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00:00:15,225 --> 00:00:16,893
So, listen, how much was it to get in?
2
00:00:16,893 --> 00:00:18,728
- Five.
- Five bucks?
3
00:00:23,316 --> 00:00:25,652
Okay, you paid the money, you're expecting
to see a professional show,
4
00:00:25,652 --> 00:00:27,195
so let's not waste any more time.
5
00:00:27,195 --> 00:00:29,531
Let's go with professional show business.
Let's go. Hey!
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You know what I--
7
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Is this on? Is this mic on?
8
00:00:44,713 --> 00:00:46,631
Are we okay out there? Okay, I'm sorry.
9
00:00:53,805 --> 00:00:55,056
Love me.
10
00:01:00,770 --> 00:01:03,940
And it's all totally spontaneous
and completely unrehearsed.
11
00:01:05,775 --> 00:01:07,110
It's unrehearsed.
12
00:01:08,862 --> 00:01:10,405
It's unrehearsed.
13
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So...
14
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What's the matter with you people,
don't you have a sense of humor?
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Hey.
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Cut.
17
00:01:42,979 --> 00:01:45,065
I've got something else.
We can do another one.
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{\an8}This guy was getting people so happy.
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00:02:02,165 --> 00:02:06,336
He's up there
as most idolized comedian ever.
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{\an8}I always thought of him
as the door out of the '60s.
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Well, here's something
you don't often see.
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You know, you could be silly again.
23
00:02:26,022 --> 00:02:27,983
You know, I have figured out one thing
24
00:02:27,983 --> 00:02:30,277
that would totally
put an end to show business,
25
00:02:30,277 --> 00:02:33,780
and that is if the human race,
instead of having two arms,
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just had one arm
right in the center of our body.
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Now the reason that would put an end
to show business, how would people clap?
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It'd be...
29
00:02:46,251 --> 00:02:48,587
{\an8}He reinvented stand-up.
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{\an8}That doesn't happen often.
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00:02:57,554 --> 00:03:00,348
But he never thought success
was a permanent state.
32
00:03:09,691 --> 00:03:13,069
I always thought,
"This just does not happen."
33
00:03:14,195 --> 00:03:15,405
And it did.
34
00:03:15,906 --> 00:03:18,116
And one more thing,
if you bought my album
35
00:03:18,116 --> 00:03:20,160
and you came here expecting me
to do a lot of routines
36
00:03:20,160 --> 00:03:21,995
from the record,
and I didn't do them,
37
00:03:21,995 --> 00:03:26,333
well, excuse me!
38
00:03:27,500 --> 00:03:28,668
Good night!
39
00:03:34,090 --> 00:03:38,261
I think if I had any guidance...
40
00:03:40,472 --> 00:03:41,806
...nothing would have happened for me.
41
00:03:46,853 --> 00:03:48,939
I really just wanted to be on stage.
42
00:03:49,439 --> 00:03:53,318
When I saw a stage, my eyes went wide,
43
00:03:53,318 --> 00:03:56,821
and I just imagined myself up there.
44
00:03:57,948 --> 00:04:02,452
But I guarantee you I have no talent.
45
00:04:03,495 --> 00:04:04,537
None.
46
00:04:06,790 --> 00:04:10,210
So, I had to do a workaround
in order to get on stage.
47
00:04:10,877 --> 00:04:14,256
I was probably ten or eleven
48
00:04:14,256 --> 00:04:18,802
when I realized you can go
to a magic store and buy a trick
49
00:04:19,427 --> 00:04:22,681
and then you read,
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,"
50
00:04:23,223 --> 00:04:24,808
and you're in show business.
51
00:04:30,021 --> 00:04:33,066
Don't be alarmed, there's nothing wrong
with the set, so help me.
52
00:04:34,276 --> 00:04:36,611
I was trying to be a straight magician.
53
00:04:37,988 --> 00:04:41,449
But it didn't take me long
to figure out...
54
00:04:42,617 --> 00:04:44,703
When I say they're coming up,
they're coming up.
55
00:04:51,042 --> 00:04:53,420
"They love it when the tricks don't work."
56
00:05:14,065 --> 00:05:17,068
My life really didn't begin
until I was ten.
