Wow, I had a Maxima in 1982 that said, key in the ignition, lights are on, ect. 9 years after this performance. Weird lol. I still love Steve Martin to this day.
He has ALWAYS played banjo and often used it as a constant companion on-stage even when he didn't play an entire song. Steve Martin worked as a teenage at Knott's Berry Farm in So California, did magic, told jokes and played banjo. He is an American treasure. Yeah, comedy is different today than 40 years ago. A LOT is different. Study up so you can discuss things with some knowledge.
And how interesting that he continued to evolve as a comediant and made great things like LA Story, which is very funny, but also very romantic. He´s a decent actor and, yes, made some stupid summer movies, but it´s clear that he is not just a funny man, but a very intelligent guy.
When was this. In 1978 the bride and I were on our honeymoon. Aug. 1978, we went to the midnight special in CA, with Steve Martin. I am wondering if this is the one my wife and I were at? Ken
That part right in the middle of the act where he says, "here's something you don't often see...AAAAHHHH", was so funny. I had to watch it like 5 times.
he also has a pitch perfect ear to mimic the sound of show bizness that had become stale. The tics, the fake voices of the announcers. As a kid, that way he decimated Vega$ style entertainment rang so true to me. Old Dinasours in venal setting jamming a bunch of shit down your throats hoping you would gamble all your $$ away. Now, of course, I pine for those old lounge acts.
Apparently our two year old daughter loves Steve Marten's stand up here because she never sits through anything and she loved this, she even started dancing around like him!
If anyone's ever read Steve's autobiography "Born Standing Up", it explains about how he figured out a way to do stand up comedy differently from everyone else. Very interesting read and it makes complete sense when you see it onstage. I love this man
I just finished reading the book--it's great. His great secret is that he never stopped performing and just figured it out himself. Back then there were no comedy clinics, improv classes, or books on stand up. You just went out and bombed for 20 years if that's what it took. He was not very funny until 1977, when just the right persona of his connected with the audience's funny bone. Money Python and SNL were just underway as well, so he fit in with the absurdist thing he always did.
A Star in the Embryo. ("Midnight Special" was NBC's answer to ABC's much more music-specific "In Concert.") This footage is so old that Martin's hair hasn't even started to gray yet... ...and, while his burlesquing of "BigTimeShowBidness" may have a somewhat dated quality, it must be remembered that almost no one else was doing this, then: By my reckoning, the first season of SNL was at least two or three years in the future.
@ultrakool I think SM was funny just because he would go out there and doing stupid stuff...he knew it was stupid, and so did everyone else. And somehow it is funny. It was the 70s... so that had a LOT to do with it, y'know? MArtin created his stage character and people loved it. Plus he was in a LOT of movies, many of which are really good. ALL OF ME...one of the best.
This must be about 1974. By the first time he hosted SNL, in 1976, his hair was grey, and he was wearing a white suit AND a tie, looking truly iconic. By '76, everything had gelled, and he was at the top of his game. Before Steve, comedy was more socially relevant, Steve cleverly threw all of that out, and just became silly, a brilliant innovation that put him way ahead of everyone else, and began a comedy revolution. Then he became truly huge.
Listen to the audience. They sound like they're on ether. NO standup ever before, or ever since had that ability to sustain the humor, when there was no joke. It was almost like a weird high. It wasn't joke, release, joke, release. People were giddy, in between punch-lines.
A lot of you folks who were not around to enjoy Steve Martin's cutting edge comedy back in the 1970s need to do some research. Read his books, listen to his early comedy, watch his movies, most of which he wrote and enjoy his early banjo music.
@jtmcclure78 That's not fair. There are different types of comedy and different types of comedians. I don't find this particularly funny either, but I can understand why other people would.
@rockdiva1983 yeah, it seems way dated, but at the time nobody was doing this sort of thing so... i've got to admit, i thought his album was hilarious at the time, but now? nope
By the looks of many of them, probably not coffee. In the 70's and early 80's, coke and speed were used frequently and more socially acceptable as compared to today.
@pmacj yeah, I dunno about that. I think it's the fact that they have NO idea what's coming that keeps them on edge. He's so unlike the traditional stand-ups of the day ...
havent seen thhis since i was a small kid......wow....thanks....he is my idol....my 1st record i ever got was a steve martin record and i knew i wanted to make people laugh....this was nice to see as many have said not much of his live performances are around from back in the day....followed him almost all my life...
I bought the king tut album when I was 10 or 11. He seemed the same for a long time, but when I saw him in the movie with meryl streep and alec baldwin, I realized how fast we all age. By and large I think he is probably THE most "all around" comedic talent's of our time!
Someone wrote than Steve Martin was Harrison's Ford alter ego--or was it the other way?? Steve was before Jim Carey--but there is a resemblance in the way they preform???
What you understand about comedy that I don't is exactly nothing. I've listened to Steve's albums and watched his TV performances since the mid 70's, which is how I can easily identify many of the bits he did here. They are for all practical purposes the same, regardless of how this particular audience responded. Apparently your ear for language, inflection, timing, etc. is lacking.
