TVSquad

Anyone who's interested in the Leno/Letterman relationship, the feeding frenzy in the late 70s and early 80s when networks were sweeping up stand-up comedians and changing their lives overnight, and the importance and mechanics of getting a spot on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show needs to read William Knoedelseder's new book, I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era.

The centerpiece of the book is the labor discontent between comedians and the Comedy Store that kicked up in 1979, when comedians saw the money coming into the venue and started to wonder why some of the working comics there had to borrow money for breakfast. It's a compelling and unexpected story, and it collects names big and small from television history along the way.

Knoedelseder catches Robin Williams on his way to Mork & Mindy, Letterman breaking into television, Andy Kaufman working as a busboy while on Taxi (and a young Mike Binder running his lines with the cast so he could do so), and Leno getting heckled on his first Tonight Show appearance. He also talks about how the Tonight Show's booking policies often excluded female comedians (Elayne Boosler only got her shot when Helen Reddy was guest hosting), and captures the mutual admiration between Leno and Letterman when they were first working clubs together in L.A.

It's all great stuff for people who want a little more of the story than what they've probably read so far. And it gives more depth to Leno, who helped spur the stand-up comedy strike, than most (not all) of the recycled profiles you might be reading now (please, tell me more about his cars, about his work ethic, about his attitude toward the Letterman feud, and if you can, use all the same quotes as the last cover story about him).

It's a serious book, with some laugh out loud moment. My favorite line comes from Tom Dreesen, a Tonight Show regular, addressing a group of comedians trying to get a group together to approach the Comedy Store about getting paid: "Okay, the chair recognizes Jay Leno. Jay, you have the floor; make your point. Gallagher, please sit down and be quiet." (Page 138, if you're following along at home).