57
00:05:18,111 --> 00:05:21,072
A friend of mine said,
"Hey, they're hiring kids at Disneyland."
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00:05:21,072 --> 00:05:22,407
I said, "What?!"
59
00:05:22,407 --> 00:05:25,243
That's right, anything's possible
in Disneyland.
60
00:05:26,077 --> 00:05:29,706
You can imagine when you're ten years old
and really haven't seen anything,
61
00:05:29,706 --> 00:05:31,833
and there was Mickey Mouse in flowers
62
00:05:31,833 --> 00:05:35,337
and there's a train pulling
in the station, and...
63
00:05:35,337 --> 00:05:37,839
...and characters and rides
and rocket ships.
64
00:05:39,966 --> 00:05:43,345
And they immediately gave me a job
to sell the Disneyland News.
65
00:05:45,847 --> 00:05:48,308
Which no one wanted to buy.
66
00:05:48,892 --> 00:05:52,229
But the main thing was,
I was done by 9:00 a.m.,
67
00:05:52,229 --> 00:05:55,232
and I could spend the rest of the day
in the park for free.
68
00:05:56,399 --> 00:05:59,152
I would hang out
at the Golden Horseshoe Revue.
69
00:06:00,111 --> 00:06:01,905
And there was a comedian there.
His name was Wally Boag.
70
00:06:01,905 --> 00:06:04,157
And he was the first comedian
I ever saw live.
71
00:06:04,157 --> 00:06:05,367
Here we have the gambler's friend.
72
00:06:05,367 --> 00:06:07,953
This always makes the sale and
you make your fortune with these.
73
00:06:07,953 --> 00:06:10,413
They never fail.
Looky here, Niagara Falls.
74
00:06:10,914 --> 00:06:12,165
From the Canadian side.
75
00:06:12,707 --> 00:06:14,834
Niagara Falls frozen.
76
00:06:15,919 --> 00:06:18,797
I saw his show hundreds of times.
77
00:06:18,797 --> 00:06:19,923
What else you got?
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00:06:20,382 --> 00:06:22,926
The average and normal person will
blow a balloon something like that.
79
00:06:22,926 --> 00:06:24,678
That's the average and normal type.
80
00:06:24,678 --> 00:06:27,264
And then we have
the straight forward type, they...
81
00:06:30,267 --> 00:06:33,687
Say, now, you've heard of pink elephants?
Here's an elephant in color right here.
82
00:06:33,687 --> 00:06:37,023
Looking a little something like that.
Elephant, right there.
83
00:06:37,023 --> 00:06:39,609
It's nothing, I can tell
by the applause. Now, let's...
84
00:06:42,988 --> 00:06:46,449
You know, my fantasy was,
I'm sitting there in the audience,
85
00:06:46,449 --> 00:06:48,785
that he would get sick.
86
00:06:48,785 --> 00:06:52,497
Somebody would say,
"Does anybody know this show?"
87
00:06:52,497 --> 00:06:53,957
I would be ready to go.
88
00:06:54,332 --> 00:06:55,500
What's your name?
89
00:06:56,459 --> 00:06:57,419
You got a name?
90
00:07:01,131 --> 00:07:05,343
{\an8}I think the fact that it was Disneyland,
it wasn't like a job job.
91
00:07:05,844 --> 00:07:09,598
{\an8}I think sometimes he might have
made a nickel, but he didn't care.
92
00:07:09,598 --> 00:07:12,017
He was loving what he did.
93
00:07:13,059 --> 00:07:15,145
It was a nice escape for him
94
00:07:15,145 --> 00:07:19,316
because Steve kind of got
the frustrating end from our dad.
95
00:07:20,942 --> 00:07:23,945
He would just blow his stack at him.
96
00:07:25,822 --> 00:07:27,574
I don't remember hugs.
97
00:07:28,199 --> 00:07:30,368
I don't remember affection.
98
00:07:33,038 --> 00:07:34,581
I remember thinking
when I was a kid, I said,
99
00:07:34,581 --> 00:07:40,253
"God, I had this happy, happiest
childhood, happiest. It was so happy.
100
00:07:40,253 --> 00:07:43,215
And then later I realized that,
"Oh, yeah, happy outside the house."
