50 Fun Facts About Steve Martin

In which Texas city was Steve Martin born in 1945?

He grew up in Inglewood and then Garden Grove in Orange County, California.

Where was Steve Martin's first job, selling guidebooks and later working in a magic shop?

By 1960 he was working in the Fantasyland magic shop, learning tricks, juggling and balloon animals.

What did Martin major in at California State University, Long Beach, before switching to theatre at UCLA?

He said studying logic taught him there was no cause and effect, which made writing absurdist jokes easy.

Martin won his first Emmy in 1969, aged 23, as a writer on which show?

His ex-girlfriend Nina Goldblatt, a dancer on the show, got his writing to head writer Mason Williams.

As a student, Martin won a Dating Game date with the daughter of which Rat Pack crooner?

He dropped out of college at 21 to work the clubs.

How many times had Steve Martin hosted Saturday Night Live by the end of 2022?

His 16th hosting stint came in December 2022 alongside Martin Short; SNL's audience jumped by a million viewers when he appeared.

Which hand gesture did Martin popularise on Saturday Night Live?

He hosted the show, in tears, on the night his friend Gilda Radner died.

Martin and Aykroyd's 'wild and crazy' Festrunk Brothers came from which country?

'Just a wild and crazy guy' became one of his catchphrases.

Martin's 1977 album Let's Get Small launched which national catchphrase?

Both Let's Get Small and A Wild and Crazy Guy won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording.

Martin's 1978 novelty hit 'King Tut' was backed by which group, credited as the 'Toot Uncommons'?

The single reached number 17 and sold over a million copies during the touring Tutankhamun exhibition craze.

In one routine Martin claimed his real name was what, later the name of a website and a rock band?

His 'kitten juggling' bit used stuffed toys; he is a genuine master juggler.

Why did Martin start wearing his trademark three-piece white suit on stage?

His then-girlfriend, writer Eve Babitz, is credited with suggesting the white suit.

In which year did Martin quit stand-up comedy, not returning for 35 years?

He came back in 2016 with a ten-minute set opening for Jerry Seinfeld.

Martin's 1977 short The Absent-Minded Waiter was nominated for what?

The next year he sang 'Maxwell's Silver Hammer' in the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band film.

Who directed The Jerk (1979), Martin's first starring role?

Reiner then directed him in Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains and All of Me.

The Jerk cost about $4m to make. Roughly how much did it gross?

Martin's character, Navin Johnson, is the white adopted son of Black sharecroppers.

In The Jerk, Martin plays Navin Johnson, who was raised by whom?

Bernadette Peters, Martin's girlfriend at the time, co-starred.

Martin took tap-dancing lessons for months for which 1981 musical drama, his first serious role?

It flopped; Martin said, 'I don't know what to blame, other than it's me and not a comedy.'

Which director met Martin about a screwball-comedy take on the novella that became Eyes Wide Shut?

The meeting emboldened Martin to attempt Pennies from Heaven.

In Three Amigos (1986), Martin starred alongside Chevy Chase and which fellow SNL veteran?

It was originally called The Three Caballeros and meant to pair Martin with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi.

In the 1986 film of Little Shop of Horrors, Martin played a sadistic what?

It was the first of three films pairing him with Rick Moranis.

In Planes, Trains and Automobiles, John Candy's character Del Griffith sells what?

Martin's Neal Page is an uptight advertising executive trying to get home for Thanksgiving.

Roxanne (1987), which Martin wrote and starred in, is a modern version of which play?

He plays C.D. Bales, a small-town fire chief with an enormous nose.

In Roxanne, what is C.D. Bales's job?

Daryl Hannah plays the astronomer Roxanne.

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) paired Martin with which British actor?

The same year he played Vladimir in a Lincoln Center Waiting for Godot with Robin Williams as Estragon.

Who played Estragon opposite Martin's Vladimir in Mike Nichols's 1988 Waiting for Godot?

It ran at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center.

Who directed Parenthood (1989), in which Martin played the anxious father Gil Buckman?

It began his run of family-patriarch roles that continued with Father of the Bride and Cheaper by the Dozen.

Martin wrote and starred in L.A. Story (1991) opposite which actress, his wife at the time?

They had also co-starred in All of Me; the marriage lasted from 1986 to 1994.

In Bowfinger (1999), which Martin wrote, he starred opposite which comedian?

The same year he remade The Out-of-Towners with Goldie Hawn.

In the 2006 remake of The Pink Panther, Martin played which character?

The two Pink Panther films together grossed over $230 million.

In 'Trash of the Titans', The Simpsons' 200th episode, what job did Ray Patterson hold?

Homer unseats him with the campaign slogan 'Can't someone else do it?'

Martin's 2005 film Shopgirl was adapted from what?

It follows a woman behind the glove counter at Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills, played by Claire Danes.

What was the title of Martin's first book, a 1979 collection of comic short stories?

His 2007 memoir Born Standing Up made Time's top ten non-fiction books of the year.

Martin's play Picasso at the Lapin Agile imagines Picasso meeting which scientist in a Paris bar?

It premiered at Chicago's Steppenwolf in 1993; a school board in La Grande, Oregon later banned it.

Martin wrote the book and co-wrote the music for which 2016 Broadway musical with Edie Brickell?

It earned five Tony nominations, two of them for Martin himself.

Martin's 2017 Broadway comedy Meteor Shower starred which stand-up comedian?

It had premiered at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre in 2016.

How many times has Martin hosted the Academy Awards, including once with Alec Baldwin?

In 2020 he and Chris Rock opened the show without officially hosting.

Martin taught himself the banjo as a teenager by doing what to bluegrass records?

John McEuen, later of the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, helped teach him.

Which country star guested on Martin's first all-music record, The Crow?

He had already shared a Grammy for playing on Earl Scruggs's 2001 remake of 'Foggy Mountain Breakdown'.

Which North Carolina bluegrass band has toured and recorded with Martin since 2009?

Their 2011 album Rare Bird Alert includes a bluegrass version of 'King Tut'.

In 2010 Martin created a prize for excellence in banjo and bluegrass. How much is the cash award?

Winners include Noam Pikelny of Punch Brothers and Rhiannon Giddens.

Only Murders in the Building stars Martin and Martin Short alongside which singer?

He co-created the show with John Hoffman and has said it will likely be his final role.

Only Murders in the Building premiered in 2021 on which streaming service?

The series debuted on Hulu in August 2021. In 2022 Martin and Short co-hosted SNL together, with Gomez making an appearance.

Martin's 2018 Netflix special with Martin Short had what title?

Martin was nominated for writing it and for the song 'The Buddy Song'.

Martin received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in which year?

He has never received a competitive Oscar nomination.

Martin has been a serious art collector since 1968, when he bought a print by which artist?

He unknowingly bought and resold a forged Campendonk from the Wolfgang Beltracchi ring.

Who led the forgery ring behind the fake Campendonk painting Martin bought and sold?

He paid about €700,000 and sold it at Christie's for €500,000 before anyone knew.

Who was best man at Martin's 2007 wedding to Anne Stringfield?

Former senator Bob Kerrey officiated.

Which actress and singer did Martin date from 1977 to 1980 and co-star with in The Jerk?

He also dated Karen Carpenter, Mary Tyler Moore and Anne Heche.

In 2004, Comedy Central ranked Martin at what position on its list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics?

He cites Chaplin, Laurel and Hardy, Jack Benny, Jerry Lewis and Woody Allen as influences.