Pre-Signed Cards
Often celebrities don’t have the time to sit and sign autographs for fans. When Martin felt he was overwhelmed with autograph requests, he decided to pre-sign cards and he could just hand them out whenever fans asked for his autograph. However, it didn’t last very long and he abandoned the practice after just a few months, saying: “I realized that when people ask for an autograph, what they really kind of want is a little encounter; to find out what you’re really like in 30 seconds.”
Pre-Signed Cards
He Wrote For The Smothers Brothers
While a theater major at UCLA in 1967, Martin was commissioned to write content for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. The content he wrote for them did so well that he won a 1969 Emmy award. This helped carve his way to a successful entertainment career.
He Wrote For The Smothers Brothers
Impressive Art Collection
The comedian is not only interested in the entertainment arts, he is also an avid art collector. He first purchased a piece by 19th century artist James Gale Tyler when he was only 21 years old. He said that collecting art is his favorite hobby. He even opened up his private collection for public viewing.
Impressive Art Collection
Filming Injury
During the 1986 production of one of his most famous film, Three Amigos, Martin was filming a gunfight scene that led to permanent hearing damage. He now suffers from tinnitus, and when asked about it he said “you get used to it.”
Filming Injury
Popularized Air Quotes
Chances are, you’ve used air quotes sometime in your life, but did you know that Martin helped popularize the hand gesture? He used air quotes while performing on Saturday Night Live, which then became very popular and now can often be seen being used by many people, both famous and not.
Popularized Air Quotes
Skilled Banjo Player
Martin is known for his comedy chops as well as his acting skills, but he is also a talented musician. He is a skilled banjo player and he enjoys playing bluegrass musician. He even won a Grammy award for his debut album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo. He’s also performed at the Grand Ole Opry.
Skilled Banjo Player
Colonoscopy Parties With Tom Hanks & Martin Short
Heading to a colonoscopy appointment is never any fun, which is why Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, and Martin Short always book colonoscopy appointments at the same time and have “colonoscopy parties” the night before. They said it’s a way to look forward to something that’s usually super unpleasant. The parties include catering, a movie, and poker.
Colonoscopy Parties With Tom Hanks & Martin Short
Spontaneous Wedding
Steve Martin and his wife Anne Springfield surprised their guests by having a surprise wedding ceremony. Of course, the 75 guests were shocked when the bride and groom came out in wedding attire. It was said to be a wonderful and spectacular wedding.
Spontaneous Wedding
Never An SNL Cast Member
Even though Martin is often associated with Saturday Night Live, he was never actually officially a cast member. He is also very close friends with many of the cast members and writers. However, he has hosted the show an impressive 15 times and has appeared as a guest on the show over 10 times.
Never An SNL Cast Member
Five Grammys
Martin has won five Grammy awards total thus far. The first was for his song “Let’s Get Small” in 1977, the second was in 1979 for his song “A Wild and Crazy Guy.” The third was for the song “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” with Earl Scruggs, the fourth was for his album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo, and the fifth was in 2014 for the song “Love Has Come For You” with Edie Brickell.
Five Grammys
The Dating Game
Back in 1968, a young and then-unknown Steve Martin made an appearance on The Dating Game. At the time, he was a pretty unknown comedy writer and was one of the three contestants that tried to woo Deana Martin, daughter of Dean Martin. Martin ended up winning after answering her question “What’s wrong with dating?” with the answer: “Dating is wrong with dating. Dating is really the worst. You should meet like on a street corner or at a flat tire or in a sewer.”
The Dating Game
Bill Nye The Lookalike
You might have heard of Bill Nye from his show Bill Nye the Science Guy, but before he was well known and while he was working as an engineer at Boeing, he entered a Steve Martin lookalike contest at a comedy club. Much to his own surprise, he ended up winning.
Bill Nye The Lookalike
No More Standup
According to his autobiography, Martin shares that he spent 18 years doing standup comedy, saying: “Ten of those years were spent learning. four years were spent refining, and four years were spent in wild success.”By 1981, he felt that he had accomplished everything he could with standup and he decided to pivot to other projects like acting and writing.