101
00:07:44,132 --> 00:07:47,636
To the happiest place on Earth,
Disneyland.
102
00:07:53,683 --> 00:07:55,518
And then I got a job at the magic shop.
103
00:07:57,103 --> 00:07:58,563
And that changed my life.
104
00:07:59,940 --> 00:08:03,360
To perform tricks all day?
105
00:08:03,360 --> 00:08:05,779
That's just a dream come true.
106
00:08:06,196 --> 00:08:08,198
Eventually, you become good.
107
00:08:09,991 --> 00:08:11,952
We had all kinds of gags.
108
00:08:11,952 --> 00:08:14,537
Bunny ears and arrows through the head.
109
00:08:15,080 --> 00:08:17,791
We did the tricks,
but we had all these jokes.
110
00:08:17,791 --> 00:08:21,211
I had a friend, Jim Barlow.
He had patter worked out.
111
00:08:21,211 --> 00:08:25,173
He would go up to customers and say,
"May I take your money? I mean, help you?"
112
00:08:25,173 --> 00:08:26,841
I just took all of Jim's patter.
113
00:08:26,841 --> 00:08:28,677
Somebody would buy something
and I would say,
114
00:08:28,677 --> 00:08:32,681
"And because you are our 100th customer
today, you get a free paper bag."
115
00:08:32,681 --> 00:08:36,017
Little silly things like that.
But it's Disneyland and I'm 15.
116
00:08:38,979 --> 00:08:41,523
Martin the Magic Marvel!
Let's bring him on.
117
00:08:47,070 --> 00:08:50,740
I would do shows for my parents'
bridge parties or for Cub Scouts.
118
00:08:51,366 --> 00:08:54,244
It was nothing.
I could tell by the applause.
119
00:08:56,830 --> 00:08:59,958
Jim Barlow and I had developed
hundreds of gags.
120
00:09:01,209 --> 00:09:03,086
Could I have a little magic music, please?
121
00:09:03,086 --> 00:09:05,672
It's mostly stolen and borrowed.
122
00:09:05,672 --> 00:09:08,800
I just want to remind you,
if you want to laugh, go ahead.
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00:09:08,800 --> 00:09:10,302
If you want to leave,
the doors are locked.
124
00:09:12,220 --> 00:09:13,638
I thought I'd be using them my whole life.
125
00:09:14,222 --> 00:09:16,016
I said magic, not tragic.
126
00:09:17,726 --> 00:09:19,811
Here we go! One!
127
00:09:20,770 --> 00:09:21,688
Two!
128
00:09:22,689 --> 00:09:24,441
And three!
129
00:09:30,447 --> 00:09:32,908
I often hear, "Well, just be yourself."
130
00:09:33,533 --> 00:09:35,744
But who knows what their self is?
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00:09:36,745 --> 00:09:37,996
I don't.
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00:09:40,415 --> 00:09:42,834
"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,
Cub Scouts,
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00:09:42,834 --> 00:09:44,920
I am your magical host for the evening.
134
00:09:44,920 --> 00:09:48,548
I am Steve Martin,
your magical host for the evening.
135
00:09:48,548 --> 00:09:51,343
Take business cards.
Give several to head guy.
136
00:09:51,343 --> 00:09:54,304
No children's shows
under eight years of age.
137
00:09:54,304 --> 00:09:58,892
Terrific show, went over terrific.
Laughs all the way through.
138
00:09:58,892 --> 00:10:03,230
Had an accident with the square circle,
but it was covered and nobody knew."
139
00:10:11,571 --> 00:10:17,410
You can define a personality for yourself
and become that on stage.
140
00:10:17,410 --> 00:10:20,830
You can be what you choose to be.
141
00:10:22,666 --> 00:10:25,961
{\an8}- Can you play something for us?
- Sure, sure. Yeah.
142
00:10:29,714 --> 00:10:31,800
No, you don't play it like that, Tex.
143
00:10:31,800 --> 00:10:34,761
Oh, well. Like this?
144
00:10:35,762 --> 00:10:36,846
- No.
- No.
145
00:10:37,806 --> 00:10:40,225
I remember realizing,
146
00:10:40,934 --> 00:10:44,938
"I think there's a little bit
of a dead end for me in magic.
