Steve Martin

Martin is a member of Mensa International.
. Martin's personal collection has at one time included the art of O'Keeffe, Twachtman, Diebenkorn, de Kooning, Kline, Twombly, Frankenthaler, Hopper, Hockney, Lichtenstein, and Picasso. Ronald Reagan once famously referred to him as "...my John the Baptist" (in a political sense). Martin is also an avid art collector, particularly modern American art, and a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. George Murphy was the subject of a song by satirist Tom Lehrer celebrating his appointment in which Lehrer declared in mock vaudeville style: "Oh, gee it's great, at last we've got a senator who can really sing and dance." Murphy's move from the screen to politics paved the way for the successful transitions of actors such as Ronald Reagan and Arnold Schwarzenegger. In 2002, Martin adapted the Carl Sternheim play The Underpants, which ran Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company. He was unable to speak above a whisper for the rest of his life.

In 2001, Martin hosted the 73rd Annual Academy Awards. During his Senate term, Murphy suffered from throat cancer, forcing him to have his larynx removed. In 1993, Martin wrote the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile, which had a successful run in several American cities. Murphy served from January 1, 1965 to January 3, 1971. He was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1970, and subsequently moved to Palm Beach, Florida, where he died. He appeared in a version of Waiting for Godot as Vladimir (with Robin Williams as Estragon). In 1964 he was elected to the United States Senate; he defeated Pierre Salinger, who had been appointed several months earlier to serve the remainder of the late Clair Engle's unexpired term. They later appeared in the collection Pure Drivel. In the 1950s, Murphy entered politics as chairman of the California Republican State Central Committee.

Throughout the 90s, after Tina Brown took over The New Yorker, Martin wrote various pieces for the magazine. He was director of entertainment for presidential inaugurations in 1952, 1956, and 1960. In 1999, Martin and Goldie Hawn starred in a remake of the 1970 Neil Simon comedy, The Out-of-Towners. He was a vice president of Desilu Studios and of the Technicolor Corporation. Martin starred in the Ron Howard film, Parenthood in 1989. He was the President of the Screen Actors Guild from 1944 to 1946. That same year, Roxanne, a film he cowrote, won him a Writers Guild of America award and more importantly, the recognition from Hollywood and the public that he was more than a comedian. During World War II he appeared in several patriotic films designed to increase morale in the U.S., including the 1943 movie This Is the Army in which he plays a thinly fictionalized version of Irving Berlin.

In 1987, Martin joined comedian John Candy in the John Hughes film, Planes, Trains and Automobiles. When Johnson decided to retire from show business in 1935, Murphy moved the family to Hollywood, appearing in several musicals and comedies until 1952. It was originally entitled The Three Caballeros and Martin was to be teamed with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. In 1927 he appeared on Broadway, partnering with his wife Julie Johnson as a dance act. In 1986, Martin joined fellow Saturday Night Live veterans Martin Short and Chevy Chase in Three Amigos!, which was directed by John Landis, and written by Martin, Lorne Michaels and Randy Newman. He worked as a tool maker for the Ford Motor Company, as a miner, a real estate agent, and a night club dancer. Martin was in two more Reiner-directed comedies after The Jerk: Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid in 1982, and The Man with Two Brains in 1983. He was born in New Haven, Connecticut, and attended Yale University.

The film was a financial failure; Martin's comment at the time was "I don't know what to blame, other than it's me and not a comedy.". George Lloyd Murphy (July 4, 1902 - May 3, 1992) was an American dancer, actor and politician. To prepare for that film, he took acting lessons from the director, Herbert Ross, and spent months learning how to tap dance. The Eddie Cantor Giftset Collection (1930). It emboldened him to try his hand at his first serious film, Pennies From Heaven, a movie he was anxious to do because of the desire to avoid being typecast. Kid Millions (1934). He was executive producer for a prime-time TV series starring Martin Mull and a late-night series called Twilight Theater. You're a Sweetheart (1937).

Stanley Kubrick met with him to discuss him starring in an early, screwball comedy version of Traumnovelle (Kubrick later changed his approach to the material). London by Night (1937). The success of The Jerk opened more doors for him. The Women Men Marry (1937). The movie was a huge success, grossing $100 million on a budget less than a twentieth of that amount. Top of the Town (1937). In 1979, Martin wrote and starred in his first full-length movie, The Jerk, directed by Carl Reiner. Broadway Melody of 1938 (1937).

