind of profession where (if I were thin and didn't mind being dirt poor and mooching off my parents while talking about my vagina in front of a bunch of people who are predispositioned to not think I'm funny anyway because I'm a woman)I always think "I could do that!" But I don't have the drive or love of it near the same as the people in this book do. It's a great book --chronicles the rise of the late 1960's - 1970's stand up and ends with the battle comedians fought...more

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Mar 29, 2010 Blog on Books rated it 3 of 5 stars

When the Tonight Show moved its base of operations from New York to Los Angeles in 1972, the world of comedy was completely upended. Instead of working out their routines at NY nightclubs, any up-and-coming comedian worth his salt had to relocate to LA as well. Why? Because, in those days the Tonight Show was considered an unavoidable rite-of-passage for any comic who aspired to bigger things like Vegas, record albums or TV and movie stardom. The stars who received Johnny Carson's nod of approva...more When the Tonight Show moved its base of operations from New York to Los Angeles in 1972, the world of comedy was completely upended. Instead of working out their routines at NY nightclubs, any up-and-coming comedian worth his salt had to relocate to LA as well. Why? Because, in those days the Tonight Show was considered an unavoidable rite-of-passage for any comic who aspired to bigger things like Vegas, record albums or TV and movie stardom. The stars who received Johnny Carson's nod of approval, were often invited back and would eventually become household names in their own right. Jay Leno, David Letterman, Robin Williams and others would all be beneficiaries of the move in years to come.
In order to get `discovered', these comics needed a platform to woodshed their material and to get in the field-of-view of the show's cadre of talent scouts.
Enter the Comedy Store.
As a reporter for the Comedy Beat of the prodigious Los Angeles Times, Bill Knoedelseder had a ringside seat for the development of the LA comedy scene emerging at the Sunset Strip nightery as well as it's Melrose counterpart, Budd Friedman's Improv. Between the two clubs passed nearly all of the renowned comedians of the 70s thru 90s. Richard Pryor, Jimmie Walker, Leno, Williams, Andy Kaufman, Sam Kinison, Richard Lewis, Elayne Boosler and dozens more all worked out at the club in it's heyday.
Trouble was, the club's legendary owner, Mitzi Shore (yes, Pauly's mom) never believed in paying the talent. "It's a showcase room," Shore would insist, not a place for comedians to earn a living. Eventually, Shore's policy would blow up in her face as the comics formed their own `union' and tried to boycott the club in an effort to gain at least a meager stipend from the dictatorial Shore.
It is, in fact, the story of the Comedy Store and it's remuneration policy that takes up the bulk of Knoedelseder's book. Nearly every detail of the strike is outlined here including the suicidal death of despondent comedian Steve Lubetkin, who jumped off the roof of the Hyatt Hotel next door to the club in a fit of depression.
All in all, Knoedelseder's account of the LA comedy scene of the era is as complete as one could ever expect from a book on the subject. The fact that there is not much humor in a book about comedy is a bit lacking, but perhaps given the psychological profile often associated with comedians, not such a surprise.(less)

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Mar 17, 2010 James Loftus rated it 3 of 5 stars

This book isn't nearly as funny as I had hoped (there are not really any jokes in it), but I did learn a lot about the boom of popularity of stand up comedy in the late 70's early 80's that centered around the Comedy Store in LA and the related strike of the store and the unionization of the comics. The whole book was worth reading just for a really great description of the experience of one of the comics on his first time on Johnny Carson's tonight show (the be all end all of comic venues).

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Nov 13, 2009 Rob rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: read-not-owned

I picked this up at the library on a whim after reading about it on Mark Evanier's blog. I started reading a few pages when I was resting and the book I was in the middle of was in another room. I found it difficult to put down and tore through the thing. I'm not sure what it was exactly--the writing isn't particularly vibrant--but the story was compelling and I had trouble stepping away from it until I was done. Very interesting stuff.

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Jul 14, 2011 Michelle rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical, humor, non-fiction, politics

The book says it's about the stand-up comics of 1970s LA, but that is only part of the story. The core of this book is the strike between the comedians and The Comedy Store owner Mitzi Shore. The book is utterly compelling and paints a vivid picture of the era and the struggling comedians who performed without compensation.

There's a lot of name dropping in this book, and it's sublime. A must read for comedy nerds.

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Sep 07, 2011 Tom rated it 3 of 5 stars

I'm a bit obsessed with comedy and comedians these days and so I really enjoyed depiction of the "golden days" of 1970s LA comedy when Letterman, Leno, Robin Williams and others were friends and struggling stand-ups--written by a guy who covered "comedy" in that era. Structured around the LA comedy strike and its tragic aftermath, it's NOT a funny book but a great primer in where today's comedy legends got their start. A friend who was "there" tells me it's spot-on accurate so can definitely rec...more

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Sep 29, 2011 Hasan Minhaj rated it 5 of 5 stars

One of the best books on stand-up I've ever read. I know a lot of people really love 'Born Standing Up', but I think this book captures a moment in standup history many have not heard of. Hearing stories about Letterman, Leno, and Robin was awesome and terrifying at the same time. A must read for any comic, especially if you live in LA and frequent the Comedy Store.

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Oct 25, 2009 Noah rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is outstanding. It strikes just the right balance between history and story, with three-dimensional characters and vivid scenes, and it finds a good focal point for what could otherwise turn into a sprawling mess. If you're at all interested in the world professional comedians inhabit or in the history of the entertainment industry, I highly recommend it.

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Sep 20, 2010 David rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The story of a comedian's strike against the Comedy Store nightclub in 1979 when stand-ups such as Jay Leno, David Letterman, Garry Shandling and Robin Williams took sides and friendships were affected.

The secondary story of an untalented comic who committed suicide in front of the Comedy Store during the strike was not very compelling.

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Jan 31, 2011 Chris rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: i-own

I liked this books many different ways. As an evocation of stand-up comedy as a vocation in the '70s, it feels like it's right on the money. As a tale of the Comedy Store strike, it was obviously biased toward the comics, but didn't shy away from discussing unintended consequences of the strike on both sides. It's not strictly a good guys-vs-bad guys tale, and Knoedelseder knows enough not to make it one. Rudimentary youtube searches and other internet research have turned up little about Steve...more

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Dec 26, 2010 Amy rated it 4 of 5 stars

This book aims to capture the atmosphere in stand up comedy during the 70's with the strike at The Comedy Store and its effect on comedian Steve Lubetkin at the center. Anyone interested in stand-up, especially Leno, Letterman and Richard Lewis will enjoy this peek into their "coming up" years. My only disappointment with this book is the overly "that was a golden age that will never be captured again" tone. But, then again, it is essentially a memoir of the group/movement so I guess that can be...more

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