tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post9157828846760473895..comments2023-11-03T06:02:02.128-07:00Comments on By Ken Levine: Steve MartinBy Ken Levinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17305293821975250420noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-65558892003789676842007-12-20T20:01:00.000-08:002007-12-20T20:01:00.000-08:00Martin is splendid in "All Of Me," one of the 1980...Martin is splendid in "All Of Me," one of the 1980s' more unheralded comedies. He's all right in "Housesitter," too, although to be honest it's Goldie Hawn who carries that movie.VP81955https://www.blogger.com/profile/11792390726196611188noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-15849148573007773222007-12-20T13:28:00.000-08:002007-12-20T13:28:00.000-08:00I'm John R. (above) by the way--I know you hate an...I'm John R. (above) by the way--I know you hate anonymous comments.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-87889672003153811582007-12-20T13:26:00.000-08:002007-12-20T13:26:00.000-08:00Somehow I was able to get my parents to buy me a c...Somehow I was able to get my parents to buy me a copy of "Wild and Crazy" guy when it came out (I was about 11). Bless their well-intentioned souls, they clearly had no idea how filthy it was, thinking it would just be a guy dancing around with an arrow through his head (which would provide very exciting listening, obviously).<BR/><BR/>I memorized every bit of the album and did it for my friends during lunch hour. I still shudder to think what I was teaching those kids. "C'mon, I was talking about her CAT! That disgusts me--you can't say anything without people thinking you're saying something dirty!" Utterly inspired lunacy.<BR/><BR/>I was surprised, considering his candor otherwise, that he said nothing in the book about his relationship with Bernadette Peters.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-14142308661801639572007-12-19T18:19:00.000-08:002007-12-19T18:19:00.000-08:00Cool. Thanks for bringing up Housesitter, for I j...Cool. Thanks for bringing up Housesitter, for I just realized that I am three degrees away from Steve. <BR/><BR/>An actress in my last lousy student film was in a scene in Housesitter with Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin. <BR/><BR/>And I'm only two away from Kevin Bacon. <BR/><BR/>And I'm 800 degrees away from the talent of either.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08923161793979910495noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-78569265451353456552007-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:002007-12-19T16:50:00.000-08:00I'd say Martin's movie batting average isn't that ...I'd say Martin's movie batting average isn't that horrible. I skipped some of the more egregious-sounding items (Sgt. Bilko, Mixed Nuts, The Out-of-Towners, The Pink Panther), but as many here have noted, he's got a number of respectable credits, particularly the ones he had a hand in writing. I'm even one of the few allegedly sentient beings who liked stuff like HouseSitter and Bringing Down the House.<BR/><BR/>I just saw the adaptation of his novella Shopgirl a couple of weeks ago and enjoyed it greatly (although I did think the casting of Martin was, surprisingly, a misstep).<BR/><BR/>I'm still stunned that Robin Williams has an Oscar win and 3 other nominations, while Martin has zero (despite some critics awards and Golden Globe nominations for All of Me and Roxanne, among others).Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-41842674291636658812007-12-19T16:37:00.000-08:002007-12-19T16:37:00.000-08:00Nice Ken. I didn't know about the pictures. I love...Nice Ken. I didn't know about the pictures. I loved the audio version mainly because it is so nice to hear it in Steve's own voice.<BR/><BR/>Here is my take from my blog<BR/>http://selectivevisibility.blogs.com/selective_visibility/2007/11/wild-and-crazy.htmlAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-22077637029493955032007-12-19T16:17:00.000-08:002007-12-19T16:17:00.000-08:00I first saw Steve in a club in NY, where he was op...I first saw Steve in a club in NY, where he was opening for folk singer Danny O'Keefe. <BR/><BR/>It was an album release evening and Danny wanted to go to the party, so he did the first set instead. When he left, so did the audience and Steve came out to entertain a total of 5 customers.<BR/><BR/>But he was brilliant, at one point doing jokes to the manager's German Shepherd -- "What's black and white and wet all over?"<BR/><BR/>It was an inspired night I'll never forget. You just knew he was destined for greatness.jimhenshawhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07815834271470133872noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-1607177775127100312007-12-19T15:47:00.000-08:002007-12-19T15:47:00.000-08:00Friday is our anniversary, and I just hinted to my...Friday is our anniversary, and I just hinted to my wife that Born Standing Up is a steal at only $17.50 (B&N). Front page today's <I>Dallas Morning News</I>: Founder of Carlyle Group buys Magna Carta from Dallas' H. Ross Perot for <B>$21 million</B>."<BR/><BR/>Who says you can't put a price on freedom?