Steve Martin

Steve Martin is an icon of American comedy whose long-lasting, multifaceted career is a testament to his versatility and offbeat creative charm. He came up as a writer in the television variety show circuit before ascending to superstardom in the late '70s when he was arguably the biggest standup comic in the world. His signature style was smart, surreal, physical, and unlike anyone else working; he sold out arenas, sang and played the banjo, and won a Grammy Award for his hugely popular 1979 album A Wild and Crazy Guy. After retiring from standup during his peak years, Martin successfully parlayed his success into film and became known for his comedic roles in The Jerk, All of Me, and Three Amigos, as well as more sentimental and romantic fare like Roxanne and Father of the Bride. He is often the writer of his own films and has also published numerous books and plays while continuing to write for film and television. In the 21st century, Martin launched a concurrent career as a musician, topping the bluegrass charts with banjo albums like 2011's Rare Bird Alert with the Steep Canyon Rangers and 2015's So Familiar with singer/songwriter Edie Brickell. He eventually returned to standup in partnership with comic foil Martin Short, with whom he also starred in the hit television series Only Murders in the Building. Martin resumed his music career in 2025 with Safe, Sensible, and Sane, a star-studded duo album with banjoist Alison Brown. Born August 14, 1945, in Waco, Texas, Martin spent the majority of his childhood in California, where he later worked as a teenager at Disneyland. There he learned a variety of performing skills ranging from magic and juggling to playing the banjo and sculpting balloon animals. After graduating from college, Martin began writing, and occasionally performing, comic material for television programs including The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, The Glen Campbell Hour, and The Sonny & Cher Show. At the tail end of the '60s, he moved to Canada, where, in addition to appearing as a semi-regular on the syndicated series Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour, he also began working as a standup. Back in Los Angeles, Martin graduated to opening for bands like the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Toto, and the Carpenters. He developed a signature high-concept comedy identity that was philosophical, self-referential, and absurdist. His shows contemptuously mocked the inherent stupidity of the standup form, mining catch phrases, props, and schticks to create a unique brand of scathing anti-comedy. After earning a following on the standup circuit, Martin rose to national prominence thanks to a series of guest appearances on Saturday Night Live, as well as a number of performances on The Tonight Show. With the release of his 1977 album debut, Let's Get Small, Martin's career exploded; the record reached the Top Ten, his concerts became immediate sellouts, and one-liners like "I am...one wild and crazy guy!" and "Well excuuuse me!" became hip cultural catch phrases. After a cameo in the musical Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, he made his proper film debut with 1978's The Jerk, which he also scripted; additionally, he wrote a best-selling book, Cruel Shoes. Also in 1978, A Wild and Crazy Guy, Martin's most successful LP, was released. Another platinum seller, it reached the number two slot on the charts on the strength of the hilarious hit single "King Tut," a pseudo-disco record mocking the then-current national obsession with the legendary Egyptian ruler. After his final two albums, 1979's Comedy Is Not Pretty and the following year's Steve Martin Brothers, he made the film musical Pennies from Heaven, a significant move away from his idiotic Jerk persona, and eventually retired from standup performance altogether. After several underappreciated comedies in tandem with director Carl Reiner (including the clever Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid), Martin won acclaim for his superb slapstick performance in 1984's All of Me. During the second half of the '80s, he appeared in hits like Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and Parenthood. He also continued to develop his own material, writing and starring in Three Amigos, Roxanne, and L.A. Story. By the mid-'90s, Martin was a well-established film star traversing dramatic, romantic, and comedy roles with equal measure. Alongside Diane Keaton, he became known for the popular Father of the Bride films and also wrote the acclaimed theatrical production Picasso at the Lapin Agile and the novella Shopgirl, which he later developed into a film. Although music had been a part of his life and his act since the late '60s, he had never approached it as a serious pursuit on its own. Produced by longtime friend and Nitty Gritty Dirt Band member John McKuen, Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo appeared from Rounder Records in 2009. It topped Billboard's Bluegrass chart and further revealed Martin's immense and versatile talent, this time as a banjoist and composer. He supported its release by hitting the road with the Steep Canyon Rangers, who served as his backup band. The collaboration was warmly received and led to the release of 2011's Rare Bird Alert, which featured Martin as a temporary member of the Steep Canyon Rangers and included guest appearances by Paul McCartney and the Dixie Chicks. Love Has Come for You, a collaboration with Edie Brickell that featured her lyrics and singing over Martin's banjo-composed melodies, appeared in the spring of 2013. Reaching number one on Billboard's Top Bluegrass Albums chart, Love Has Come for You was a major success, spawning a tour -- documented on a 2014 live set -- and a sequel, So Familiar, which appeared in October 2015. Love Has Come for You also inspired Martin and Brickell to write a musical, the Walter Bobbie-directed Bright Star. Set in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina just after World War II, the show debuted in 2014, and in 2016, Ghostlight issued the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Bright Star. Long-Awaited Album, Martin's second studio collaboration with the Steep Canyon Rangers, arrived in September 2017. Along with his musical pursuits, he also returned to standup, albeit as one-half of a comedy duo with longtime foil Martin Short. They recorded the comedy special An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life for Netflix in 2018. He later co-created and starred in the acclaimed television series Only Murders in the Building alongside Short and Selena Gomez. Martin's next musical offering was the 2025 duo album Safe, Sensible and Sane with fellow banjoist Alison Brown. It featured a mix of originals and traditional material and included guests like Jackson Browne, Indigo Girls, and Sarah Jarosz. ~ Jason Ankeny & Steve Leggett, Rovi