Steve Martin – American comedian
Steve Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, musician, composer and producer. He became world famous after the roles in the films The Jerk, All of Me, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Father of the Bride, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Roxanne and The Pink Panther. In 2014 the actor was awarded Oscar for his outstanding contribution to cinema.
Stephen Glenn Martin was born on August 14, 1945, in Waco, Texas. His family moved to California when he was five, and he grew up near Disneyland. In adolescence the actor worked in Disneyland tennis park, entertained visitors and played the banjo. At school Martin was a cheerleader.
Steve studied at the University of California. For some time the actor even studied philosophy, but one day he understood that comedy was his life. He began performing in various clubs as a comic actor. Two of his comedy albums A Wild and Crazy Guy and Let’s Get Small received Grammy award.
In the movie Martin debuted as an actor and screenwriter at the same time in the short film The Absent-Minded Waiter (1977), which was nominated for Oscar.
In 1981 he played in the comedy Pennies from Heaven (1981) together with Bernadette Peters. Collaboration with director Carl Reiner in the films Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982), All of Me (1984) and The Man with Two Brains (1983) brought him great popularity. In most of these films he participated as a screenwriter.
In 1991 Martin was an actor, screenwriter and executive producer in the film L.A. Story. For his roles in the films Father of the Bride (1991) and HouseSitter (1992) Martin received the Audience Award.
In 1999, Martin played together with Eddie Murphy in Frank Oz’s film Bowfinger.
In 2001, 2003 and 2010 the actor was a presenter of Oscar award ceremony.
In 2007 he was awarded the Kennedy Prize.
In 2009 he played in two films It’s Complicated and The Next Pink Panther.
In 2011 he played together with Jack Black and Owen Wilson in the film The Big Year.
Martin also succeeded in the area of the written word. His book of comic short stories, Cruel Shoes, topped the bestseller list in 1979. His play ‘‘Picasso at the Lapin Agile’’ was performed off-Broadway in 1995 and had a regional run. In the late 1990s, Martin began writing pieces for the New Yorker; these were released as a book, Pure Drivel, in 1998.
Personal life
In the 1970s and early 1980s, Martin dated Bernadette Peters.
On November 20, 1986 he married Victoria Tennant. They divorced in 1994.
In 2004, Martin began dating Ana Stringfield, former employee of The New Yorker magazine. On July 28, 2007 they were married in Los Angeles. In December 2012 67-year-old Martin became a father for the first time when Stringfield gave birth to their daughter.