147
00:10:45,355 --> 00:10:49,901
In comedy, it seems more wide open."
148
00:10:51,319 --> 00:10:53,280
You come on television--
149
00:10:53,280 --> 00:10:56,992
You come on television, and you know,
so many performers, they get nervous.
150
00:10:56,992 --> 00:10:58,118
I don't get nervous.
151
00:10:58,118 --> 00:11:00,287
I don't want anyone to think
that this is something I hold in my heart.
152
00:11:00,287 --> 00:11:02,330
Anyone ever thought I was nervous,
I'd die.
153
00:11:03,290 --> 00:11:04,708
I loved Jerry Lewis.
154
00:11:05,625 --> 00:11:07,460
I loved Laurel and Hardy.
155
00:11:09,838 --> 00:11:12,507
And Nichols and May, they were like music.
156
00:11:12,507 --> 00:11:15,051
And you remember that Mommy loves you.
157
00:11:15,051 --> 00:11:16,887
I love you too, Mommy.
158
00:11:17,512 --> 00:11:19,514
- Goodbye, baby.
- Goodbye, Mommy.
159
00:11:21,933 --> 00:11:23,184
There was Lenny Bruce,
160
00:11:23,184 --> 00:11:25,186
Bob Newhart, Charlie Chaplin,
I Love Lucy,
161
00:11:25,186 --> 00:11:26,980
Jack Benny, Danny Kaye,
Bob Hope, Red Skelton,
162
00:11:26,980 --> 00:11:28,732
Peter Sellers, Steve Allen,
Jackie Gleason.
163
00:11:28,732 --> 00:11:33,028
But I had absolutely
nothing in common with what they did.
164
00:11:33,904 --> 00:11:35,947
Do you believe I can play
this song backwards?
165
00:11:36,865 --> 00:11:38,199
No. Can you?
166
00:11:38,199 --> 00:11:39,743
- Wanna see me do it?
- Yeah.
167
00:11:39,743 --> 00:11:40,869
Watch this.
168
00:11:47,083 --> 00:11:51,504
I'm in Orange County, which might
have been 10,000 miles from Hollywood.
169
00:11:52,130 --> 00:11:53,882
And I didn't have any bits.
170
00:11:53,882 --> 00:11:56,760
I felt uncomfortable without props.
171
00:11:56,760 --> 00:11:59,471
I'd be standing there telling a story?
172
00:12:03,266 --> 00:12:07,812
So, how do I transform myself
into a comedian?
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00:12:11,691 --> 00:12:15,153
When I was 18,
I worked at this very cute little theater
174
00:12:15,153 --> 00:12:17,989
at Knott's Berry Farm
called the Birdcage Theater.
175
00:12:17,989 --> 00:12:19,908
And I met a girl who worked there
176
00:12:19,908 --> 00:12:23,620
and we fell in love
in that sort of 18-year-old way.
177
00:12:26,122 --> 00:12:30,043
Her name then was Stormie Sherk,
and she became a Christian proselytizer,
178
00:12:30,043 --> 00:12:32,546
and she's a huge best selling author.
179
00:12:34,130 --> 00:12:35,715
But anyway, then she wasn't.
180
00:12:35,715 --> 00:12:38,134
She had a spirit that was not yet holy.
181
00:12:39,636 --> 00:12:43,473
And she was very enthusiastic
about knowledge and learning.
182
00:12:44,558 --> 00:12:46,518
{\an8}He was so open to things.
183
00:12:47,018 --> 00:12:51,189
{\an8}I wanted to give him the books
that had really affected my life.
184
00:12:52,732 --> 00:12:55,777
She had convinced me
to read The Razor's Edge.
185
00:12:58,780 --> 00:13:02,617
And The Razor's Edge
is about man questing truth.
186
00:13:03,702 --> 00:13:06,955
There can be no real happiness
until men learn
187
00:13:06,955 --> 00:13:09,416
that it comes from within themselves.
188
00:13:11,334 --> 00:13:13,837
I couldn't recite it back to you.
189
00:13:13,837 --> 00:13:17,966
All I know is, "Oh, I'm supposed to be
interested in the meaning of life."
