Steve Martin

Go-to funny guy, Steve Martin was born on August 4th, 1945 in Waco, Texas, but was raised in Inglewood and Garden Grove in California. He was always drawn to comedy – one of his very first jobs was at the magic shop at Disney’s Fantasyland where he learned magic, juggling, folding balloon animals, and of course – making customers laugh. Martin also had an affinity for writing – when he attended Santa Ana College, he took classes in drama, comedy and English Poetry before ultimately transferring to UCLA as a declared theater major in 1967. 

Early Writing Career 

Shortly after graduating, Martin won his first Emmy for his writing on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. This early recognition kept the writing and comedy gigs coming for Steve. Between 1967 and 1975, he wrote for The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour, and also performed stand-up on primetime shows like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and Saturday Night Live. 

Achieving His Acting Dreams 

After releasing his Grammy award-winning comedy albums, he began performing them in sold-out arenas which really helped propel his acting career. Being in movies was always Martin’s ultimate dream. His first major role was in The Absent-Minded Waiter in 1977, but the role that really put him on the map was The Jerk in 1979. After that came more of his well-known films like Three Amigos!, Little Shop of Horrors and Father of The Bride. 

At this point, everyone knew Steve could do comedy, so he wanted to prove he could play more dramatic roles during the 1990s. He played an emotionally-disturbed movie producer in Grand Canyon (1991), a broken man who ends up adopting a baby in A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), and even starred in a thriller, The Spanish Prisoner (1997). 

Triple-Threat Senior

Today, Steve Martin continues to do it all. Most recently, he is the creator, producer and star in the 2022 Emmy-nominated Only Murders in The Building T.V. Series on Hulu. He also continues to write plays, articles for the New Yorker and even snuck in some novels and more albums. This triple-threat senior has mentioned slowing things down a little bit after Only Murders in The Building concludes to spend some much-deserved, quality time with his wife and daughter – but we have a feeling he will continue to make us laugh for years to come.