In 'Class Clown,' humorist Dave Barry embraces both the funny and hard parts of life

Summary

NPR's Book of the Day: "Class Clown" by Dave Barry

Episode: In 'Class Clown,' humorist Dave Barry embraces both the funny and hard parts of life
Host: Scott Simon
Release Date: May 19, 2025

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Introduction

In this episode of NPR's Book of the Day, host Scott Simon delves into Dave Barry's memoir, Class Clown: The Memoirs of a Professional Wise Ass, How I Went 77 Years Without Growing Up. Dave Barry, renowned for his syndicated humor column and Pulitzer Prize-winning commentary, shares candid reflections on his upbringing, family dynamics, and the intertwining of humor with life's darker moments.

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Childhood and Family Background

Dave Barry's memoir recounts his formative years in Pleasantville, New York, where he was crowned "Class Clown" of the class of 1965—a title he humorously notes was "a fair election" (02:24). Growing up in a household with a Presbyterian minister father and a fiercely funny mother, Barry describes a unique environment where humor was not just encouraged but essential.

The Role of Humor in the Barry Household

Barry credits his parents, especially his mother, as pivotal in shaping his comedic sensibilities. He states, "Both my parents were funny people... the sort of rule was that you could make fun of everything. And in fact, you should" (03:35). This ethos fostered an atmosphere where laughter was a means to navigate and mitigate life's challenges.

Anecdote: The Fruitcake Tradition
One memorable tradition Barry shares involves the annual fruitcake Christmas gifts from neighbors. Disliking the fruitcakes, Barry and his mother devised a humorous ritual to discard them:

"Mom would open the kitchen door and put the fruitcake down. And then she'd go, I'm feeling a draft, I'd best close the door. And she would slam the door on the fruitcake." (03:39)

This playful act became Barry's favorite Christmas tradition, highlighting how humor provided a coping mechanism for even the most unwanted circumstances.

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Parental Struggles and Their Impact

Father's Battle with Alcoholism

Barry's father, a devoted minister and social worker, was deeply involved in anti-poverty and civil rights efforts. However, in his late 40s and early 50s, he struggled with alcoholism. Despite his addiction, Barry recalls his father as "a naturally sympathetic person... just a good person" (04:36). His father's eventual involvement with Alcoholics Anonymous not only led to his recovery but also allowed him to transform his struggle into a force for good by establishing AA programs within the New York City prison system (05:07).

Mother's Battle with Depression

Barry's mother was a source of humor but battled depression throughout her life. Her struggles intensified after her husband's death, leading to a tumultuous period where she "bounced around the country" between her children (06:00). Tragically, she ultimately committed suicide, an event that profoundly affected Barry. Reflecting on their relationship, he shares feelings of guilt for not understanding her struggles:

"I was telling her what to do instead of maybe listening more to what she was dealing with." (07:08)

Barry poignantly acknowledges his mother's desire not to burden her family, noting her actions leading up to her death were attempts to relieve her children of her struggles (07:19).

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Dave Barry’s Career and Achievements

Beyond his memoir, Dave Barry is celebrated for his prolific humor column, which ran for 22 years, and his Pulitzer Prize for commentary. His humorous style, deeply rooted in his personal experiences, has garnered widespread acclaim. An amusing highlight from the discussion is Barry's sewage pumping station in Grand Forks, North Dakota, named in his honor after he humorously critiqued the region:

"How many of them do have a sewage lifting station and named after them? I do." (08:15)

This anecdote underscores Barry's enduring legacy and the unexpected ways his humor has touched communities.

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Reflections on Modern Humor

Barry expresses concern over the evolving landscape of humor. He reminisces about an era when humorists like Russell Baker and Johnny Carson enjoyed a "generosity of spirit," where making fun of various subjects brought people together:

"We just aren't there anymore. Now you kind of have to pick a side in humor, and if you make fun of one side, the other side will hate you." (09:02)

He laments the divisive nature of contemporary humor, yearning for a time when laughter was a unifying force rather than a battleground.

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Conclusion

Dave Barry's Class Clown offers a heartfelt and humorous exploration of his life, highlighting how laughter can coexist with and even alleviate personal tragedies. Through candid storytelling and sharp wit, Barry provides insights into the complexities of family, the resilience of humor, and the changing tides of comedic expression.