190
00:13:20,176 --> 00:13:23,346
So, I kept encouraging him.
I said, "Steve, you're so brilliant.
191
00:13:23,346 --> 00:13:26,433
You've got to go to college.
That's how you're gonna find who you are.
192
00:13:26,433 --> 00:13:30,186
That's how you're gonna learn
so much about yourself and the world."
193
00:13:31,146 --> 00:13:34,816
So I made a major change in my life.
194
00:13:34,816 --> 00:13:39,154
I applied to Long Beach State
and started studying philosophy.
195
00:13:44,910 --> 00:13:48,747
In philosophy,
everything is being broken down.
196
00:13:48,747 --> 00:13:51,166
Everything is being rethought.
197
00:13:51,166 --> 00:13:54,085
Everything. And I like that.
198
00:13:54,085 --> 00:13:59,007
The feeling that you would
solve something grand.
199
00:14:00,342 --> 00:14:04,054
So, I started questioning
the only thing I had, which was comedy.
200
00:14:05,180 --> 00:14:06,723
Instead of, "Does God exist?"
201
00:14:06,723 --> 00:14:09,517
It was,
"Hey, how can I get some better laughs?"
202
00:14:10,477 --> 00:14:12,812
I remembered an essential element
203
00:14:12,812 --> 00:14:17,442
of my thinking about comedy,
which was indicators.
204
00:14:17,442 --> 00:14:18,944
Like that, see?
205
00:14:18,944 --> 00:14:20,487
I wanna tell you...
206
00:14:20,487 --> 00:14:21,947
You know,
once I wanted to become an atheist.
207
00:14:21,947 --> 00:14:24,241
I gave it up. They have no holidays.
208
00:14:26,201 --> 00:14:31,873
The things comedians do
to indicate that the joke is over,
209
00:14:31,873 --> 00:14:35,877
and whether it was funny or not,
the audience has made a pact.
210
00:14:35,877 --> 00:14:38,547
"Okay, that's when we laugh."
211
00:14:39,005 --> 00:14:41,508
For example, the punch line.
212
00:14:41,508 --> 00:14:44,886
I suppose you read where
Elvis Presley passed his Army physical.
213
00:14:44,886 --> 00:14:47,097
I feel a lot safer now, don't you?
214
00:14:47,097 --> 00:14:50,475
By telling the story, you create tension.
215
00:14:50,475 --> 00:14:52,060
Elvis is really musical too.
216
00:14:52,060 --> 00:14:53,645
When the doctor tapped him with a hammer
217
00:14:53,645 --> 00:14:56,273
his kneecaps played
three choruses of "Don't Be Cruel."
218
00:14:56,940 --> 00:15:00,068
With the punch line, you release
the tension and everybody goes...
219
00:15:03,363 --> 00:15:05,532
That's not real laughter.
220
00:15:06,408 --> 00:15:12,205
So I thought, "What if I created tension
and never released it?
221
00:15:13,081 --> 00:15:15,292
What if I could get real laughter?"
222
00:15:17,043 --> 00:15:22,090
Like the kind you have with your friends,
where your sides are aching.
223
00:15:22,757 --> 00:15:26,469
Where there was no pact.
We were just laughing.
224
00:15:29,472 --> 00:15:32,017
There was no indicators.
225
00:15:32,017 --> 00:15:36,271
There was nothing to say,
"This is a joke." You just get giggly.
226
00:15:36,271 --> 00:15:38,899
"What are we laughing at?"
"I don't know."
227
00:15:41,151 --> 00:15:42,652
So, I had this theory.
228
00:15:43,403 --> 00:15:48,491
"What if I took out the indicators,
but just kept going?"
229
00:15:48,950 --> 00:15:54,664
Like, the audience eventually would
have to pick their own place to laugh.
230
00:15:54,664 --> 00:15:58,501
It's either gonna be, "This is so stupid,"
which will make them laugh
231
00:15:58,501 --> 00:16:00,670
or, "That was funny,"
which will make them laugh.
232
00:16:00,670 --> 00:16:03,924
Or, "Now I'm laughing at the thing
that was actually two things before."
