Biography

Steve Martin (born August 14, 1945) is an American comedian, actor, writer, producer, and banjo player whose career has moved between stand-up, film, television, literature, and bluegrass music. Known for his surreal humor, physical comedy, and deliberately eccentric stage persona, Martin became one of the most prominent American entertainers of the late 1970s before developing into a respected screenwriter, dramatic actor, author, and recording artist.

Born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Southern California, Martin began working in entertainment while still young. He gained early experience at Disneyland, where he studied magic, juggling, and other performance skills. After attending California State University, Long Beach, he found work as a television writer. His credits included The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, for which he shared an Emmy Award in 1969. He later appeared on television variety programs and became a frequent guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.

Martin's national breakthrough came through stand-up comedy and appearances on Saturday Night Live. His act combined verbal absurdity, improvised-looking physical routines, musical jokes, and an intentionally exaggerated show-business personality. Comedy albums such as Let's Get Small (1977) and A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) became major commercial successes. The latter included the novelty song "King Tut," which became a hit single. Although his stand-up career was relatively brief, Martin's influence on modern comedy was substantial, particularly in his use of non sequiturs, meta-comedy, and performance-based character work.

He established himself as a film star with The Jerk (1979), which he co-wrote and starred in. The film introduced the comic style that would define much of his early movie career, while also demonstrating his interest in shaping projects as a writer. He followed it with such distinctive productions as Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982), The Man with Two Brains (1983), All of Me (1984), Three Amigos (1986), Roxanne (1987), Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988). Martin often balanced broad comedy with more restrained or vulnerable performances, a quality especially visible in Parenthood (1989), Grand Canyon (1991), and The Spanish Prisoner (1997).

His later mainstream successes included Father of the Bride (1991), Bowfinger (1999), Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), and The Pink Panther (2006). Alongside acting, he wrote screenplays, plays, essays, short fiction, and novels. His memoir Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life examined the development and conclusion of his early stand-up career. His fiction includes Shopgirl and An Object of Beauty.

Music has remained a central part of Martin's creative identity. A longtime banjo player, he incorporated the instrument into his comedy before pursuing bluegrass more seriously. The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo (2009) won a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album. He subsequently recorded with the Steep Canyon Rangers and collaborated with Edie Brickell on Love Has Come for You (2013) and So Familiar (2015). Their partnership also produced the Broadway musical Bright Star, which premiered in 2016.

In television, Martin co-created and starred in the mystery-comedy series Only Murders in the Building with Martin Short and Selena Gomez. The show extended his long association with ensemble comedy while giving him one of his most sustained later roles. Across his career, Martin has maintained a rare combination of comic invention, literary ambition, musical skill, and interest in the mechanics of performance.