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Notable Quotes:

• "Both my parents were funny people... you should never take yourself too seriously." — Dave Barry (03:35)

• "I was telling her what to do instead of maybe listening more to what she was dealing with." — Dave Barry (07:08)

• "We just aren't there anymore... Maybe that's very naive to say. I guess it sounds that way, but I still find it sad." — Dave Barry (09:02)

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For those seeking a blend of humor and heartfelt memoir, Dave Barry's "Class Clown" is a testament to the power of laughter in navigating life's darkest moments.

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Time Stamps Reference

<a id="time02:24"></a>[02:24]
<a id="time03:35"></a>[03:35]
<a id="time03:39"></a>[03:39]
<a id="time04:36"></a>[04:36]
<a id="time05:07"></a>[05:07]
<a id="time06:00"></a>[06:00]
<a id="time07:08"></a>[07:08]
<a id="time07:19"></a>[07:19]
<a id="time08:15"></a>[08:15]
<a id="time09:02"></a>[09:02]

Transcript

[Andrew Limbong]

Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. It's almost a cliche at this point that the funniest people are the saddest, that humor can be a shield, a crutch and a balm for people really going through the worst that life has to offer. Humorous. Dave Barry is no exception. The author and columnist is out with a new memoir titled Class Clown. It's about his life growing up. His dad was a Presbyterian minister and an alcoholic, and his mom, well, his mom was the funny one. And as he tells npr. Scott Simon, Barry's mom was going through it herself. That's ahead.

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[Scott Simon]

Title does tell it all, and even maybe a little too much. Dave Berry's new book is Class the Memoirs of a Professional Wise Ass, how I went 77 years without growing Up. Dave Berry wrote a syndicated humor column for 22 years. He won a Pulitzer Prize for commentary. And like his many books, Class Clown is funny, and that makes some of the recollections that are darkest and probably hardest stand out. And we will alert you that there may be mention of suicide. Dave Berry joins us now from Coral Gables, Florida. Dave, thanks so much for being with us.

[Dave Barry]

Thanks for having me. Appreciate it.

[Scott Simon]

Class Clown. That's an official title you were bestowed once, wasn't it?

[Dave Barry]

I actually won the title. Well, the male title was male and female back then of Class Clown. Pleasantville High School, Pleasantville, New York, class of 1965. It was a fair election, too. No matter what you hear, no matter.

[Scott Simon]

What people say, we've got complaints. As you can imagine we hear from them every week. Some people have never accepted that. How did you learn you could make people laugh?

[Dave Barry]

Well, you want to say that it's natural that some people are funny, some people are not. But I really had a pretty good mentor and my mom. Both my parents were funny people. My mom was different. She was very, very dark. She in fact had a depressive personality which she battled all her life. But she was really, really edgy and really, really funny in a way that made her quite different from anybody else I knew, especially any mom I knew back in the 50s when she was raising us four kids. So in our house, the sort of. The rule was that you could make fun of everything. And in fact you should. You should never take anything too seriously. And above all, you should never take yourself too seriously.

[Scott Simon]

Yeah. Could you tell us about the fruitcake?

[Dave Barry]

Yes, I will. Every year in our house, a little house in Armac, New York, we would get from a neighbor a fruitcake as a Christmas gift. And we hated it. And so my mom and I developed a tradition which is the fruitcake would come and she'd say, oh, Davey, the fruitcake is here. And I'd go, oh, hurrah. I hope we don't leave it in the doorway again. And mom would open the kitchen door and put the fruitcake down. And then she'd go, I'm feeling a draft, I'd best close the door. And she would slam the door on the fruitcake. And then we would lament that the fruitcake was no longer edible and we would have to. To throw it away. And we did that every year. And it was my favorite Christmas tradition, maybe still is.

[Scott Simon]

Your father, Presbyterian ministry ran a, I guess we'd call it a relief society In New York. You call him the best man you ever knew. People would call him at home for help.

[Dave Barry]

Yeah, my dad was just a naturally sympathetic person. Great listener, non judgmental guy. And he didn't have a congregation. He ran a social work agency called the New York City Mission Society in New York City. Was very active in anti poverty work and civil rights movement. But people just trusted my dad, loved my dad and would come to him all hours of the day, night. He would be on the phone all the time and counseling people, helping people. He was just a good person.

[Scott Simon]

Your father developed a problem at some point, didn't he?