No More Standup
He Worked At Disneyland
From the ages of 10 to 18, Martin worked at Disneyland, which he has said was an incredible experience. He would work on weekends, after school, and during summer vacations. He worked both at the magic shop and at the front gates. He said he also witnessed his first comedic performance at Disney, which inspired him to pursue his own comedy career. He shared: “I watched Wally’s show many, many times. He was the first live performer I ever saw. I mostly remember Wally’s [Wally Boag] performing style. It was fresh, sassy, and very clean. Watching his comic timing was a very big influence on my own career.”
He Worked At Disneyland
A Scathing Review From Dad
In his autobiography, Born Standing Up, Martin shared that his father was very critical of him. His father, Glenn Martin, wrote in his own newsletter that Steve’s appearance on SNL “did nothing to further his career.” In a 2008 interview with Terry Gross, Martin shared: “I think my father, he couldn’t quite be proud of an unconventional show biz act that he didn’t quite understand. And I think he was kind of embarrassed by it among his friends. And I think this was a misguided effort to say to his friends, look, I know it’s not very good. But by that time, I had been so kind of alienated from my father that these negative comments and reviews were actually my encouragement.”
A Scathing Review From Dad
He Was A Cheerleader
While attending Rancho Alamitos High School in Garden Grove, California, Martin was actually a member of the cheerleading squad. He has shared that he was more of a “yell-leader” and that he would often get in trouble for shouting inappropriate or silly cheers.
He Was A Cheerleader
An Older Father
Just when it seemed like Martin would never have children of his own, he and his wife Anne Stringfield announced that they were expecting a baby. In 2007, Anne gave birth to their daughter, making Martin a father at the age of 67. The parents are doing their best to raise their daughter away from the limelight.
An Older Father
Philosophy Student
After becoming involved with actress Stormie Sherk, Martin decided to apply to California State University, Long Beach, in order to major in philosophy. She was enrolled at UCLA, and the long distance between them caused their relationship to be strained. After enjoying his philosophy classes greatly, Martin almost decided to pursue a career as a professor instead of an actor, however, he later transferred to UCLA and majored in theater.
Philosophy Student
Famous Ex
Throughout the years, Martin had dated his fair share of famous women, including actress Bernadette Peters, who was a frequent collaborator and co-star throughout the 1970’s and 80’s. They starred in Pennies from Heaven and The Jerk together and dated for four years before calling it quits.
Famous Ex
His First Serious Film
Although he is best known for his comedy roles, Martin’s first appearance in a serious film was Pennies from Heaven, in which he portrayed music salesman Arthur Parker. In order to prepare for his first serious role, he trained with director Herbert Ross and even learned to tap dance. Unfortunately the movie flopped, and he said: “I don’t know what to blame, other than it’s me and not a comedy.”
His First Serious Film
An Obscure Role
Many don’t know this but Martin actually provided his voice for a role on The Simpsons. He voiced the character of Sanitation Commissioner Ray Patterson, who appeared in the 200th episode of the show called “Trash of the Titans.” The episode first aired on April 26th, 1998 and became an instant classic.
An Obscure Role
The Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo
Martin is so dedicated to banjo playing and bluegrass music that he decided to fund an award that would honor both of these. He created the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo in 2010. The award is given to up and coming bluegrass artists. Winners receive $50,000, a bronze sculpture made by Eric Fischl, and a chance to perform on a late night talk show with Martin himself.
The Steve Martin Prize For Excellence In Banjo
Tough Relationship With His Father
Like many Hollywood performers, Martin had a difficult relationship with his father. After the premiere of The Jerk in 1979, his father Glenn said: “Well, he’s no Charlie Chaplin.” However, he did have a few kind words for Steve in the end. Steve shared: “He was very proud of the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile. If my father had always said, ‘Oh, everything you’re doing is just wonderful,’ would I have become an artist? Often when I’m standing onstage, I believe I’m trying to get my father’s attention.”
Tough Relationship With His Father
How They Met
Martin met his current wife Anne while she was working as a fact checker at The New Yorker. She was asked to review some of his comedy pieces. He shared that they “talked on the phone for a year before we even met.” It’s well known that Anne is quite shy, and Martin has admitted that despite his public persona, he is an introvert. That’s why the two keep their personal lives out of the public eye.