The film was nominated for an Academy Award as Best Short Film, Live Action. Hold That Co-ed (1938). The seven-minute long film was written by and starred Martin. Everybody Sing/Little Nellie Kelly (1938). Martin's first film was a short, The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977). Little Miss Broadway (1938). His real goal was to get into film. Letter of Introduction (1938).

But unknown to his audience, stand-up comedy was "just an accident" for him. Two Girls on Broadway (1940). By the end of the 1970s, he had acquired the kind of following normally reserved for rock stars, with his tour appearances typically occurring at sold-out arenas filled with tens of thousands of screaming fans. Public Deb No. 1 (1940).
. Little Nellie Kelly (1940). A typical gag might be interrupted for a sip from a glass of water, and just as he was about to speak again, he forcefully spits the water onto the floor. Broadway Melody of 1940 (1940).

His style is off kilter and ironic, and sometimes makes fun of stand-up comedy traditions. Ringside Maisie (1941). It mixes philosophical riffs with sudden spurts of "happy feet", deft banjo playing with balloon depictions of concepts like venereal disease. Tom, Dick and Harry (1941). In these and his two other albums, Martin's stand-up comedy was self-referential, sometimes self-mocking. A Girl, A Guy and A Gob (1941). Both albums won Grammys for Best Comedy Recording in 1977 and 1978. The Mayor of 44th Street (1942).

Both were million sellers. The Navy Comes Through (1942). A top 40 hit King Tut, from the album, released in 1978, was backed by the Toot Uncommons (better known as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band). For Me and My Gal (1942). His next album, A Wild and Crazy Guy, was an even bigger success reaching the number two spot on the chart, and spawning another catch phrase, this time based on an SNL skit where Martin and Dan Aykroyd played a couple of bumbling Czechoslovakian playboys. This Is the Army (1943). The album was a huge success; one of its tracks, Excuse Me, helped establish a national catch phrase. Bataan (1943).

That exposure, together with appearances on NBC's Saturday Night Live (SNL), led to his first of four comedy albums, Let's Get Small. Broadway Rhythm (1944). In the mid-1970s he made frequent appearances as a stand-up comedian on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Step Lively (1944). He continued to write, earning an Emmy nomination for his work on Van Dyke and Company in 1975. Show Business (1944). He appeared at San Francisco's The Boarding House among other locations. Having a Wonderful Crime (1945).

He then started performing his own material, sometimes as an opening act for groups such as the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Carpenters, and sometimes appearing on camera:. Up Goes Maisie (1946). Martin also wrote for John Denver (a neighbor of his in Aspen, Colorado at one point) and The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour. Cynthia (1947). Martin, along with the other writers for that show, won an Emmy Award in 1969. The Arnelo Affair (1947). A girlfriend helped him get his first real job in 1967, as a comedy writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, the show she was on as a dancer. Tenth Avenue Angel (1948).

Nevertheless, his time there changed his life:. Battleground (1949). Martin majored in philosophy at California State University, Long Beach, but dropped out. Border G-Man (1950). Martin worked at the Bird Cage Theater in Knott's Berry Farm and at the Magic Shop at Disneyland as a teenager, where he developed his talents for magic, juggling, playing the banjo and creating balloon animals. Border Incident (1950). Stephen Glenn Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, writer, producer, actor, musician and composer born in Waco, Texas and raised in Orange County, California. Talk About a Stranger (1952).

Looney Tunes: Back In Action (2003). Cheaper by the Dozen (2003). Bringing Down the House (2003). Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch (2002, TV).

Novocaine (2001). Fantasia 2000 (1999) host. Bowfinger (1999). The Out-of-Towners, (1999).

The Prince of Egypt (1998, voice). The Spanish Prisoner (1997). Bilko (1996). Sgt.

HouseSitter (1992). Grand Canyon (1991). Father of the Bride (1991). Story (1991), also written by Martin.

L.A. My Blue Heaven (1990). Parenthood (1989). Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988).

Pennies from Heaven (1981). The Jerk, (1979) also co-written by Martin. The Muppet Movie (1979). Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, (1978).

Sgt. The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977) (short). The Steve Martin Brothers (1981). Comedy is Not Pretty! (1979).

Shopgirl (2001). Pure Drivel (1998). Story and Roxanne: Two Screenplays (1997). L.A.