HE GREW UP IN THE MAGIC KINGDOM...
He lived just blocks from the entrance to Disneyland...
And he was working there was he was just TEN...
He peddled programs at the main gate...then graduated into the park helping out a fellow pitch a lasso in the Indian Village...
That's him in this slo-mo video from the late 50's...He's in the top hat selling programs outside the DLand gate...
Finally he found his niche...He stood behind the counter of the Magic Shop on Main Street...
And Merlin's Magic Shop in Fantasyland...
STEVE MARTIN does have his roots in magic...the same as Johnny Carson...
Here he hosts a video talking about the start of DLand and slugging his own up start career selling magic ring tricks..Not only did he work the Main Street Magic Shop he also was in the one in Fantasyland...
And part 2 of the film
A short bit and a bio from his "Biography" TV show..
I grew up in LA and went to DLand over fifty times when I was a kid and I DO recall him and other young folks pitching magic stuff in those shops...Someone told me he also did ride the unicycle in the Jester's outfit in Fantasyland but I have not been able to verify that...
One thing I can tell you about Steve and his deep roots in the Disney Kingdom is how he learned to power walk...The place is large...The Park is usually crowded...And when he had to go from here to there and couldn't use their secret back routes or tunnels, Steve walked really fast...
He says it did him good steed because he has used it in airports and other large places for decades...
Here he is doing the "Power Walk" thang in
"Trains, Planes and Automobiles"...
"Trains, Planes and Automobiles"...
His foil? That's Kevin Bacon across the street...
More on that flick in a short bit but back to his youth...
Born in Waco, Texas...the family moved out to Orange County when he was a young lad...
He grew up in Garden Grove and went to GG High School...
Then he also worked at Knotts Berry Farm for several years in
"The Bird Cage Theatre"...
"The Bird Cage Theatre"...
They did a hiss the villain style show there several times a day
and they would perform for crowds of less than ten people if necessary...
and they would perform for crowds of less than ten people if necessary...
He picked up a whole lot of acting knowledge
working in front of those folks for several years...
Off to Long Beach State and then dropped out and got a job in showbiz as a writer for "The Smothers Brothers" He shared desks in the hallway at CBS with "Super Dave" Osborne, Bob Einstein...and scored an Emmy for this writing skills...
Continuing on with his comedy act he parlayed it into the
"Wild and Crazy Guy"
"Wild and Crazy Guy"
and made millions with it for years...
He would do all kinds of strange stuff like taking an entire audience down to a McDonald s... ordering up 100 cheeseburgers...
and then cancelling the order and leaving them in the street....
I love his work...His movies were dynamite...
I just learned about this a few years ago...
some of "Trains, Planes" WAS shot back East...
BUT the crucial car fire scene was thousands of miles away...
Where?
A little stretch of four lane highway about 25 plus miles
East of Fresno on Hiway 41...
East of Fresno on Hiway 41...
Just a bit before Lemoore Naval Air Station they shot this at night
in the wide open country of the San Joaquin Valley...
with plenty of FAKE snow...
with plenty of FAKE snow...
One of my top scenes is him frustrated with Edie McClurg at Marathon Rent A Car...
Then his SNL days...
He became a huge patron of the arts and has continued to acquire top artwork to this day...Plus he writes books, screenplays and plays a super pro banjo...He still plays his original banjo today as he hits the road with his group...
I love this song they did a few years back...
I could go on and on about him but if you are a big
STEVE MARTIN fan you need to read his book...
He had a troublesome youth for he was unable to connect with his Dad...
STEVE MARTIN fan you need to read his book...
He had a troublesome youth for he was unable to connect with his Dad...
And he also had family issues with his Mom...
I took it one step better and got the audio book with
STEVE doing all the narration
STEVE doing all the narration
and even playing his banjo between the chapters...
I recall when he was HUGE on the comedy circuit he blew into Fresno and did TWO shows at Fresno State outside on the grass...I suspect he earned well over $75k that night...and he did that night after night...
From a Fresno Bee article back in 75: One of the more packed shows was unexpected.
“We decided to book this guy, Steve Martin,” Rush said. “No one knew who he was. No one had really heard of him, but he was kind of starting to become famous. About a month before the show, he appeared on ‘Saturday Night Live.’”
The two shows sold out, and an original capacity crowd of 6,500 grew to 8,000 for both shows.
He knows how to handle his money...Net worth is about $110 million...
His latest wife is a number of years younger than STEVE and together they recently had a girl...
Yep, STEVE MARTIN was a Dad at 67...
And he's STILL funny...
Just opened the SNL 40th anniversary show and was dynamite...
The Academy Awards need to get him back to host their on going disasters...
Now, here is STEVE at his best on Carson in '92...
It's all back to his magic roots, baby...
I LOVE THIS GUY!
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