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IT'S COMPLICATED
STEVE MARTIN (Adam), one of the most diversified performers in the motion
picture industry today—actor, comedian, author, playwright, producer—has been
successful as a writer of and performer in some of the most popular movies of recent film
history.
Late last year, Martin had two books published. In October 2008, Doubleday
released a children's book titled "The Alphabet From A to Y With Bonus Letter Z!,”
co-written
with The New Yorker illustrator Roz Chast. In December, Scribner published
Martin's autobiography, "Born Standing Up: A Comic's Life.”
Additionally, in December 2007, Martin was a recipient of the prestigious
Kennedy Center Honor.
In February 2006, Martin was seen in The Pink Panther, playing the role of
Inspector Jacques Clouseau, originally made famous by Peter Sellers. The film, which
reunited Martin with director Shawn Levy, co-starred Beyoncé Knowles and Kevin
Kline. Earlier this year, Martin revived the role in The Pink Panther 2.
In 2005, Martin received critical praise for Touchstone Pictures' Shopgirl, costarring
Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman. The screenplay was written by Martin and
was adapted from his best-selling novella of the same name. Shopgirl follows the
complexities of a romance between a young girl, who works at a Los Angeles Saks Fifth
Avenue glove counter while nurturing dreams of being an artist, and a wealthy older man,
who is still learning about the consequences that come with any romantic relationship.
In Christmas 2003, Martin starred in the highest-grossing film of his career,
Cheaper by the Dozen, directed by Shawn Levy for 20th Century Fox. The family
comedy, co-starring Bonnie Hunt and Hilary Duff, grossed more than $135 million
domestically. Christmas 2005 saw the much anticipated sequel, Cheaper by the Dozen 2,
starring the original cast and adding in a rival family headed by Eugene Levy. In
February 2003, Martin starred with Queen Latifah in the blockbuster comedy Bringing
Down the House, for Touchstone Pictures, which grossed $132.7 million.
In 2003, Martin hosted the 75th Annual Academy Awards®, his second time
handling those duties, the first being the 73rd Annual Academy Awards®. The 75th
Annual Academy Awards® was nominated for seven Emmy Awards, including a
nomination for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program.
Born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Southern California, Martin became a
television writer in the late 1960s, winning an Emmy Award for his work on the hit series
The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. By the end of the decade, he was performing his
own material in clubs and on television.
Launched by frequent appearances on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Martin
went on to host several episodes of the innovative Saturday Night Live series and starred
in and co-wrote four highly rated television specials. While performing on national
concert tours, he drew standing-room-only audiences in some of the largest venues in the
country. He won Grammy Awards for his two comedy albums, "Let's Get Small” and
"A Wild and Crazy Guy,” and had a gold record with his single "King Tut.” In 2003,
Martin also won a Grammy Award for Best Country Instrumental Performance for
playing on Earl Scruggs' 75th anniversary album.
In 1977, Martin's first film project, The Absent-Minded Waiter, a short he wrote
and starred in, was nominated for an Academy Award®. In 1979, he moved into feature
films, co-writing and starring in The Jerk, directed by Carl Reiner. In 1981, he starred
opposite Bernadette Peters in Herbert Ross' bittersweet musical comedy Pennies From
Heaven.
In fall 1993, Chicago's prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre presented Martin's first
original play, the comedy-drama Picasso at the Lapin Agile. Following rave reviews and
an extended run in Chicago, the play was presented successfully in Boston and Los
Angeles, and then off-Broadway in New York at the Promenade Theatre, to nationwide
critical and audience acclaim.
WASP, a one-act play that Martin wrote, was first performed at the Public Theater
in New York in 1995. The Underpants, a dark comedy Martin adapted from the 1911
play by Carl Sternheim, premiered off-Broadway at the Classic Stage Company on April
4, 2002.
In 1996, the American Film Institute's Third Decade Council at the U.S. Comedy
Arts Festival honored Martin with a retrospective of his work. He was also presented
with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. In 2004, the American
Cinematheque honored Martin for his film work.
After the success of his first novella, "Shopgirl,” Martin's second novella, "The
Pleasure of My Company,” published by Hyperion, once again was ranked on best-seller
lists around the country, including The New York Times. He has written a best-selling
collection of comic pieces, "Pure Drivel,” and his work frequently appears in The New
Yorker and The New York Times.
Martin lives in New York City and Los Angeles.
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