Steve Martin - ©Theda Bara

In this post I bring you another one of the greatest comedy legends in American cinema, who in addition to being an actor, is a producer, writer, playwright, voice actor, musician, composer and also a professional magician. His name: Steve Martin.

The actor unfortunately announced his retirement at the end of last year (2023), when he turned 78, and said: “It’s strange, but it’s over!”

Martin’s popularity began in the 1960s, when he wrote the scripts for the series: “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”, and later appeared frequently on the talk show: “The Tonight Show”.

But cinema wasn’t Steve Martin’s first option. A philosophy student at California State University in Long Beach, Steve Martin always wanted to teach this subject.

Famous for his comedic performances, especially in cinema. In 1979, Martin starred in the film “The Jerk”, playing the clumsy “Jerk”, this being his first prominent character in cinema. The film was a huge success and Martin was seen by the public as a ‘new Jerry Lewis’ (1926-2017), despite his different style of humor. Over the years, Martin continued to star in hits such as “The Man with Two Brains” (1983), where he played world-famous widower and neurosurgeon “Michael Hfuhruhurr”; “Three Friends” (1986), character “Lucky Day”; Roxanne (1987), character “C. D. Bales”; “Planes, Trains and Automobiles” (1987), character “Neal Page”; “Father of the Bride” (1991), character “George Banks”; “Cheaper by the Dozen 1 and 2” (2003 and 2005), character “Tom Baker” and “The Pink Panther” (2006), character “Jacques Clouseau”.

On television, Martin hosted “Saturday Night Live” 15 times, second only to Alec Baldwin (1958-), who hosted the program 17 times. Martin hosted the Oscar Ceremony three times, in (2001, 2003 and 2010); the third time together with Baldwin.

Steve Martin is a dynamic actor who has starred in major comedy films and has been duly rewarded for his artistic contributions in Hollywood, receiving an honorary Oscar in 2013. He also won 1 Primetime Emmy Award: Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program 1969, for: “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour”. 5 Grammy Award: Best Comedy Album 1978 and 1979, for: “A Wild and Crazy Guy, Let’s Get Small”; Best Country Instrumental Performance 2002, for: “Foggy Mountain Breakdown”; Best Bluegrass Album 2010, for: “The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo” and Best American Roots Song 2014, for: “Love Has Come for You” .

Steve Martin is yet another actor who, for private reasons, refused to have a star on the Los Angeles Walk of Fame in Hollywood.

Steve Martin, born Stephen Glenn Martin, on August 14, 1945, in Waco, Texas, United States, is now 78 years old.

Steve Martin has been married twice, first to British actress Victoria Tennant (1950-) from 1986 to 1994; and his current marriage is to writer and former New Yorker employee, Anne Stringfield (1972-) since July 28, 2007. Martin has a daughter with Anne, the 10-year-old Conqueror Stringfield Martin (2013-). The actor became a father for the first time in 2013, at the age of 67, managing to keep it a secret from the media for more than a month.