who is Steve Martin?

-Born: 14 August 1945
-Birthplace: Waco, Texas
-Best Known As: Comic star of The Jerk and Saturday Night Live
Steve Martin got started as a zany and absurdist stand-up comedian in the 1970s
when his comedy albums like Let's Get Small (1977) were big hits; his punch line "Excuuuuse me" became a pop culture catch-phrase.
He was also a favorite recurring guest host on Saturday Night Live for many years.
In the 1980s he began starring in mainstream movie comedies like Parenthood (1989) and Father of the Bride (1991, co-starring Diane Keaton, with a sequel in 1995).
He proved himself an able writer/director, with successes like Roxanne (1987, with Daryl Hannah), LA Story, (1991, with Sarah Jessica Parker) and Bowfinger (1999, with Eddie Murphy).
Martin is known for his brainy versatility and continues to work in films, write plays (Picasso at the Lapin Agile), publish humorous essays in the New Yorker magazine, and write books like Shopgirl (2000, made into a 2005 movie starring Martin and Claire Danes).
His other films have included the family comedy Cheaper by the Dozen (2003, and a sequel in 2005) and the slapstick remake The Pink Panther (2006, with Martin in the Inspector Clouseau role made famous by Peter Sellers).
He published a memoir, Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life, in 2007.
Martin has appeared in four films directed by Carl Reiner, including The Jerk (1979) and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid (1982)
Martin hosted the annual Academy Award ceremonies in 2001 and 2003.

digg stu red del yahoo face spurl blink furl twit tech simpy pro mixx

Steve Martin and new type

Comedian Steve Martin next month will make his debut on a new type of stage for the well-known television and movie star, plucking his banjo at country music's Grand Ole Opry.
Martin, a veteran of TV shows like "Saturday Night Live and films such as the recent "Pink Panther 2," has long been a banjo player.
He even incorporated the instrument into his stand-up comedy act as he rose to stardom in the 1970s.
But only last month Martin released his first music CD, a bluegrass album called "The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo," which he will perform at country music's premiere venue on May 30, in Nashville.
Martin began playing banjo at age 17, and recently joked with reporters in New York that early in his career he opened a Manhattan night club picking away at the instrument but nobody turned out.
On the second night he agreed to play for free, and when the club was empty again, the owner fired him.
"I thought if I don't do it now, my fingers might slow down or I might forget the songs," the 63-year-old Martin said about making "The Crow" with 15 original songs.

digg stu red del yahoo face spurl blink furl twit tech simpy pro mixx