Maybe We'll Have You Back

April 1, 2013
A view from the trenches of show business by a comic actor straddling the line between success and obscurity. In the foreword, Ray Romano praises Stoller, who had an occasional guest role on Everybody Loves Raymond, as someone who "without fail...always 'brought' the funny" and proceeds to describe this memoir as a "hilarious, honest look at the world of the working actor." The hilarity may be more of an inside joke; the author seems more concerned with illuminating the struggles of actors, and with settling a few grudges along the way (bad dates, unappreciative colleagues), than with delivering laughs. As he explains early on, "In the Screen Actors Guild, 90 percent of the active members are out of work at any given time and 10 percent work for less than eight weeks a year...I'm thrilled to be working in a union where only 2 percent of the members work." So even though he has "done more than sixty sitcom guest appearances," on hits such as Seinfeld (where he was also a writer for a season, an experience he chronicled in My Seinfeld Year, 2012) and Friends, he describes a life of uncertainty and insecurity, working with agents and coaches that he isn't sure are doing him any good and waiting for offers that might take months, even years to materialize. He reveals which casts were friendly and which paid little attention to a week's guest, he shares the joy of being well-fed on some (and not so well on others), and he frets over sharing a bathroom. Said one casting director after a typical audition, "That's an interesting way to go. It's supposed to be a typical, annoying comedian, but you read it as if you were a special-ed kid, who's pathetic and takes night courses on how to be a comedian." He explains to readers, "I was basically just being me." A lightweight, sometimes-funny showbiz memoir from a successful background player.

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June 15, 2013

Comedian and actor Stoller's book is a funny, lighthearted look at his life and his enormous body of work as a TV guest star. Fred started off as a stand-up comedian, but then segued into acting. The more than 60 guest appearances he has amassed include shows such as Seinfeld, Everybody Loves Raymond, Murphy Brown, Friends, Scrubs, The Nanny, The Wizards of Waverly Place, Wings, and The King of Queens. Stoller describes his childhood and his troubled relationship with his parents, his puzzlement over why he has never found a permanent home on sitcoms, and his many memories of working on amazing and not-so-amazing shows. Some of his hilarious stories include his year as a writer on Seinfeld, a humiliating (though brief) experience of working on a Seinfeld tour bus, dating Kathy Griffin, and a run-in with Billy Crystal. VERDICT Stoller's humorous take on life makes this a very enjoyable book. Recommended for those who love comedy, autobiographies, sitcoms, entertainment, humor, and stand-up.--Sally Bryant, Pepperdine Univ. Lib., Malibu, CA

Copyright 2013 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

April 15, 2013
Comedic actor Stoller might not be a household name, but he's been working in Hollywood for 25 years, making a living by scoring guest stints on sitcoms like Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, and Seinfeld. After getting his start doing stand-up in New York, Stoller made his way to Los Angeles hoping to land the holy grail of acting jobs: a regular role on a television show. The quest proved harder than he'd imagined, but the numerous guest roles he booked involved playing characters that ran the gamut from scrawny construction worker to pesky suitor to goofy waiter. Stoller gets an unexpected break when Larry David offers him a job writing on Seinfeld, but the gig only lasts a season and serves to reinforce Stoller's passion for acting. He finally lands a regular role on an animated show called Handy Manny playing a talking tool. Stoller's stories about his experiences on the various studio sets, as well as his brushes with fame, make his memoir an enlightening and entertaining look into the life of a working actor.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2013, American Library Association.)