Comedians' Autobiographies

When asked why I like reading about comedians' lives I could give you a myriad of reasons why.  Mainly because I'm a bit obsessed about what makes funny people tick and usually it appears to be a combination of a shy/exhibitionist nature, manic depression and overall, an outsiders' feeling of looking inside from a distant vantage point.  Recently I've read/am reading both David Mitchell's Back Story and David Walliams' Camp David, both autobiographies and both insightful in different ways. 

So, why's that then?  Well, of the two Mitchell writes the best prose and his insights into how he, a minor public schoolboy from Oxford made his way, via the Cambridge Footlights onto the UK Panel Show circuit is certainly a compelling one and best of all, he's intertwined it by talking about his strolls through London, which is a explanation for the slightly ambiguous title - the back story covers both his background and indeed the reason why his GP suggested regular constitutionals around London. 

Walliams' book shouldn't be sidelined though - it's quite different in tone and rather chatty.  It tells his story from birth, through grammar school, The National Youth Theatre, Bristol University and then the slow, clanky road to fame with his comedy partner Matt Lucas.  I think I asked The Duke to borrow it from the library because it contained some derogatory information about my lovely Richard Osman, but it pretty much boiled down to a personality clash between Lucas and Osman which led to an argument over a potential show at Hat Trick Productions.  Fair enough.  I haven't finished it yet but I am enjoying reading about the backgrounds of various comedy performers he writes about such as Simon Pegg, Jessica Stevenson and Katy Carmichael, who all later became stars of the seminal sitcom Spaced.  Sometimes when he writes about various arguments he's had with people he's worked with over the years it all becomes a bit Alan Partridgey - i.e. 'needless to say I had the last laugh'.  It's still a very insightful read though.