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

by Knoedelseder Jr, William K

• ISBN13: 9781586488963
• ISBN10: 1586488961
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2010-07-27
• Publisher: PublicAffairs

Summary

In the mid-1970s, Jay Leno, David Letterman, Andy Kaufman, Richard Lewis, Robin Williams, Elayne Boosler, Tom Dreesen, and several hundred other shameless showoffs and incorrigible cutups from all across the country migrated en masse to Los Angeles, the new home of Johnny Carson'sTonight Show. There, in a late-night world of sex, drugs, dreams and laughter, they created an artistic community unlike any before or since. It was Comedy Camelot--but it couldn't last.William Knoedelseder, then a cub reporter covering the scene for theLos Angeles Times, was there when the comedians--who were not paid for performing--tried to change the system and incidentally tore apart their own close-knit community. InI'm Dying Up Herehe tells the whole story of that golden age, of the strike that ended it, and of how those days still resonate in the lives of those who were there.

Author Biography

William Knoedelseder is the author of Stiffed: A True Story of MCA, The Music Business, and the Mafia, and In Eddie’s Name. He lives near Los Angeles, California.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	p. ix
Prologue: A True Comic	p. 1
Blood Brothers	p. 9
The Hippest Room	p. 19
Mitzi's Store	p. 31
Tom, Dave, and George	p. 45
All About Budd	p. 59
Six Minutes, Twenty-two Laughs	p. 65
The Boys' Club	p. 71
Guns, Drugs, and Westwood	p. 81
Comedy University	p. 87
Richard's Baroness, Steve's Movie	p. 93
The Funniest Year Ever	p. 101
Roommates	p. 111
The New Year's Resolution	p. 117
Drugs and Theft	p. 125
Order, Please	p. 135
Diary of a Young Comic	p. 141
The Gauntlet	p. 147
Comedians for Compensation	p. 153
Choosing Up Sides	p. 165
Fire!	p. 175
The Vote	p. 181
All on the Line	p. 189
Dave's Big Night	p. 203
The Union Forever?	p. 211
Jay's Big Flop	p. 223
"My Name is Steve Lubetkin"	p. 231
A Standing Ovation	p. 245
Epilogue: The Prisoner of Memory	p. 253
Index	p. 269
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