233
00:16:05,050 --> 00:16:10,513
So, there was this kind of free form
laughter without the pact.
234
00:16:11,348 --> 00:16:15,727
I was after that quality
that is indefinable,
235
00:16:15,727 --> 00:16:20,774
where it's that "I don't know why
it was funny, but it was."
236
00:16:24,069 --> 00:16:27,530
My very first show
that I would say I was actually paid for,
237
00:16:27,530 --> 00:16:29,908
the Little Place coffee shop.
238
00:16:29,908 --> 00:16:31,201
Thank you.
239
00:16:31,201 --> 00:16:33,620
I wanted to mention,
we really have a great show tonight.
240
00:16:33,620 --> 00:16:36,414
We have Steve Martin.
He'll be out here in a minute.
241
00:16:36,414 --> 00:16:40,252
We have the Tijuana Brass,
and then we have Elvis Presley.
242
00:16:40,252 --> 00:16:43,255
We have Flamey and the Burn Outs,
we have Bill Haley and the Comets,
243
00:16:43,255 --> 00:16:46,049
Truman Capote, Queen of England,
Montie Montana...
244
00:16:46,049 --> 00:16:48,927
I had the kitchen sink in my act,
I put the magic in.
245
00:16:48,927 --> 00:16:50,095
Ace of spades.
246
00:16:50,095 --> 00:16:52,806
The ace of spades. Well, you're wrong!
247
00:16:53,765 --> 00:16:55,392
I read E.E. Cummings.
248
00:16:55,392 --> 00:16:57,978
"The devil, ach the great
green dancing devil devil devil devil."
249
00:16:58,770 --> 00:16:59,771
I juggled.
250
00:17:01,690 --> 00:17:03,942
I haven't always done
a fantastically funny comedy act.
251
00:17:03,942 --> 00:17:07,487
I used to do dramatic readings,
you know, of things like...
252
00:17:07,487 --> 00:17:10,407
I did a dramatic reading
of the periodic table of the elements.
253
00:17:10,991 --> 00:17:12,033
It's a big one.
254
00:17:13,577 --> 00:17:14,578
Pud.
255
00:17:15,996 --> 00:17:16,955
Mup.
256
00:17:18,206 --> 00:17:19,165
Zun.
257
00:17:20,542 --> 00:17:22,127
Just kind of goes on like that.
258
00:17:22,710 --> 00:17:25,881
It was hard getting 20 minutes of stuff.
It really was.
259
00:17:25,881 --> 00:17:30,510
If the audience was bad,
it got down to 11, you know?
260
00:17:31,386 --> 00:17:35,599
This has really been a big one for me,
kind of, put me where I am today.
261
00:17:35,599 --> 00:17:37,225
It's the comedy telephone routine.
262
00:17:37,225 --> 00:17:39,352
This is where I pretend like I call
somebody up on the phone,
263
00:17:39,352 --> 00:17:42,188
talk to them and make funny jokes.
264
00:17:43,356 --> 00:17:45,483
I think you're really gonna like this one.
265
00:17:47,652 --> 00:17:49,279
Hello, is Fred there?
266
00:17:56,494 --> 00:17:57,746
That's a funny one. And then...
267
00:18:00,373 --> 00:18:04,085
I was just as happy with a look.
268
00:18:04,085 --> 00:18:05,629
Like, "What?"
269
00:18:06,379 --> 00:18:08,423
{\an8}There are two kinds of people
in the world.
270
00:18:08,423 --> 00:18:14,387
{\an8}Those who understand Steve Martin's humor
and those who don't.
271
00:18:14,971 --> 00:18:17,098
The audience had to catch up.
272
00:18:17,974 --> 00:18:19,351
Thank you.
273
00:18:20,393 --> 00:18:23,730
I transferred to UCLA,
and I took advanced logic.
274
00:18:29,653 --> 00:18:32,280
{\an8}We're having a good time. Yes.
275
00:18:34,074 --> 00:18:36,409
These are the good times
and we're having them.
276
00:18:37,494 --> 00:18:40,163
I was influenced by Lewis Carroll,
277
00:18:40,163 --> 00:18:44,251
who was the great,
sort of, master of nonsense.
278
00:18:44,834 --> 00:18:47,128
One. Babies are illogical.
