Book Passage Presents

Bob Odenkirk

in conversation with Dave Eggers, at the SF Palace of Fine Arts

Celebrating the release of

Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama

Recorded: 03/08/2022

Book Passage Presents

Bob Odenkirk

in conversation with Dave Eggers, at the SF Palace of Fine Arts

Celebrating the release of

Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama

Recorded: 03/08/2022

Join Bob Odenkirk live in conversation with Dave Eggers to celebrate the release of Bob’s book Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama.

“I’ve known Bob [Odenkirk] for over 30 years, and yet I had to read this book to believe his stunning career arc. I can’t think of another entertainer who has improbably morphed so many times, and all through real genius and determination.” Conan O’Brien
“Bob Odenkirk’s elegantly titled Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama takes readers on a hilarious tour of the comedian and actor’s career . . . Celebrity memoirs are a dime a dozen, but if there were one we’d put our money on as being well worth the time this year, it’s this one.” AV Club, “The 15 most-anticipated books of 2022”

In this hilarious, heartfelt memoir, the star of Mr. Show, Breaking Bad, and Better Call Saul opens up about the highs and lows of showbiz, his cult status as a comedy writer, and what it’s like to reinvent himself as an action film ass-kicker at fifty. 

Bob Odenkirk’s career is inexplicable. And yet he will try like hell to explicate it for you. Charting a “Homeric” decades-long “odyssey” from his origins in the seedy comedy clubs of Chicago to a dramatic career full of award nominations—with a side-trip into the action-man world that is baffling to all who know him—it’s almost like there are many Bob Odenkirks! But there is just one and one is plenty. 

Bob embraced a life in comedy after a chance meeting with Second City’s legendary Del Close. He somehow made his way to a job as a writer at Saturday Night Live. While surviving that legendary gauntlet by the skin of his gnashing teeth, he stashed away the secrets of comedy writing—eventually employing them in the immortal “Motivational Speaker” sketch for Chris Farley, honing them on The Ben Stiller Show, and perfecting them on Mr. Show with Bob and David

In Hollywood, Bob demonstrated a bullheadedness that would shame Sisyphus himself, and when all hope was lost for the umpteenth time, the phone rang with an offer to appear on Breaking Bad—a show about how boring it is to be a high school chemistry teacher. His embrace of this strange new world of dramatic acting led him to  working with Steven Spielberg, Alexander Payne, and Greta Gerwig, and then, in a twist that will confound you, he re-re-invented himself as a bona fide action star. Why? Read this and do your own psychoanalysis—it’s fun! 

Featuring humorous tangents, never-before-seen photos, wild characters, and Bob’s trademark unflinching drive, Comedy Comedy Comedy Drama is a classic showbiz tale told by a determined idiot.

Bob Odenkirk

About Bob Odenkirk

Bob Odenkirk is an actor, comedian, writer, director, and producer. Odenkirk got his start in improv comedy in the motley Chicago comedy scene of the mid-eighties and went on to write for Saturday Night Live. He has starred in AMC’s Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul and written and starred in the sketch comedy cult hit Mr. Show. He has written and produced a number of television shows, including Tim and Eric’s Awesome Show and Great Job!, and directed three films.

Dave Eggers

About Dave Eggers

Dave Eggers is known for writing wonderful, gripping stories that tug at the heart. His award-winning body of work consists of several non-fiction, fiction, humor, screenplays, a series on salon.com, several essays and articles. As editor and contributor, he has worked on several works of post-modern literature. Almost all of his works have received significant amount of critical acclaim, not to mention commercial success. This has helped cement his place in the world of post-modern literature. He has thrown the doors open to bridging the divide between ethnic and religious groups through his fresh and honest works of fiction and non-fiction.