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-73254094466107929392007-12-19T15:24:00.000-08:002007-12-19T15:24:00.000-08:00It's a great book, and I have given it already as ...It's a great book, and I have given it already as a Christmas gift. I always find it fascinating when famous lives intersect. His revealing story about losing his virginity to a young woman who would later become Stormie Omartian, a famous Christian personality, is just one of the many small pleasures of Steve's book. <BR/><BR/>Sometimes you just want to give these comedy figures a big hug, and say it'll be OK.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-85524424422387967732007-12-19T14:46:00.000-08:002007-12-19T14:46:00.000-08:00i love his line about Frankenheimer, and how Marti...i love his line about Frankenheimer, and how Martin wasn't the one who killed him. i wonder if he had met Anne Heche, would Frankenheimer have made a play for her, too?rob!https://www.blogger.com/profile/17556471244882205031noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-47212417607090188712007-12-19T12:28:00.000-08:002007-12-19T12:28:00.000-08:00Ken, I take something valuable and insightful away...Ken, I take something valuable and insightful away from your blog just about every day. Not being in the business of show, I have learned much from your cinematic and TV picks and pans, musical oddities, insightful sports commentary, Hollywood lore, travel adventures, comedic deconstruction, strike chronicles, and, of course, plastic surgery 101. <BR/><BR/>I seek out your recommended motion pictures, I’ve rented DVDs – but, now, you want us to <I>read</I>? Hold on there, somebody’s really crossed the line this time. When would any of us have time left to fritter away cerfing the Internet? Might never even have found <I>you</I>.<BR/><BR/>Thankfully, although it explores everything from A to Zell, Mr. Martin’s is a short book. Not far into it, one comes to the unavoidable realization that one's own lack of success in the world of mirth is almost certainly due to having been insufficiently abused as a child. To make a long story short, this is how I seriously injured myself with a regrettable variation on The Great Flydini. Only too late came the discovery that the instrument actually <I>is</I> a five-string banjo, and not a tambourine <I>in heat</I>. Enough said.<BR/><BR/>It is almost certain Martin spent years searching for that void in his own life, ultimately realizing it was his family's having left Waco for Southern California in 1950 – three years before that city was leveled by the tornado of 1953. Martin realized one can never be totally safe. With the occasional exception, Texas tornadoes only get you in a trailer park. The Northridge earthquake moved everything but Shelly Winters.<BR/><BR/>More significantly, Martin never had the opportunity to experience the full intellectual scope of Waco’s Dr. Pepper Museum, to which you recently drew our attention. That didn’t open at the corner of 5th St. and Mary Ave. until 1991. Forty-one years is a long time to go without satisfying one’s insatiable curiosity with regard to the provenance of a beverage. Then, of course, there came the Cadbury Schweppes acquisition, and all was lost. <BR/><BR/>There is, of course, still much to admire about this enormous talent, if only the steadfast resistance to changing his name, because “Steve Martin” sounded just a tad too Jewish. Although he did relent and agree to restructure the early prop comedy, which initially involved an <I>arab</I> through the head. The most important thing I took away from BORN STANDING UP is that Martin is everything Rip Taylor might have been, had the latter been willing to show a little restraint. OK, that’s a stretch.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-19318645277106095172007-12-19T12:06:00.000-08:002007-12-19T12:06:00.000-08:00I've been trying to track down a DVD of Martin's s...I've been trying to track down a DVD of Martin's stand up routine, but I can't find any. Sadly, I'm too young to have witnessed it firsthand. Anyone know of some video of Martin's routines?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03346875104572504935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-12623064981729021552007-12-19T11:17:00.000-08:002007-12-19T11:17:00.000-08:00I saw him opening for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band i...I saw him opening for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band in 1973, had no idea who he was and was blown away. He was <I>the</I> comedian of the 70s for sure. While I've been very disapointed with his movie choices over the years, I try not to judge him too harshly. It seems as a person gets older, they start going for the safe, easy choices and become more interested in accumulating wealth than being "cutting edge". That is for when you are young and hungry.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-67831056857627595782007-12-19T11:01:00.000-08:002007-12-19T11:01:00.000-08:00Even before reading your recommendation, Ken -- bu...Even before reading your recommendation, Ken -- but after reading the excerpt in the <I>New Yorker</I> -- I've bought three copies; two for Christmas presents.<BR/><BR/>Forty per cent off at Borders (30% for nonmenbers) is a nice plus.<BR/><BR/>As for his films: certainly he's done Bilko, etc. (what <I>was</I> he thinking?) for the money. But then there's L.A. Story, the Man with Two Brains, Roxanne...even, in its way, The Jerk. A lot of brilliance there.