Martin chronicles his rise in comedy, becoming a wildly popular standup comedian in the 1970s. He was perhaps the biggest comedy star at the time. Martin reveals that it took him at least ten years of struggling and working on his material before his breakthrough.
From an early age, he was attracted to magic, which is incorporated into his act. He worked at a magic store as a youngster and also worked at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm. As he began standup, there were many times that he flopped. However, as his popularity grew - from albums like Let's Get Small and A Wild and Crazy Guy to appearances on SNL - so did the size of his audiences. His act drew such large crowds that Martin felt he needed something to help the people in the back see him better. The result was his trademark three-piece white suit.
Martin details his famous gags, like Happy Feet and the arrow through the head. He also talks about what it's like to tour as a comedian and his experiences as a guest on Johnny Carson and a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Overall, his ridiculous brand of comedy was a reaction to the seriousness of the time, especially Vietnam. He felt the country needed silliness to remind them to have fun. Eventually, however, he felt his act was old and it had gone as far as it could. It took him ten years to develop his material, and he didn't want to spend more years creating new material. So, Martin quit standup comedy in 1981.
Since then, Martin has acted, written, and created music as an accomplished banjo player.
2 comments:
I remember the rage of Steve Martin in the 70's. I never was a big fan because I could never quite understand his humor. Didn't know till recently that he was a banjo player. Quite of a story of struggle and success.
I'm amazed at how many things he's able to do so well.
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