Sit, Ubu, Sit: How I went from Brooklyn to Hollywood with the Same Woman, the Same Dog, and a Lot Less Hair

by Gary David Goldberg

A sports-crazed kid from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, Gary David Goldberg never imagined he’d end up in Hollywood, let alone make it big there. But as a twenty-five-year-old waiter in Greenwich Village he met Diana, the love of his life; followed her out to Northern California; then moved in and never moved out. He also, without realizing it, put himself on track to found UBU Productions (named after his beloved Labrador retriever) and become a successful creator of such family sitcoms as Family Ties, Brooklyn Bridge, and Spin City.*

In Sit, Ubu, Sit, award-winning writer/producer Goldberg tells the mostly upbeat, sometimes difficult, and frequently hilarious tale of his improbable career and the people who have filled it. A love story and a rare behind-the-scenes look at the entertainment industry, Sit, Ubu, Sit proves that it is possible to be creative and successful while holding on to your integrity, your family, and your sense of humor. *with Bill Lawrence

Genres: Memoir, Nonfiction, Biography, Humor, Comedy, Tv, Dogs

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

Reviews

[Susan]

After living in LA and working around "the Industry",this looked like an appealing book. Once I started reading it, I found myself wanting to be this man. I wanted a hit show, I wanted Michael J. Fox to call me and cry. Sigh...

[Vince Tuss]

I really enjoyed this, but I’m not sure how I picked it up, other than being a fan of Goldberg’s shows. It’s structured in a really interesting way and keeps it very readable. Along with looking for info on how one gets into screenwriting, I was looking for something different from what I have been reading and hoping to reset my reading habit. Mission accomplished.

[David]

Saw this only familiar tag-line staring back at me on a visit to the library and knew right away I had to give it a read. These were the parting words on every TV show I watched growing up it seemed.

Goldberg supplies a great behind-the-scenes account of his life landing almost by accident in Hollywood.

[Patricia]

I think the Oregonian recommended this to me. It sounded good at the time so into the to-read Goodreads que it went. It didn't look quite as interesting when it came up in the Goodreads que, however. But I'm mostly committed to at least sampling the books I put in that que so I ordered it from the Library. I'm glad I did.

The title pretty much says it all. Reading this book, you get vignettes from different periods of the author's life: wanderinghippy, young father, daycare owner, TV writer, TV producer. I grew up hearing "Sit Ubu, sit." at the very end of Family Ties and other shows in the 80s and 90s. I did wonder who Ubu was, off and on, and now I know. In addition, Goldberg has some good stories too.

The back-and-forth vignette can be a bit confusing at times, and I agree with the statement Goldberg makes at the end of the book. Something to the effect of "memoir writers tend to cast themselves as better than they are" he hopes he hasn't done so, but guesses he has. An interesting companion to this book would be if his daughters wrote a book about their childhoods. One, the flower child and the other a successful producer's daughter. The contrasts must be amazing.

[Rebecca]

4.0 stars. Adult nonfiction. Very humorous memoir of Gary David Goldberg the creator of Family Ties, Brooklyn Bridge, and Spin City. And, of course, his beautiful black lab, Ubu. But Ubu is not the main thrust or even a secondary thrust. Goldberg starts out with his life in the year 1985 then moves back to 1972. His story moves back and forth through 20 years. The movement was not jarring or distracting for me. Goldberg has a marvelous tightly-edited style and though there is some poignant and serious moments, for the most part, it's a marvelous breezy read. It is not "dishy" or gossipy. Goldberg comes across as a pretty decent, kindhearted guy. Fairly self-effacing too. His last paragraph (in Acknowledgments) reads "Finally, I've always felt that people who write memoirs make themselves out to be better than they actually were in real life. I'm confident I have not violated that tradition." Even if you didn't like the shows, or never watched them, it's still an interesting look at show business. (And presents the business as more normal and less ruthless and dramatic as I've imagined.)

