Last year saw two of my favorite comedians with books on the New York Times Bestseller list: Craig Ferguson and Kathy Griffin. Having been longtime fans of both, I was pleased at their success. Unlike Sarah Palin, each are articulate enough to write their own books.
Watching Kathy Griffin spend New Year’s Eve trying to embarrass Anderson Cooper on CNN is a yearly treat. So it’s appropriate that my first review of the year is of her autobiography Official Book Club Selection, handily titled to fit Oprah’s reading program, an ironic goal. It charts the years she’s spent traveling to comedy clubs all over North America, as well as acting gigs such as Brooke Shield’s sitcom “Suddenly Susan”. Her breezy style of celebrity gossip and sometimes bawdy stage act belie the incredible hard work that she’s put into her career. She also reveals a lot of personal stuff, such as near fatal liposuction and the end of her marriage to her embezzling husband. She’s down to earth and frank about some difficult subjects, but she’s determined to rise above them with lessons learned. I was impressed with her resolute professionalism, while not losing touch with her ordinary background.
Craig Ferguson is probably best known as Mr. Wicker, the boss on the Drew Carey sitcom. But he’s been the host of “The Late, Late Show” for several years now and has been carving out a unique spot in this overstuffed field with singing puppets, underdog persona and monologues sprinkled with Shakespeare quotes, all done in the burr of his native Scotland.
His autobiography, American On Purpose, is not the usual grandstanding celeb bio, because it shows what a mess he made of the first half of his life. In fact, considering the amount of alcohol and drugs he misused, it’s remarkable that he’s even alive to tell the tale. He also admits to being the one that messed up his first 2 marriages, taking an extremely mature tone towards his ex-wives and showing no bitterness.
I knew he could write, because his first book, the novel Between the Bridge and the River, reminded me of Peter Carey. His autobiography is honest without self-pity, humorous and poignant. This is a guy who can tell stories in any medium.
Both Griffin and Ferguson find their comedy in mocking the overblown focus on the glittery world they inhabit now. The fact that neither takes their own celebrity status seriously makes them even more likable, as does their intelligence and insight. I look forward to them both making me laugh for years to come.
Official Book Club Selection
Ballantine 2009 358 pp. ISBN 978-0-345-51851-4
American On Purpose
Harper 2009 288 pp. ISBN-13 978-0061719547
See a clip of Kathy Griffin on Craig Ferguson’s “Late, Late Show” in December 2009 here