Biography: Steve Martin

by Taylor Russo

Steve Martin: American comedian, actor, writer, producer and musician.

Stephen Glenn Martin was born on August 14, 1945 in Waco, Texas. Martin was raised in a Baptist family in both Inglewood and Garden Grove California. His parents are Mary Lee and Glenn Martin, a real estate salesman and aspiring actor. His parents however, rarely had an influence on his life path.  Steve had a very strained relationship with his father who showed his affection through buying him things, never trying to emotionally connect with his son. In Steve’s memoir “Born Standing Up”, he is described as agnostic, rather than Baptist like his family. 

In high school, Martin learned how to play the banjo (which was a staple in his stand-ups), and was a cheerleader for Garden Grove. His first job was at Disneyland during his summer breaks, where he would frequently visit the Main Street Magic Shop. Eventually becoming interested in performing magic tricks himself, by 1960 he was working at the Magic Shop and became very skilled in magic tricks, balloon animals and juggling. After high school Martin attended Santa Ana College studying drama and English poetry. During his free-time he began performing comedy at the Bird Cage Theatre and joined a comedy troupe at Knott’s Berry Farm. Later, he met actress Stormie Sherk who he developed comedy routines with, as well as a romantic relationship. Sherk influenced him to apply to California State University in Long Beach, with a major in Philosophy. Martin has said that his time in college changed his life and his perspective of life as well. He almost became a professor, rather than pursuing comedy, but instead he decided to add some of his philosophy knowledge in his stand ups. In 1967 Martin transferred to UCLA and began studying theater. He dropped out of college at age 21. 

In 1967 his girlfriend at the time, Nina Goldblatt, was a dancer on “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour” where she helped Martin get a job as a writer with the show. In 1969 he won an Emmy Award. He also wrote for other shows such as “The Glenn Campbell Goodtime Hour” and “The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour”. His first tv appearance was on “The Steve Allen Show” in 1969. With other appearances and writing for shows, he earned an Emmy nomination for his work on “Van Dyke and Company” in 1976. Throughout the 70’s he made numerous stand-up comedian appearances. When he would appear on “Saturday Night Live” the audience would jump by millions of viewers, eventually becoming one of the most successful SNL hosts. His appearances on tv led him to make various comedy albums, which went platinum including; “Lets Get Small” which helped establish him nationally, and “A Wild and Crazy Guy” which reached the number 2 spot on U.S. sales charts. 

By the end of the 70’s Martin had gained the following of a true celebrity and at this time he began steering away from stand-up comedy to let his acting career take off. Noting that his popularity followed him long into his acting career as well. Since then, he has been known for his acting, producing, writing, and playing the piano and banjo. His first substantial feature film was in the musical “Stg Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band”. Some of his most popular films are; “The Jerk” (1979), “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” (1982), “All of Me” (1984), “Three Amigos” (1986), “Roxanne” (1987), “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” (1988), “Father of the Bride” (1991), “L.A. Story” (1991), “A Simple Twist of Fate” (1994), “Bowfinger” (1999), “Shopgirl” (2005), “The Pink Panther” (2006) and the list goes on. Many people are familiar with Martin as an actor and comedian, but he has written/co-wrote and produced many films as well (many of which he starred in) including “The Jerk”, “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid”, “The Man with Two Brains”, “Three Amigos”, “Roxanne”, “L.A. Story”, “A Simple Twist of Fate”, “Bowfinger”, “Shopgirl”, “The Pink Panther”, “Traitor”, “The Pink Panther 2”. Producer of “The Three Amigos”, “Roxanne”, “L.A. Story”, “A Simple Twist of Fate”, “Shopgirl” and “Traitor”.

In 1993 he wrote his first full length play write “Picasso at the Lapin Agile”, in addition to writing pieces for The New Yorker, a few novels including “ShopGirl” (2000), and even a memoir “Born Standing Up” which was published in 2007. During the 2000’s Martin began playing the banjo with various music groups and released his first all music album in 2009, even playing at the Grand Ole Opry.In 2010 Martin created the Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in banjo and bluegrass, to reward artists and bring greater attention to bluegrass music.

Martin is an excellent performer and definitely a man of all trades. He has excelled in nearly every path in the entertainment industry that he has pursued which is not easy to do. He is easily one of the greatest entertainers of all time.

Click the link to see a more detailed list of awards and nominations that Martin has received throughout his successful career. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000188/awards



http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/steve-martin-born
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Martin
http://www.ifc.com/2012/04/the-ten-essential-steve-martin-comedies
http://editorial.rottentomatoes.com/article/Total-Recall-Steve-Martins-Best-Movies/
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000188/awards