”Death,” the saying goes, ”is easy; comedy is hard.” ”How To Be a Stand-Up Comic” (Villard) is Richard Belzer`s way of making comedy a little easier. In it he traces the history of comedy from the first laugh (when God saw Adam naked); lists five funny states (Wyoming, South Dakota, Kentucky, New Jersey and Arkansas); and offers aspiring comedians this advice: ”Never date other comics. When you split up, it`s very messy. Who gets custody of the material?”
Among those who have studied under Stella Adler during the five decades she has taught acting is Marlon Brando, who has written the foreword to her book ”The Technique of Acting” (Bantam). Brando calls acting ”the oldest profession” and says it`s not limited to the stage. ”It is a simple fact,” writes Brando, ”that all of us use the techniques of acting to achieve whatever ends we seek, whether it is a child pouting for ice cream or a bawling politician bent on stirring the hearts and pocketbooks of potential constituents. . . . Acting serves as the quintessential social lubricant.”
Rob Lowe isn`t exactly in Brando`s league, but he has thoughts on acting, too. In the October issue of Celebrity Plus magazine, he comments on the actor`s need for ”the courage to let yourself hang out on that line, where you`re so exposed. I`d rather be completely naked sometimes than have some emotions come out on screen-and they have. It takes courage not to mask them, not to figuratively wink at the camera and say, `I`m not really feeling this!` But I believe you have to totally commit to it, allowing yourself the freedom to look ridiculous, to look totally vulnerable.”
