by Not sure about the timing of this booking, since his book has been out for more than a year and went paperback in July, but author William Knoedelseder went on Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson to talk with Ferguson about his book, "I'm Dying Up Here: Heartbreak and High Times in Stand-Up Comedy's Golden Era," which features mugs of Ferguson's boss, David Letterman, alongside Jay Leno, Richard Lewis and the late Andy Kaufman on the cover.
The book covers the late 1970s comedy scene in Los Angeles, which Knoedelseder covered as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times in 1978 and 1979. Remember when more newspapers had people writing about comedy as a performing art? Ah, memories.
His book is about all of the comics who flooded the L.A. clubs hoping that Johnny Carson would give them their big breaks on the Tonight Show, and how the comedians unified and organized a strike against The Comedy Store in 1979. Well, here, let Knoedelseder tell it:
And here is him telling the story to David Letterman last fall, which has a different tone to it because Letterman lived it and is in the book.
Want to buy a copy for yourself?
