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Born in Waco, Texas in 1945, Steve wasn't always a "Wild
and Crazy Guy," although he was always the class clown in school.
In 1977, stand-up was considered ordinary and passe, but Steve Martin,
wearing a white suit with an arrow through his head, playing the banjo
and making balloon animals, changed the face of stand-up. He studied philosophy
in college for a few years and then found himself writing for the Smothers
Brothers Comedy Hour. It was then, as he watched performers trying to
get laughs with the jokes he'd written, that it came to him: There was
something funny about trying to be funny. And that became his stand-up
act -- a guy doing stupid, calculated, corny things to get a laugh. After
a four-year stand-up career, he was ready to explore new territory. He
wrote and starred in movies, became a playwright, and won praise for his
novella Shopgirl.
Material excerpted from: Let’s Get Small;
Copyright: 1977 Warner Bros. Records, Inc., Warner Archives 2-45694.
A Wild And Crazy Guy; Copyright: 1978 Warner Bros.
Records, Inc. 3238-2.
Comedy Is Not Pretty; Copyright: 1979 Warner
Bros. Records, Inc., Warner Archives 2-3392.
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