[Sharon]

'Sit Ubu Sit' is a sweet, funny and often touching book by a man who isn't afraid to express his love and admiration for his wife, family, friends and pet dog. I found this very refreshing and I wish more celebrity autobiographies could be this enjoyable. It was also lots of fun getting the inside scoop on "Family Ties," one of my favorite TV shows. The only thing I don't like is that the chapters aren't in chronological order. One chapter you're in the '60s, then you're in the '80s, then you're in the '70s and then you're back to the '80s. I got a little confused trying to keep the events in order. Maybe Goldberg thought he would lose his audience if he didn't mention Michael J. Fox at regular intervals. He didn't need to worry. Check it out! You'll laugh, cry and hug your own "Ubu."

[Jen]

I was looking forward to this book, especially after the interviews I saw with Goldberg. But reading the book was like being the guest of your spouse or a good friend at a high school reunion party. You are there, you know no one, the names you don't recognize and you listen politely as everyone revels in inside jokes and stories from the past.

I didn't even finish this book. After I read about how Goldberg and his wife got together and the story behind the Ubu photograph (the tale of their times hitchhiking in Europe was fun to read), I was ready to put this down. There was too much name dropping and shop talk about the TV industry to hold my interest.

[Laura]

Sit, Ubu, Sit! Every time I hear this, I'm transported to watching tv as a child. I enjoyed the memoir, mostly because Goldberg seems to be a pretty reasonable guy. I also really liked Family Ties and enjoyed hearing about Goldberg's role in the show's creation and finding out about his relationship with Michael J. Fox. Another point I found interesting was the differing perspectives of Goldberg's daughters. One was raised on food stamps and available but struggling parents; the other with the best money can buy. It reminded me of some of the differences that my sister and I probably see between our childhoods.

[Erin]

This book was written so well and really made me envious of the relatonship that Gary David has with his wife, and even Michael J. Fox. I'm now inspired to rent Family Ties and Spin City, now that I know all the blood sweat and tears that went into making each one! I highly recommend this book for anyone that loves TV.

[Deb]

It started out funnier than it ended up. It was interesting because I know very little about how Hollywood works. (nor do I really care.)

Now I know where the closer "Sit, Ubu" Sit" comes from. Is my life better for it?

I'm glad I read it as a library book and didn't spend $$.

[etherealfire]

Library hardcover

[Evan Carr]

This book is a great memoir about moving from "rags to riches", about taking risks and being rewarded for them, and about balancing family life and a successful television writing and production career. There are also quite a few interesting bits of trivia, and I see a lot of myself in both Gary David Goldberg and Dr. Diana Meehan. Well worth the read!

[Heather Buckley]

Good book about Gary David Goldberg's life. I wasn't sure I would like the stories about his life before he came a writer (Family Ties was his first big show), but I did. I think it helped that he skipped around from pre-writer life to writer life, to keep it interesting. The paperback was hard to read unless you broke the spine, as the margins were too close to the middle of the book.

[Susan Schneider]

A delightful read for any of us that enjoyed the 60's and on. Many stories from a voice that experienced barely surviving to great wealth but through it all seeing it with a lens of presence and joy. I would not have heard about it if it had not been for another author, Claire Cook. I am sure glad I was able to discover this book and enjoy the stories of Gary David Goldberg.

[Alicia Wolff]

“Sit, Ubu, sit.”
Family Ties creator shares about his journey from Bensonhurst, Brooklyn to the boardrooms of Hollywood. His sense of humor immediately shines through (In his first visit with a physic, he didn’t realize they “had to do their own laundry”..). Though he passed away in 2013, his legacy will love on through his stories and shows.

[Alicia Naab]

Very good. Who knew a sitcom writer could write a hilarious book!? Hahaha! I LOL'd throughout - lots of good lines. If you enjoyed Family Ties, you'll definitely enjoy this and the insights into Hollywood life are interesting without feeling pretentious. The ending brings the book down a bit, but it's honest and real. A great read.

[Julie]

Gary David Goldberg (writer and producer of TV shows--most notably Family Ties) talks about his life before he came to Hollywood and then his life working in TV. Interesting...

