Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
December 04, 2007
Nothing to do with Baseball

I was just reading this piece on Steve Martin at Slate, and the opening paragraph resonated with me:

According to the census bureau, roughly 40 percent of the American populace was born after 1981, which means that Steve Martin has not been a stand-up comedian in their lifetime. What do these youths make of Martin? I guess they think of him as a reliable, profoundly Caucasian presence in glossy Hollywood comedies (I use the term loosely) like Father of the Bride, Bringing Down the House, and Cheaper by the Dozen, and in mirthless paycheck specials like The Pink Panther and Sergeant Bilko. They may have read his small, well-made novels, The Pleasure of My Company and Shopgirl, or his adept and droll humor pieces in The New Yorker.

But do they realize how revelatory a performer he was?

No, they don't. Around 1998 or 1999, I was at ESPN one day talking to a group of production assistants, all around 25 years old. For some reason, I spouted a Steve Martin line from one of his stand up routines. They all looked at me curiously, so I explained it was from one of Steve Martin's old bits. They still looked at me strangely until one of them said, "Steve Martin did standup?"

If you didn't know Steve did standup, go buy Let's Get Small.


Posted by David Pinto at 10:55 AM | Other | TrackBack (0)
Comments

I have my fingers crossed that Santa leaves this book for me under the tree. I'm not much older than those guys who didn't even know he did stand-up, but my parents had his comedy albums when I was younger and I used to sneak into my basement when I was 6 or 7 and listen to them. I didn't get half the jokes, but I did get that Martin was hilarious.

Posted by: Brian at December 4, 2007 11:13 AM

Pinto, you are one wild and crazy guy!!!

Posted by: Zippercat at December 4, 2007 12:42 PM

Zippercat, you beat me to it! Damn you! :)

Posted by: sabernar at December 4, 2007 01:05 PM

To a larger extent is the Stand Up many have done. Listen to what Woody Allen did, Bill Cosby (he would be considered humorous lecturer now I think). Find some footage of Jim Carey as a stand up... mercy was he funny. Some people will have to be told Robin Williams did stand up in the future!
I saw Steve Martin in his Wild and Crazy Guy tour and it amazed me on many levels, besides the pain from laughing.
But seriously folks...

Posted by: cj at December 4, 2007 01:38 PM

This sounds like old people saying "This is a record. Do you know what that is?"

Yea, Grampa, I have lots of records, including 78s. Thanks, though.

Posted by: Blastings Thrilledge at December 4, 2007 05:03 PM

What I've recently wondered is at what age will people stop saying "that could be a Seinfeld episode" in response to someone's crazy day. Will someone born in 1990 say that? Certainly people born in 1980 or before will say it...

Posted by: Tom G, ballssticksstuff.com at December 4, 2007 05:09 PM

Talking about actors who use to do stand up comedy, have any of you ever seen a Tonight show where both Robin Williams & Johnathan Winters were both on. It must be the most hilarious thing to behold on public TV. They are both VERY funny on thier own, but together they could literally kill you through laughter. Probably the second best way to go!

Posted by: Peter at December 7, 2007 10:43 AM
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