Wow, I had a Maxima in 1982 that said, key in the ignition, lights are on, ect. 9 years after this performance. Weird lol. I still love Steve Martin to this day.
He has ALWAYS played banjo and often used it as a constant companion on-stage even when he didn't play an entire song. Steve Martin worked as a teenage at Knott's Berry Farm in So California, did magic, told jokes and played banjo. He is an American treasure. Yeah, comedy is different today than 40 years ago. A LOT is different. Study up so you can discuss things with some knowledge.
He's a personal friend of my... personal trainer!
And how interesting that he continued to evolve as a comediant and made great things like LA Story, which is very funny, but also very romantic. He´s a decent actor and, yes, made some stupid summer movies, but it´s clear that he is not just a funny man, but a very intelligent guy.
I got to see him live in the late 70s and it was an hour and a half of that. It was awesome.
When was this.
In 1978 the bride and I were on our
honeymoon. Aug. 1978, we went
to the midnight special in CA, with
Steve Martin. I am wondering if this is the one my wife and I were at?
Ken
That part right in the middle of the act where he says, "here's something you don't often see...AAAAHHHH", was so funny. I had to watch it like 5 times.
Steve Martin is a comedy genius, no-one does clever idiocy like him...
he also has a pitch perfect ear to mimic the sound of show bizness that had become stale. The tics, the fake voices of the announcers. As a kid, that way he decimated Vega$ style entertainment rang so true to me. Old Dinasours in venal setting jamming a bunch of shit down your throats hoping you would gamble all your $$ away. Now, of course, I pine for those old lounge acts.
Apparently our two year old daughter loves Steve Marten's stand up here because she never sits through anything and she loved this, she even started dancing around like him!
If anyone's ever read Steve's autobiography "Born Standing Up", it explains about how he figured out a way to do stand up comedy differently from everyone else. Very interesting read and it makes complete sense when you see it onstage. I love this man
Wow! He sure do make those girls down there crazy! I can't tell whether they are laughing or screaming.
Robin Williams in the audience...taking notes.
I just finished reading the book--it's great. His great secret is that he never stopped performing and just figured it out himself. Back then there were no comedy clinics, improv classes, or books on stand up. You just went out and bombed for 20 years if that's what it took. He was not very funny until 1977, when just the right persona of his connected with the audience's funny bone. Money Python and SNL were just underway as well, so he fit in with the absurdist thing he always did.
If you don't like Steve's comedy...
WELL EXCUUUSE... MEEEE!
I never thought I'd say I miss the 70s, but, after watching this, I do.
He is so incredibly cute to me! He's the best out there!
He looks like John Fogerty:)) so much
"Well, here's something you don't often see!"
What. A. Hottie.
I liked when he talked about the hand dryers lol
first half shit, even then, because I remember. Second half Real funny.
A Star in the Embryo.
("Midnight Special" was NBC's answer to ABC's much more music-specific "In Concert.")
This footage is so old that Martin's hair hasn't even started to gray yet...
...and, while his burlesquing of "BigTimeShowBidness" may have a somewhat dated quality, it must be remembered that almost no one else was doing this, then:
By my reckoning, the first season of SNL was at least two or three years in the future.
and the white suit had a plaid shirt under it, with 70s plunging neckline
Where is the it’s impossible to shove a Cadillac up your nose skit? It’s in my head!
@ultrakool
I think SM was funny just because he would go out there and doing stupid stuff...he knew it was stupid, and so did everyone else. And somehow it is funny. It was the 70s... so that had a LOT to do with it, y'know?
MArtin created his stage character and people loved it. Plus he was in a LOT of movies, many of which are really good. ALL OF ME...one of the best.
This must be about 1974. By the first time he hosted SNL, in 1976, his hair was grey, and he was wearing a white suit AND a tie, looking truly iconic. By '76, everything had gelled, and he was at the top of his game. Before Steve, comedy was more socially relevant, Steve cleverly threw all of that out, and just became silly, a brilliant innovation that put him way ahead of everyone else, and began a comedy revolution. Then he became truly huge.
Listen to the audience. They sound like they're on ether. NO standup ever before, or ever since had that ability to sustain the humor, when there was no joke. It was almost like a weird high. It wasn't joke, release, joke, release. People were giddy, in between punch-lines.
@Naaz08 Omg I thought the same thing!!!
A lot of you folks who were not around to enjoy Steve Martin's cutting edge comedy back in the 1970s need to do some research. Read his books, listen to his early comedy, watch his movies, most of which he wrote and enjoy his early banjo music.
looks a bit like the feller out of ccr
@jtmcclure78 That's not fair. There are different types of comedy and different types of comedians. I don't find this particularly funny either, but I can understand why other people would.
