Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny [Hardcover]

Marlo Thomas (Author)

Book Description

Release date: September 28, 2010

Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny is a book that only Marlo Thomas could write—a smart and gracious, witty and confident autobiographical journey.

For as long as Marlo Thomas can remember, she’s lived with laughter. Born to comedy royalty—TV and nightclub star Danny Thomas—she grew up among legendary funny men, carved much of her career in comedy and, to this day, surrounds herself with people who love and live to make others laugh. In this long-awaited memoir, Thomas takes us on a funny and heartwarming adventure, from her Beverly Hills childhood, to her groundbreaking creation of That Girl and Free to Be . . . You and Me, to her rise as one of America’s most beloved actress-comediennes, to her marriage to talk-show king Phil Donahue.

Her youth was star-studded—Milton Berle performed magic tricks (badly) at her backyard birthday parties. George Burns, Bob Hope, Sid Caesar, Bob Newhart and other great comics passed countless hours gathered around her family’s dinner table. And behind it all was the rich laughter nurtured by a close and loving family.

Growing Up Laughing is not just the story of an iconic entertainer, but also the story of comedy. In a voice that is curious, generous and often gleeful, Thomas not only opens the doors on the funny in her own life, but also explores the comic roots of today’s most celebrated comedians, in personal interviews with: Alan Alda, Joy Behar, Stephen Colbert, Billy Crystal, Tina Fey, Whoopi Goldberg, Kathy Griffin, Jay Leno, George Lopez, Elaine May, Conan O’Brien, Don Rickles, Joan Rivers, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld, Jon Stewart, Ben and Jerry Stiller, Lily Tomlin, Robin Williams and Steven Wright.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Some know her as the star of the 1960s TV show That Girl, or creator of Free to Be... You and Me, or perhaps major fund-raiser for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Thomas, author of five bestselling books, here focuses on a role she's had her entire life: daughter. Laughter was the soundtrack for Thomas's formative years in 1950s Beverly Hills. Her father, comedian Danny Thomas, regularly had funny friends--including Bob Hope, Sid Caesar, and George Burns--over to the family home. The author, actress, feminist, and philanthropist shares fond memories of enjoying and learning from these comedy luminaries, and of being a Hollywood kid long before game-changers like the Internet and cable TV. She chronicles her path from childhood to adulthood; particularly interesting tidbits include her meeting and marrying Phil Donahue, becoming friends with Gloria Steinem and Bella Abzug, and, with her siblings, "producing" her father's funeral. But this book is more than a well-written memoir. Thomas also includes interviews with comedy powerhouses galore, from Tina Fey to Alan Alda, Chris Rock to Ben and Jerry Stiller. On the whole, this book offers a delightful firsthand look at how comedy has become integral to American culture--and the way it's shaped one woman's colorful life.
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From Booklist

Thomas, star of the classic sitcom That Girl and daughter of comedy legend Danny Thomas, has taken an interesting approach to the usual Hollywood memoir. Chapters exploring her life as the daughter of comedy royalty, and her struggles to establish an independent identity for herself, alternate with profiles of contemporary comedians (Seinfeld, Leno, Stiller, Rock, Crystal, Rivers, Williams, Fey, Wright, and Colbert, among others). We see how her father inspired her, and we also see how he inspired the professionals who came after him. Thomas’ personal stories are heartwarming and entertaining. Her father, who came by his legendary status by dint of hard work and perfect delivery, comes across as a driven man who always made time for his family and who never made any secret of the fact that he loved his little girl. It was a privileged childhood, to be sure, and you can’t help being a little envious of someone who grew up around the likes of Milton Berle, George Burns, and Sid Caesar. The profiles of other comedians allow us to see Danny Thomas through others’ eyes, too, offering a different perspective on the man and his legacy. An engaging, highly informative memoir—definitely not the routine show-biz autobiography. --David Pitt

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 400 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; First Edition edition (September 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140132391X
• ISBN-13: 978-1401323912
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 1.2 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #493,178 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

MARLO THOMAS is the author of five bestselling books, including The Right Words at the Right Time and Free to Be . . . You and Me. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including four Emmys, a Golden Globe, a Grammy and a Peabody, and is an inductee into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame. She lives in New York with her husband, Phil Donahue.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Light on Personal Information October 4, 2010

By Arlington, VA

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Like most, I find Marlo Thomas to be charming, witty and a stunning beauty. This memoir is not an autobiography so if you are looking for the story of her life, all you get are several very short chapters of personal history, mostly involving her father, St. Jude's with a few non-revealing stories about her own life. Guys, there ain't no dirt in this one - damn! The rest of the book is comprised of interviews with present-day comedians, interspersed with some hysterical (and ribald) jokes. One short chapter is dedicated to Ted Bessell and one to Lew Parker. The rest of the story of "That Girl" was either never written, or omitted.