How They Met
Mental Health Struggles
When he was first starting out, Martin began to struggle with panic attacks as well as hypochondria, and he grew increasingly obsessed with his health. In his later years he shared: “I worried all these years that I was going to die, and I never did. So why waste all that worry?”
Mental Health Struggles
Best Comedy Recording
Two of his Emmy awards were won for Best Comedy Recording for his 1977 album Let’s Get Small and for his 1978 album A Wild and Crazy Guy.
Best Comedy Recording
Well Excuuuse Me
The phrase “well excuuuuse me!” has become quite popular, especially in sitcoms. Did you know that Martin actually made the phrase popular? His track “Excuse Me” from his album Let’s Get Small made the catchphrase a hit.
Well Excuuuse Me
The Absent Minded Waiter
In addition to his comedy writing, Martin also wrote other projects, including a short film called The Absent-Minded Waiter, which even earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Short Film Live Action. In addition to writing the film, he also starred in it.
The Absent Minded Waiter
A Major Success
In 1979, Martin co-wrote the film The Jerk with Michael Elias and Carl Gottlieb. He also starred in the film, which ended up becoming a huge hit, netting over $100 million when it took just $4 million to make. Not too shabby!
A Major Success
Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
Sometimes some of the most beloved and prolific actors receive many prominent award nominations but never actually win any. Such was the case for Martin for many years. He has been nominated for 5 Golden Globe Awards but has yet to win one. In 2013, he won his first Academy Award, an Honorary Award to celebrate his incredible career.
Always A Bridesmaid, Never A Bride
A Wealth of Pigeons
Martin has also expanded his writing into the creative writing world. In 2019, he collaborated with cartoon artist Harry Bliss in order to create a single-panel comic that was called Bliss. The two joined forces one again in order to create A Wealth of Pigeons, a collection of cartoons.
A Wealth Of Pigeons
Bright Star
Martin has even contributed to the world of Broadway. In 2016, he collaborated with Edie Brickell to create his first musical, a production called Bright Star. The musical was a big success and was nominated for five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Martin was nominated for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. He received the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Bright Star
His Comedy Influences
When it comes to those who inspired and influenced Martin in his comedy career, he said that Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis, Charlie Chaplin, and Woody Allen all influenced him. In turn, Martin has inspired comedians himself, including Tina Fey, Steve Carell, Stephen Colbert, Bo Burnham, and Jordan Peele.
His Comedy Influences
Famous Roommates
In his early years, while Martin was writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, he was living with Gary Mule Deer and Michael Johnson. Deer is a fellow comedian and country music artist, while Johnson was a pop and country musician.
Famous Roommates
Johnny Carson Appearances
During his legendary tenure as the Tonight Show host, Carson hosted many young standup comedian hopefuls, and that includes Steve Martin as well. Throughout the 1970’s, Martin made many appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, boosting his profile as a comedian.
Johnny Carson Appearances
The Muppet Show
The Muppet Show is a comedy series by Jim Henson that was at its peak popularity during the late 1970’s. Steve Martin was a guest star in many of the episodes, where he contributed his comedy skills as well as his musical skills.
The Muppet Show
The Gong Show
The Gong Show was a talent contest that ran from 1976 until 1978 and was later revived in 2017. The show would feature a contest of amateur performers and a panel of three celebrity judges, and if an act was deemed particularly bad, a gong was struck. Martin made an appearance on the show as well.
The Gong Show
Good Friends With Gilda
As he appeared in 27 episodes of Saturday Night Live and guest hosted 15 times, he became close to several cast members, namely Gilda Radner. On the night she passed away from ovarian cancer, Martin hosted SNL and he was quite visibly shaken. The episode also featured some footage of Martin and Radner in a 1978 sketch.
Good Friends With Gilda
Standup For Dogs
On February 15th, 1973, in his likely first appearance ever of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Martin performed a standup routine for a surprising audience of dogs.
Standup For Dogs
Surprise Return To Standup
Although Martin stopped performing standup regularly in 1981, he made a surprise return in 2016 when he opened for fellow comedy legend Jerry Seinfeld. He performed for 10 minutes before Seinfeld took the stage. He later released an HBO Netflix comedy special with Martin Short called Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of your Life, which was nominated for four Primetime Emmy Awards.
Surprise Return To Standup