@rockdiva1983 yeah, it seems way dated, but at the time nobody was doing this sort of thing so... i've got to admit, i thought his album was hilarious at the time, but now? nope
By the looks of many of them, probably not coffee.
In the 70's and early 80's, coke and speed were used frequently and more socially acceptable as compared to today.
@pmacj yeah, I dunno about that. I think it's the fact that they have NO idea what's coming that keeps them on edge. He's so unlike the traditional stand-ups of the day ...
I love anachronistic humor. Electric hand dryers had to be invented SOME time and someone had to make a joke about it somewhere! hilarious!
So you've never seen him host the Oscars, appear on Letterman, Kimmel, The Tonight Show, SNL. Never heard of any of the 40 or so movies he's done?
is it me or does steve martin looks like harrison ford when he was han solo lol :).
There's 4000 lights in that backdrop, in case you were wondering: 100 wide x 40 tall. (including the ones blacked out for his name)
The drugs were very good in the 70's that's gotta be why they are laughing.
@zackpliskin Yup-the scene where he and John Candy are walking away from their dead car and it lights on fire kills me.
And did the 1984-85 Chevy Caprice Classic wagon with red interior use that same scary buzzer used in the 1979 Impala Wagon?
While this is hilarious... half of those people are so high.. anything that he says is funny.
There's 4000 lights in that backdrop, in case you were wondering: 100 wide x 40 tall.
tis the way it was back then... 100% part of his shtick... 100% funny... period.
What was it about the '70s where guys didn't know how to button their shirts?
Utterly brill.. hilariously funny...though the accent is quite off- putting..
He looked good with brown hair, much younger. Should have kept it brown.
those new fangled inventions like "electric hand dryers" "seat belts"
Steve Martin: the greatest dancer in the history of goofy white guys
@computersshot No I'm just looking for it to be funny that's all
Eddie Murphy stole this bit - about the talking car. So... nice.
@gtrrobster the works lol.. missed "Fart" would of been nice :)
The correct comedic entity in a time of weed, cocaine and disco
I kept thinking he was gonna put a foot through that banjo.
That's Hans Solo's cousin.... who the hell is @pettyjones?
He always was a much better banjo player than a comedian
I wonder what sort of character he was like in person..
that girl at 1:04 looks like she's tripping REAL hard.
@naaz08 Now that you mention it, yeah, he kinda does!
Look at his eyes. How high do you think he is?
Who disables embedding? Champions, that's who.
i'd pay 3 dollars to see him less than a coffee
He sure was funny in those days. Not any more.
man that audience is loving him... theyre COKED UP
He says it's a prestige car....a 65 Greyhound Bus.
He perfected jerk humor. At the end he does comic dancing - a venerable tradition going back to the great Groucho moves.
it must have been funny then but in 2011 hmmmm
@franklanguage Totally lost it there...haha...
steve looks like harrison ford in this video.
Frank Sinatra .....Personal Friend of Mine!!
A Burt Sugarman Production.
Yes, anachronistic humour is good isn't it!
The last five minutes are total insanity...
Ahead of the curve.... in so many ways!!!
yeah that was frakin gr8
looks like John Fogerty
oh, the good ol' days, haha. and i'm only 21 years old.
@lejambon08
Ain't you a sweet heart?
Not up to par for Martin on this one.
god that dance routine. it kills me.
I have one of the only replicas of the REAL "Cruel Shoes". They are evil incarnate. God help us all.
Funniest....person.....ever......
haha all these things are so old!
havent seen thhis since i was a small kid......wow....thanks....he is my idol....my 1st record i ever got was a steve martin record and i knew i wanted to make people laugh....this was nice to see as many have said not much of his live performances are around from back in the day....followed him almost all my life...
I bought the king tut album when I was 10 or 11. He seemed the same for a long time, but when I saw him in the movie with meryl streep and alec baldwin, I realized how fast we all age. By and large I think he is probably THE most "all around" comedic talent's of our time!
girl at 1:05 is tripping harddd
Someone wrote than Steve Martin was Harrison's Ford alter ego--or was it the other way?? Steve was before Jim Carey--but there is a resemblance in the way they preform???
He WAS black-haired after all?
Wow! Those guys a pretty good.
Love it...
You can rent - Steve Martin Live - it's an hour long, it's in one of those football stadiums and it's amazing.
He used to be so damn funny.
He looks like Harrison Ford!
did he pay that audiance?..
@kemosabi4 hahahaha
Ruprecht I love you xxxxx
What you understand about comedy that I don't is exactly nothing. I've listened to Steve's albums and watched his TV performances since the mid 70's, which is how I can easily identify many of the bits he did here. They are for all practical purposes the same, regardless of how this particular audience responded. Apparently your ear for language, inflection, timing, etc. is lacking.
How many people have cats ?
well, there doing something down south in Mexico that MAKES ME SICK
The jokes about "new" electric hand driers shows how long ago this was. That and seeing Steve without any grey hairs (unless he dyed them)
Ha, he left his banjo
must be a laugh track