If you want to read this (and it is enjoyable), wait for it to come out in paperback.

33 of 35 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars So Much More than "That Girl!" October 11, 2010

By Story Circle Book Reviews

Format:Hardcover

Almost all of us have a set of traits that attract us to others, and that we value in others: honesty, intelligence, attractiveness, and, to many, the most important--a sense of humor. Marlo Thomas' sixth book is a paean to humor. Ms. Thomas is the daughter of comedian/actor/St. Jude Children's Hospital founder Danny Thomas. Her book is unusual in its approach and in its style, and extremely enjoyable.

First, it is a memoir, a love story, a thank-you letter to her family, and a personal glimpse into her childhood as one of Danny Thomas' three children. But interspersed with the marvelous, intimate stories (about her drum-playing grandmother, her Catholic family, her acting successes and failures) are interviews with current comics and deeply moving homages to the comics of the past. So, a few chapters about her early life, Thomas segues into an interview with Jerry Seinfeld. A discussion about the years her father spent "On the Road" is followed by a wonderful conversation with Robin Williams. Newer comics are referenced and interviewed as well: Tina Fey, Chris Rock ,and Steven Wright all have one-on-one time with Thomas.

She makes us laugh, cry, and trip happily down memory lane with the great comedic geniuses of the past--Milton, Sid, Jan, George, Phil, Red, and the Bobs (Hope and Newhart). She remembers at-home dinners with these stellar humorists and discusses Hollywood from the point of view of someone raised there. As she does the storytelling, she also shows us behind the scenes of her own coming of age: That Girl, Free to Be...You and Me, her feminist roots and friendship with Gloria Steinem (and the founding of the Ms. Foundation,) her 30-year marriage to Phil Donahue, and her constant willingness and drive to be on the cutting edge of helping children be all they can be.

Moreover, the jokes are fabulous, some given by the comics she interviews and some just sprinkled hither and yon between chapters and within the delightful, distinctive stories of a life well-lived. So even as you feel a bit tearful about her father's death, the joke about the clown's funeral, in the interview with Steven Wright, will have you laughing in amusement (or bemusement!) She talks a lot about her father, their close relationship, and her ongoing work with her father's dream-child--St. Jude Children's Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Thomas' book gives us the chance to feel touched, reminiscent, entertained, enlightened, charmed and very involved with the narrative itself. At 72 (her 73rd birthday is in November), she remains the vibrant, peppy girl we remember from "That Girl"--and yet her personal growth and feminism was and is a beacon to baby-boomer women who watched her life avidly for strength and encouragement.

"I was a lucky kid," Marlo writes, "to have a seat at the table...with those comic warriors who had the audacity to stand up in a room full of strangers with the conviction that they could bring them all together in laughter. Those stories of those times have been humming in my head all of my life, and I decided at last to write them down." I am so glad she did!

by Laura Strathman Hulka
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A lot of jokes....but also tender and sweet.. October 11, 2010

By Lady Broadbent

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A delightful book, and while not entirely a memoir, it has a very loving quality to it. We all know Danny Thomas was not just a funny and talented guy. He had a successful career and was honorably philanthropic. After reading Marlo's lovely stories about her childhood, he was quite a wonderful father too. Marlo does a great job of intermingling her memories of all the iconic comedians from the early Hollywood and TV days, to today's funny people, and some really funny jokes and stories. This kind of mixed bag of stuff could come across as hokey handled by someone else who didn't have Marlo's pedigree, talent and smarts. But it all works. It is funny, charming, touching and sweet. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and will pick it up again in a few years and enjoy it all over again. Danny Thomas left quite a legacy, and you know what.....Marlo will too.