Stephen Glenn Martin was born on August 14, 1945, in Waco Texas to real-estate salesman and aspiring actor, Glenn Vernon Martin and Mary Lee Stewart, a housewife. The family was of English, Irish and Scottish descent, and Steve grew up in Garden Grove, California. His talents for magic, juggling and playing the banjo were developed and honed at Disneyland, where as a teenager, he worked in the Magic Shop. After high school, he teamed up with classmate, Kathy Westmoreland, and the duo performed a musical comedy routine at local coffee houses and at the Bird Cage Theater in Knott’s Berry Farm. He attended Santa Ana College and California State University, Long Beach, where he majored in philosophy. Although he dropped out before completing the course of study, he claims that his time there changed his life. In his own words, “It changed what I believe in and what I think about everything… There is no logic! There is no anything!”
His career began back in 1967 when his girlfriend at the time, who was a dancer on the “Smothers Brothers Comedy Show”, helped him land a job as a writer for the program. The show’s head writer paid Martin’s salary out of his own pocket, and he won, along with the other writers on the show, an Emmy Award in 1969. Steve began to write for other shows and stars, including John Denver, Glenn Campbell and Sonny and Cher.
During the 1970s, he made many appearances doing what he does best; stand-up comedy. He appeared regularly on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson” and “Saturday Night Live,” although he was never a cast member as is often mistakenly believed. He soon released the first of four successful albums, “Let’s Get Small.” His next album, “A Wild and Crazy Guy,” was an even bigger success, and both were million sellers and won Grammys for “Best Comedy Recording” in 1977 and 1978.
His film debut was a short, “The Absent-Minded Waiter” (1977). Written by its star, this film was nominated for an Academy Award as “Best Short Film, Live Action.” His first feature film appearance was in the musical, “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band,” and in 1979, he starred in his first full-length movie, “The Jerk,” which was directed by Carl Reiner. Although he has appeared in many films since then, his career has been somewhat uneven, as his work has not always fared well with the critics that be.
In a 2005 poll, Martin was voted among the top twenty greatest comedy acts by fellow comedians and industry insiders. In October of 2005, he was awarded “The Mark Twain Prize for American Humor.”
What are some of YOUR favorite Steve Martin comedy routines? Please share.
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