[Dave Barry]

Yes, my dad, he fell deeply into alcoholism in his late 40s, early 50s and it got worse and worse. And he was so loved that he got. People kind of propped him up, but it was it just got bad. And ultimately it got so bad that he bottomed out, which was fortunate for him. And in his late 50s, he got into Alcoholics Anonymous. And because he was the kind of guy he was, he didn't just go through the program and recover, and he never drank again. But he became extremely active in AA and helped set up AA programs in New York City, the New York State prison system. He ended up turning, as he so often did, he turned a rough thing into a good thing.

[Scott Simon]

And your mother, this sharp, funny, profane and creative woman, went into a tailspin, didn't she?

[Dave Barry]

She did. After my dad died, she'd always fought with depression. We always knew that, you know, there would be days when she was just really barely there. And there were several rough years there where she basically bounced around the country between me and my two brothers, looking for a place to live. And ultimately she committed suicide, which came as a shock when it happened, but not really a surprise. I went through this phase, I think a lot of people, when they're. I was in my 40s, I was, you know, I was a father, I had a career. My mom was getting older. And you get through this phase where you think you know more than your parents. I thought I knew what mom needed to do. You know, I would tell her, mom, you gotta snap out of this. You gotta pick a place to live, make friends. You've got friends. And I was an idiot. I mean, I didn't know what she was going through and still feel guilty about that. That, you know, like when she was really struggling, I was telling her what to do instead of maybe listening more to what she was dealing with. Not that I don't know that it would've been stopped it, but might have.

[Scott Simon]

Dave, look, I say this as someone. Suicide has run in our family too. I think your mother didn't want to trouble you.

[Dave Barry]

Yeah, that is so true. She was the Depression era mom who never wanted to be a burden to anybody. And in fact, before she took her life, she sent birthday cards to all of us telling us how much she loved us. You know, it wasn't our birthdays. I didn't, you know, why didn't I see that signal? But you're absolutely right. She didn't want to be a burden. And that was her way of relieving us of that.

[Scott Simon]

Let me also ask about.

[Dave Barry]

Well, we're making this book sound pretty fun, huh?

[Scott Simon]

Well, but, you know, it is. And this is life.

[Dave Barry]

Yeah. Yeah. And I didn't want to. I didn't want to skip over where it came from. People always ask you, where do you get your ideas? You know, And I wanted to go into, like. Well, part of where I got them was my childhood, which was actually a wonderful childhood, but it had, you know, this element.

[Scott Simon]

How does it feel to have a sewage pumping station named after you?

[Dave Barry]

It's a great honor. And, I mean, I know you talk to a lot of writers, a lot of great writers, but how many of them do have a sewage lifting station and named after them? I do. I wrote a column making fun of North Dakota, which is a mistake I will never make again.

[Scott Simon]

Oh, now that you're part of it. But, yeah, go ahead.

[Dave Barry]

Yeah. No, I got invited to Grand Forks, North Dakota, in January when it was like 40 below zero, and they dedicated a sewage lifting station in my honor. And it's still there. You can go there and see. Dave Barry lift station number I think it's number 16, something like that every now and then. It's quite infrequent, but I will get a picture someone took standing in front of my lift station in Grand Forks, North Dakota.

[Scott Simon]

You do have some concerns about what's happening to humor these days?

[Dave Barry]

Yeah, I do. And this is maybe just old guy things. I'm 77 and I. You know, when I got started in the humor biz, the big humorists were like people like Russell Baker or Art Buchwald, Johnny Carson on tv. And there was a certain generosity of spirit about it. People made fun of everything. You know, whoever was the president, you made fun of that person. And Carson made fun and everybody just laughed and went on with it. And the people he was making fun of laughed with him half the time. And I'm not going to put blame on anybody in particular. Okay. But I am going to say we just aren't there anymore. Now you kind of have to pick a side in humor, and if you make fun of one side, the other side will hate you, and you're evil and stupid and vice versa. But it's sad to me that we can't laugh together the way we used to laugh together. Maybe that's very naive to say. I guess it sounds that way, but I still find it sad.

[Scott Simon]

Dave Barry, his new memoir class clown. Thank you so much for being with us.

[Dave Barry]

It was my pleasure. Always is.

[Scott Simon]

Thank you for listening today. And for anybody in crisis, you can call or text 988 for the suicide in crisis life.

[Dave Barry]

Foreign.

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