Like many people my age, I remember watching Steve Martin and his wild and crazy guy routine for most of my adult life. I saw him on the Smothers Brothers Show, Johnny Carson, and certainly Saturday Night Live. I loved some of his movies — Roxanne and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels but rarely paid to see them. I always thought a little of him went a long way when it came to movies. I really enjoyed his book The Pleasure of My Company, about an obsessive compulsive neurotic, but didn’t finish Shopgirl. However, I can full recommend his memoir, Born Standing Up.
There is much more to Martin’s comic routine than meets the eye and ear. His influences were magicians, musicians, and comics such as Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny and the old time radio comedians. He describes how as he went from gig to gig, he developed his philosophy of humor. A gag or joke works because it builds up a tension in the listener. When the release comes, so does the laugh. Martin wanted to know what would happen if you built the tension, but didn’t ever release it. When would people laugh and why? The way he talks about his process makes the reader want to see some of the skits to see how he is building this tension.
Another interesting part of the memoir is his struggles with his family, and his father in particular. Most of Martin’s personal life — and certainly his marriage — are left out of this story. He does talk about the tension in his family life and how, before the death of his father, he was able to reach out to him at least on some level. As a parent and a child, I could relate to the misunderstandings that can contaminate family life.
Here are links to some works of Steve Martin. Some of the older movies and tv shows are only in vhs.
Films
The Pink Panther (2006)
Shopgirl (2005)
Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005)
Bringing Down the House (2003)
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Cheaper by the Dozen (2003)
Novocaine (2001) (vhs)
Bowfinger (1999)
The Out of Towners (1998) (vhs)
The Spanish Prisoner (1997) (vhs)
Sgt. Bilko (1996) (vhs)
Father of the Bride II (1995) (vhs)
Mixed Nuts (1994)
A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
Leap of Faith (1992)
Housesitter (1992)
Grand Canyon (1991)
L.A. Story (1991)
Father of the Bride (1991)
My Blue Heaven (1990)
Parenthood (1989)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)
Roxanne (1987) (vhs)
Three Amigos (1986) (vhs)
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
All of Me (1984)
The Lonely Guy (1984) (vhs)
The Man with Two Brains (1983)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982) (vhs)
Pennies from Heaven (1981)
The Jerk (1979)
The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977)
Books
Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life Listen to audio clip
Kindly Lent By Their Owner: The Private Collection of Steve Martin
Wasp, a Play in One Act
Fierce Pajamas: an anthology of humor writing from the New Yorker
Records
The Steve Martin Brothers 1981
Comedy Is Not Pretty! 1979
A Wild and Crazy Guy 1978
Let’s Get Small 1977
Television Shows
Best of The Muppet show. (vhs)
SNL. The complete second season
Saturday Night Life : the best of Steve Martin
Saturday Night Live, the classic years (vhs)
