Steve Martin

Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, musician, and composer born in Waco, Texas and raised in Garden Grove, California.

Movie Career

By the end of the 1970s, Steve Martin had acquired the kind of following normally reserved for rock stars, with his tour appearances typically occurring at sold-out arenas filled with tens of thousands of screaming fans. But unknown to his audience, stand-up comedy was "just an accident" for him. His real goal was to get into film.

Related Topics:
Rock star - Arena

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Martin's first film was a short, The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977). The seven-minute long film, also featuring Buck Henry and Teri Garr, was written by and starred Martin. The film was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Film, Live Action.

Related Topics:
Short - The Absent-Minded Waiter - 1977 - Buck Henry - Teri Garr - Academy Award

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In 1979, Martin wrote and starred in his first full-length movie, The Jerk, directed by Carl Reiner. The movie was a huge success, grossing $100 million on a budget less than a twentieth of that amount.

Related Topics:
1979 - The Jerk - Carl Reiner

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The success of The Jerk opened more doors for Martin. Stanley Kubrick met with him to discuss him starring in an early, screwball comedy version of Traumnovelle (Kubrick later changed his approach to the material). Martin was executive producer for Domestic Life, a prime-time television series starring Martin Mull, and a late-night series called Twilight Theater. It emboldened Martin to try his hand at his first serious film, Pennies From Heaven, a movie he was anxious to do because of the desire to avoid being typecast. To prepare for that film, Martin took acting lessons from the director, Herbert Ross and spent months learning how to tap dance. The film was a financial failure; Martin's comment at the time was "I don't know what to blame, other than it's me and not a comedy."

Related Topics:
Stanley Kubrick - Traumnovelle - Executive producer - Television series - Martin Mull - Pennies From Heaven - Typecast - Herbert Ross - Tap dance

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Martin was in two more Reiner-directed comedies after The Jerk: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid in 1982, and The Man with Two Brains in 1983. In 1986, Martin joined fellow Saturday Night Live veterans Martin Short and Chevy Chase in ¡Three Amigos!, which was directed by John Landis, and written by Martin, Lorne Michaels, and Randy Newman. It was originally entitled The Three Caballeros and Martin was to be teamed with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

Related Topics:
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid - 1982 - The Man with Two Brains - 1983 - 1986 - Saturday Night Live - Martin Short - Chevy Chase - ¡Three Amigos! - John Landis - Lorne Michaels - Randy Newman - Dan Aykroyd - John Belushi

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In 1987, Martin joined comedian John Candy in the John Hughes film, Planes, Trains & Automobiles. That same year, the Cyrano de Bergerac adaptation Roxanne, a film Martin co-wrote, won him a Writers Guild of America award and more importantly, the recognition from Hollywood and the public that he was more than a comedian.

Related Topics:
1987 - John Candy - John Hughes - Planes, Trains & Automobiles - Cyrano de Bergerac - Roxanne - Writers Guild of America - Hollywood

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Martin starred in the Ron Howard film, Parenthood in 1989. In the same year, 1991, Martin starred in a lighthearted comedy (L.A. Story) and an existentialist tragedy (Grand Canyon) that were both about life in Los Angeles.

Related Topics:
Ron Howard - Parenthood - 1989 - 1991 - L.A. Story - Existentialist - Grand Canyon - Los Angeles

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In 1997, Martin played a darker role as an rich man manipulating inventor Campbell Scott in David Mamet's thriller The Spanish Prisoner. In 1999, Martin and Goldie Hawn starred in a remake of the 1970 Neil Simon comedy, The Out-of-Towners.

Related Topics:
1997 - Campbell Scott - David Mamet - Thriller - The Spanish Prisoner - 1999 - Goldie Hawn - 1970 - Neil Simon - The Out-of-Towners

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