CBS

Steve Martin

Comedian

Steve Martin was born on August 14, 1945 in Waco, Texas. If there is such a thing as a Renaissance comic, Steve Martin is it. He is without a doubt one of the most versatile and popular actors before the public; a performer who wears many hats well beyond his signature arrow-through-the-head gear. He is a hit playwright, a reluctant literary light, an urbane and witty social commentator, an astute art collector, a mean banjo player, a dancing King Tut, an Academy Award host and a clown. He has interpreted Samuel Beckett on stage, David Mamet on screen, adapted Rostand with panache, created an unforgettable movie jerk and television's most attractive "wild and crazy guy." He has written and starred in blockbusters from "Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" to "L.A. Story" and "Shopgirl." Never taking himself too seriously, he continues to nurture his considerable gifts with tongue firmly in cheek.

He has never abandoned the zaniness of his roots, but he has come a long way since his days as a philosophy undergraduate. "If you study geology, which is all facts, as soon as you get out of school you forget it all," Martin recalled of his days at California State University at Long Beach. "But philosophy you remember just enough to screw you up for the rest of your life."

Martin was born in Texas and raised in Southern California. His father, Glenn Vernon Martin, was a real estate salesman and an aspiring actor. His mother, Mary Lee Stewart, was a housewife. As a teenager, Martin worked after school at the Magic Shop in Disneyland, where he learned to make balloon animals, juggle and play the banjo. These skills later made their way into his comedy act. He developed a musical routine with his classmate, Kathy Westmoreland, which headlined at the Bird Cage in Knott's Berry Farm. In college at Long Beach, he seriously considered becoming a philosophy professor, but in 1967 he transferred to U.C.L.A. and became a theater major.

His path to show business was sweet: from an appearance in "The Dating Game" while still in college to a job writing for "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour," which earned Martin an Emmy Award for writing in 1969. At this time Martin also wrote material for John Denver and the hit shows "Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour" and "Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour." His own act, despite initial mixed reception on the road, brought him to Johnny Carson's attention, after which he became a frequent comedy guest on "The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson." The 1970s also witnessed his "Saturday Night Live" debut and the release of a series of popular comedy albums that unleashed catch phrases such as "Excuse me!" and "I'm a wild and crazy guy." This last became the signature line for the Czechoslovakian playboy duo Martin created with his friend Dan Aykroyd. "King Tut," an improbable but wildly successful single from one of Martin's early albums, was the icing on the cake for a rash of hits that included Grammy Awards for Best Comedy Recording in both 1977 and 1978.

The movies beckoned. He wrote an Academy Award-nominated short film, "The Absent-Minded Waiter," in which he co-starred opposite Teri Garr and Buck Henry. He then wrote and starred in his first full-length feature film, "The Jerk," directed by Carl Reiner, after which Martin never looked back.

"Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid," "The Man with Two Brains" and "All of Me," all directed by Reiner, followed in quick succession and turned the popular comedian into a bankable movie icon. "Three Amigos!" in which he starred opposite his "Saturday Night Live" buddies Martin Short and Chevy Chase, emerged as comic gold alongside the musical "Little Shop of Horrors," in which Martin played a wild and crazy dentist. "Roxanne," his Writers Guild of America Award-winning adaptation of Rostand's classic Cyrano de Bergerac, was a surprise hit that let the uninitiated in on the fact that Martin is more than just a great comedian. Challenges followed and were conquered with versatility and ease: David Mamet's "The Spanish Prisoner," Neil Simon's "The Out-of-Towners," Martin's own "Shopgirl," each an acting gem created by a comic who also happened to be growing in stature as a major writer. His play "Picasso at the Lapin Agile," a witty cerebral romp, premiered at Chicago's prestigious Steppenwolf Theater and has gone to score a major national and international success. Martin's refined taste in art has been reflected in his own collection as well as in his work as a trustee for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and as benefactor of the Huntington Library in San Marino, California. While waiting for his next book, play or movie, fans can quench their thirst for Martin with his frequent pieces for The New Yorker. "I believe entertainment can aspire to art, and can become art," Martin has said, "but if you set out to make art you are an idiot."