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30833507627222018412007-12-19T10:46:00.000-08:002007-12-19T10:46:00.000-08:00While Martin has had a couple of duds on the big s...While Martin has had a couple of duds on the big screen, most comedians would kill to have films like Roxanne, The Jerk, Planes, Trains and Automobiles, Parenthood and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels on their resume. Hell, even Bowfinger, Father of the Bride, Grand Canyon, All of Me and L.A. Story were highly watchable. <BR/><BR/>I normally am not interested at all in celebrity memoirs, but you made me quite intrigued.Tim W.https://www.blogger.com/profile/16860726607106078491noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-39665881516715702632007-12-19T10:45:00.000-08:002007-12-19T10:45:00.000-08:00I remember when his song King Tut came out. I play...I remember when his song King Tut came out. I played the Sally Goodin' side to death.<BR/>He's played on several different albums with other bluegrass artists but I wish he'd put out his own bluegrass album.<BR/><BR/>HallieAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-62515620078507590162007-12-19T09:57:00.000-08:002007-12-19T09:57:00.000-08:00I read his book over Thanksgiving. Couldn't put i...I read his book over Thanksgiving. Couldn't put it down. Loved his experiences with the Trumbo's...<BR/><BR/>In '92, I actually watched him meticulously rehearse his Flydini routine at camera blocking on the Tonight Show. I think it was a routine that Carson requested - and it took a few weeks to get it up to speed. Anyway, it was incredible watching/learning from him and his approach.<BR/><BR/>When I met him (and his then wife) after the show, I felt like a complete idiot.<BR/><BR/>Mark BAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-74581582761890375112007-12-19T09:25:00.001-08:002007-12-19T09:25:00.001-08:00I'm still slightly bitter about the Christmas wher...I'm still slightly bitter about the Christmas where my brother REALLY wanted to buy me the album of "Wild and Crazy Guy", but my mom nixed that purchase, saying I was too young. On the plus side, I did get Bill Cosby's "To Russel, My Brother, Whom I Slept With", but still...Knuckles Buchananhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01220831881769991773noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-29573021060613534702007-12-19T09:25:00.000-08:002007-12-19T09:25:00.000-08:00"Here's one anecdote I bet isn't in the book... ye..."Here's one anecdote I bet isn't in the book... years ago I was at an agency who was representing his then wife. Apparently this was near the end of the marriage and they had some sort of blow-up. Martin called his wife's agent to inform them that he had thrown all of her clothes on the front lawn."<BR/><BR/>I think I remember that fire.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-59264201429356401302007-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:002007-12-19T09:06:00.000-08:00This has to be one of the best blogs ever. With W...This has to be one of the best blogs ever. With WKRP, weird museums, and Steve Martin in the mix... I'm about to die of an overdose of awesomeness.Captain Obvioushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12914653846791290845noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-20173170620999372172007-12-19T08:26:00.000-08:002007-12-19T08:26:00.000-08:00Martin's "The Great Flydini" vaudeville bit on Car...Martin's "The Great Flydini" vaudeville bit on Carson's last show. <BR/><BR/>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=alD_tukE77QWarren Fleecehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04993724978603318934noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84939050830052730302007-12-19T07:24:00.000-08:002007-12-19T07:24:00.000-08:00I listened to "Comedy is not Pretty" until the rec...I listened to "Comedy is not Pretty" until the record melted from over use.<BR/><BR/>"Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid" trumps "The Lonely Guy" only because the latter stalls without Charles Grodin onscreen.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-84150307289488482742007-12-19T07:13:00.000-08:002007-12-19T07:13:00.000-08:00http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/12/12/1/an-h...http://www.charlierose.com/shows/2007/12/12/1/an-hour-with-steve-martin<BR/><BR/>Here is a recent interview with Steve Martin on Charlie Rose where he talks about the bookDanny Cohenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09883761502524971209noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-30144771925871809372007-12-19T06:37:00.000-08:002007-12-19T06:37:00.000-08:00His movie career has definitely been spotty, but "...His movie career has definitely been spotty, but "The Lonely Guy" is an all-time classic.<BR/><BR/>Every scene with Steve and Charles Grodin is a riot.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19336675.post-13984656644712867122007-12-19T06:11:00.000-08:002007-12-19T06:11:00.000-08:00Steve Martin is also a fabulous banjo player. Seri...Steve Martin is also a fabulous banjo player. Seriously. He picks it better than a lot of bluegrass musicians.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com