Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martinis an American actor, comedian, writer, producer and musician. Martin came to public notice in the 1960s as a writer for the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, and later as a frequent guest on The Tonight Show. In the 1970s, Martin performed his offbeat, absurdist comedy routines before packed houses on national tours. Since the 1980s, having branched away from stand-up comedy, Martin has become a successful actor, as well as an author, playwright, pianist and banjo player,...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionComedian
Date of Birth14 August 1945
CountryUnited States of America
I think I did pretty well, considering I started out with nothing but a bunch of blank paper.
I believe entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot.
At first I had no skills in writing comedy. I didn't know what a joke was, but, as someone once told me, your emotions follow your intent. If you create the intention of starting a comedy act, slowly your mind starts adjusting and you arrive at a new emotional state.
My most persistent memory of stand - up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while performing was rare - enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that comedy cannot afford.
I'm tired of wasting letters when punctuation will do, period.
I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.
I'm not trying to be a big shot or anything like that, but I get my drinks half price.
Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol.
I was always very shy but as I get older I think, What am I being shy for? You just grow weary of your own hang-ups.
I handed in a script last year and the studio didn't change one word. The word they didn't change was on page 87.
But Carroll's were more convoluted, and they struck me as funny in a new way: 1) Babies are illogical. 2) Nobody is despised who can manage a crocodile. 3) Illogical persons are despised. Therefore, babies cannot manage crocodiles. And: 1) No interesting poems are unpopular among people of real taste. 2) No modern poetry is free from affectation. 3) All of your poems are on the subject of soap bubbles. 4) No affected poetry is popular among people of taste. 5) Only a modern poem would be on the subject of soap bubbles. Therefore, all your poems are uninteresting.
When I first started doing my stand-up act, I played the banjo, did comedy, magic tricks, juggled, read poetry. I stuck it all in. I didn't know you were supposed to just stand up and tell jokes. Essentially, that's what my act became: those five elements - except I dropped the poetry.
Hosting the Oscars is much like making love to a woman. It's something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town.
You have to get comfortable [with your work], you really have to know what you're doing, and it has to be almost boring to you to be able to do it well.