I picked this up on sale and because I remember this logo at the end of Family Ties. Not too bad.

[Brandon Clement]

Picked up this book randomly at the library because the cover was a part of almost all our childhoods. Turned out to be a fantastic read about a man I never knew existed. Somewhat reminiscent of Nicholas Meyers’ A View from the Bridge.

[ThomasAD]

Self serving

[Paula]

Enjoyably read. Lost a bit of interest when Ubu went to live in the Ozarks, but enjoyed reading about Michael J Fox and many of the TV programs I watched as a young mom.

[Dani]

I usually don't read autobiographies but I was drawn to Gary's story. He's a writer by trade so if course or was well written, but it was also entertaining and heartwarming. I highly recommend.

[Andrew A. Erman]

An OK read, but if you are more interested in the entertainment industry, you might like it more than me. It is effectively humorous in places.

[Sara Goldenberg]

It was terrific!

[Debbie]

Highly readable and entertaining. Always loved Ubu, great to read his story.

[David]

I thought this was great fun to read. All these years I am still unhappy Brooklyn Bridge did not last longer on television.

[Dan]

I read this book on a whim, because it looked like it might be an interesting story.

I especially enjoyed the formatting of the book - short, punchy tales that jumped around in chronology. There were some great life lessons to be gleaned from Gary's roundabout path into show business - he certainly stumbled before he found his way, and the love story between him and his wife is compelling if also a bit short in the telling.

Gary's humorous tone was nice, but it sometimes felt a bit too self-indulgent, especially when he talked about some of the politics that went into creating his very popular television shows. I enjoyed learning more about his relationship with Michael J. Fox, and how it became strained on Sin City. It was powerful to read about his wife's struggles with illness, and nice to hear of their charity work. But still, a bit too self-indulgent. There was one story when he took a stand against people trying to limit how much he spent on food for the crew. They said no more bagels and he ordered more bagels. What hilarity! What a way to stick it to the man! Fell totally flat for me.

But I did end up reading the whole book. And I feel the way this man wrote was good, even though the content got a bit messy. Definitely a good book to read in spurts, since the chapters are so short.

[Sam]

I generally liked this book. I liked hearing more about Goldberg's adventures with his wife and family then with his TV show career, mainly because I never watched those shows (I wasn't born yet) and also because, besides Michael J. Fox and Steven Spielberg a lot of the name dropping and episode discussing in the book was lost to me. Besides that, Goldberg is mainly funny and is a great writer. The title of the book grabbed me and made me want to read it. Gary's happy-go-lucky lifestyle and loyalty to his loved ones makes him instantly likable to any reader. This was a very easy read and worth reading out to the end. The last sentence of the book was a great close.

[Laren]

The creator of the TV series "Family Ties" loosely based the series on his own life story, told in this memoir. The author jumps back and forth between his writing career and his hippy days with his partner with the humor one expects from a humor writer. But first and foremost, it is a love story, both about his partner/wife and his dog, (the real Ubu of the tag seen after his show each week). Throw in a psychic, a few kids, a medical crisis, and a feud with Michael J. Fox and you have a very entertaining read.

[Roberta]

I wish GDG had been my friend. I liked his easy-going storytelling style. Even when he had something negative to say, he said it kindly. I was a big fan of "Family Ties" so, of course, I found that whole storyline interesting. And I didn't find his mention of all the famous people he knew and worked with offensive. To me it was kind of like catching up with an old high school friend. "So, what have you been doing with your life? Wow, cool!" It didn't come off as bragging to me. Just the facts, ma'am.

[Ehbooklover]

I was inspired to read this after reading of the death of Gary David Goldberg. And I am glad that I did! A laugh-out-loud funny and touching memoir that gives the reader a behind-the-scenes look at what goes into creating a sitcom. At its core, it is essentially a book about Goldberg's loves: his wife, his family, his dog, his career, and his friends. I found his very close relationship with Michael J. Fox especially interesting. I would highly recommend this to any fan of Family Ties and/or Spin City.