Growing Up Laughing: My Story and the Story of Funny (31 page)

Epilogue

A
few months after my father died, two of the grandkids were graduating from high school—Jason, Terre’s son, and Tracy, Tony’s daughter—and they had asked me to be the commencement speaker. Like all things with us, it was a family affair.

But we weren’t yet ready for a big celebration. Mother certainly wasn’t up to it. So after the ceremony, we all went to Hillcrest Country Club for lunch. Hillcrest had always been a favorite haven for our family, so it seemed fitting that we should gather there for Jason and Tracy’s big day.

We took a private room away from the lunch crowd. Given Mom’s emotional state, we were all still treating her as if she were made of glass that might shatter if we moved it the wrong way.

Suddenly, the door swung open and in walked George Burns. We were all so happy to see him, but he barely acknowledged us. He walked straight to Mother.

“Hey Rosie,” he said with a mischievous smile. “I hear you’re single again!”

We all froze in terror, almost afraid to look at Mom.

She threw her head back and roared.

And then we all did. What a gutsy, smart thing for George to do.

Like they always did. They knew how to find the funny.

God bless a sense of humor.

Acknowledgments

Growing Up Laughing
is my first and only memoir, and my most personal project. So I am deeply grateful to those who lent me their wisdom, inspiration and support throughout the eighteen months it took to complete this book.

To my attorney of many years—and throughout six books—Bob Levine, for encouraging me to tell my story, and then finding the perfect publishing house to guide me through the adventure.

To my publisher, Ellen Archer of Hyperion Books, and my editor, Gretchen Young, for their endless enthusiasm and imagination, which gave me the freedom to put my life into words. And thank you, Gretchen, for the perfect subtitle.

To the extraordinary funny men and women—comic icons, all of them—who generously lent their time and boundless gifts to my exploration of the magic of laughter: Alan Alda, Joy Behar, Sid Caesar, Stephen Colbert, Billy Crystal, Tina Fey, Larry Gelbart, 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.

To my talented (and tireless) illustration team, whose dead-ringer caricatures exquisitely capture the sparkle of the comic mind: Tim Foley, Chris Galvin, Bob Kurtz, Chris Morris, Gerardo Orlando, Stephen Silver, Brian Smith, Taylor Smith, Zach Trenholm and Greg Williams.

To my colleague Debra Newman and personal assistant Karen Marsh, who kept me booted up, logged on and linked in throughout this extraordinary journey. And to Phyllis Maniero, Ken Haywood and Aliou Kone, who pitched in and filled in whenever, however and wherever it was needed.

To Orlando Munguia, for his lightning-quick transcription of countless hours of comic banter. and to Phyllis Halliday, who helped in the joyous task of searching for just the right kind of jokes we all like to tell (and retell).

To my faithful army of advisors, experts and pals, each of whom in their own way provided sage advice or hands-on help the moment I came calling—notably, Bruce Kluger, who helped me find jokes, artists and anything else I thought of at three in the morning. And for being a shoulder no matter the time of day.

And to Steven Rice, Leslie Lopez and Matthew Rolston (what artists you are!), Walter Anderson, Ken Feisel, Bob Lowry, Stephanie Pesakoff, Dan Potash, Gary Tobey, Jerry Chipman, John Zacher and the gang at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

To my dear and cherished close circle of friends, who were often the very source of love and laughter that fill these pages, and who were more than happy to relive those moments all over again with me: Kathie Berlin, Elaine May, Bill Persky and Julian Schlossberg.

And to my husband, Phillip, who I can always count on for his honest critiques and loving support, and who listened with all his heart to every word as soon as I had written it—and cheered me on till it was done.

About the Author

Marlo Thomas graduated from the University of Southern California with a teaching degree. She is the author of five best-selling books,
Free to Be . . . You and Me
,
Free to Be . . . A Family
,
The Right Words at the Right Time
,
The Right Words at the Right Time Volume 2: Your Turn!
and
Thanks and Giving: All Year Long
. Ms. Thomas has won four Emmy Awards, a Peabody Award, a Golden Globe and a Grammy, and has been inducted into the Broadcasting Hall of Fame for her work in television, including her starring role in the landmark series
That Girl
, which she also conceived and produced. She is the National Outreach Director for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. Ms. Thomas lives in New York with her husband, Phil Donahue.

Credits and Permissions

Passages from the book
700 Sundays
by Billy Crystal, reprinted with the permission of Grand Central Publishing. Copyright © 2005 by Billy Crystal.

Passages from Larry Gelbart’s essay about Danny Thomas, reprinted with the permission of Larry Gelbart.

Al Hirschfeld’s illustration of the cast of
Thieves,
© Al Hirschfeld, reproduced by arrangement with Hirschfeld’s exclusive representative, the Margo Feiden Galleries Ltd., New York, www.AlHirschfeld.com

Photograph of George Carlin in concert courtesy of HBO.

Reproductions from
I’m Glad I’m a Boy! I’m Glad I’m a Girl!,
text copyright © 1970 by Windmill Books, Inc., illustrations copyright © 1970 by Whitney Darrow, Jr. Published by Windmill Books/Simon & Schuster.

Marlo Thomas’s interview with Elaine May, originally published in
Interview
magazine, April 1990.

Comedian caricatures by: Tim Foley
(Steven Wright),
Chris Galvin
(Whoopi Goldberg),
Bob Kurtz/Kurtz & Friends
(Lily Tomlin),
Chris Morris
(Tina Fey, Kathy Griffin),
Stephen Silver
(Joy Behar, Billy Crystal, Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, Ben and Jerry Stiller, Robin Williams),
Brian Smith/Bullz-Eye.com
(Don Rickles, Chris Rock, Jerry Seinfeld),
Taylor Smith
(Conan O’Brien),
Zach Trenholm
(Alan Alda, George Lopez, Elaine May, Joan Rivers),
Greg Williams
(Stephen Colbert)
.

All other photos and reproductions are from the collection of Marlo Thomas, reprinted with permission.

Copyright

*
Lily’s italicized quotes, above and throughout, were written by her partner, Jane Wagner, author of
The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe
.