279
00:18:47,754 --> 00:18:51,883
Two. Nobody is despised
who can manage a crocodile.
280
00:18:52,342 --> 00:18:55,470
Three. Illogical persons are despised.
281
00:18:56,012 --> 00:18:58,765
Therefore, babies
cannot manage crocodiles.
282
00:19:00,725 --> 00:19:03,478
And then one day
I was with my friend Phil Carey
283
00:19:03,478 --> 00:19:06,147
and we decided to have an adventure.
284
00:19:06,147 --> 00:19:09,734
Phil got this assignment in his class.
I don't know what the assignment was,
285
00:19:09,734 --> 00:19:12,279
but it was to interview someone,
so he asked Aaron Copland.
286
00:19:12,279 --> 00:19:15,407
And Aaron Copland said, "Yeah."
287
00:19:15,407 --> 00:19:18,159
{\an8}He had not been across country
288
00:19:18,159 --> 00:19:22,038
{\an8}and had not been
in a lot of these small towns.
289
00:19:22,038 --> 00:19:26,668
There were places that I thought,
"Steve needs to see this."
290
00:19:27,627 --> 00:19:30,213
Phil and I were in sync.
You know how that goes.
291
00:19:30,213 --> 00:19:32,966
When you have a close friend
you can riff with.
292
00:19:32,966 --> 00:19:35,343
That's what happened on that trip.
293
00:19:35,343 --> 00:19:38,221
I've got a good name for a product.
Meat Wax.
294
00:19:38,221 --> 00:19:41,224
"Hi, friends. Are you tired of having
a dull, rotten body?
295
00:19:41,224 --> 00:19:44,895
Well, you can make it gleam again
with new spray on Meat Wax."
296
00:19:44,895 --> 00:19:50,609
We sort of shared interests
in the strange and wonderful about life.
297
00:19:50,609 --> 00:19:52,402
I was still 20,
298
00:19:52,402 --> 00:19:56,197
and I was proud to make it
to New York City before I turned 21.
299
00:19:56,197 --> 00:19:59,910
And when Phil and I got there,
we ran over to the Museum of Modern Art.
300
00:19:59,910 --> 00:20:01,786
Because we had to see Guernica.
301
00:20:05,248 --> 00:20:07,834
So, what is happening in 1964?
302
00:20:07,834 --> 00:20:11,338
You have an explosion in the art world.
303
00:20:11,338 --> 00:20:15,133
You have a culture shifting
with The Beatles.
304
00:20:15,800 --> 00:20:17,010
Give us a kiss.
305
00:20:17,010 --> 00:20:20,347
{\an8}So, when I looked at my so-called act,
306
00:20:20,347 --> 00:20:25,143
it was natural to think,
"What makes them want to see this again?
307
00:20:25,143 --> 00:20:28,855
What would make them go home
and talk about it?"
308
00:20:30,982 --> 00:20:36,196
Even if it was just,
"I just saw the weirdest thing," you know?
309
00:20:36,196 --> 00:20:40,784
"A comedian who thinks he's funny,
and isn't."
310
00:20:40,784 --> 00:20:44,704
I thought, there's something there.
311
00:20:47,165 --> 00:20:50,210
{\an8}I mailed a postcard
to my fabulous college girlfriend.
312
00:20:50,961 --> 00:20:54,965
{\an8}"Dear Nina, I have decided my act
is going to go avant-garde.
313
00:20:54,965 --> 00:20:58,093
{\an8}It is the only way to do what I want."
314
00:20:59,135 --> 00:21:03,765
I have no idea what I meant except that
I wasn't going to be traditional.
315
00:21:05,267 --> 00:21:06,226
I guess.
316
00:21:07,811 --> 00:21:11,940
Now, ladies and gentlemen...
Steve Martin.
317
00:21:11,940 --> 00:21:14,693
Good evening, thank you.
Thank you very much, this is too much.
318
00:21:14,693 --> 00:21:17,362
Really, too much. Thank you. Thank you.
319
00:21:17,362 --> 00:21:19,781
It's my farewell performance,
so thank you very much.
320
00:21:19,781 --> 00:21:21,283
So long, and thank you very much.
321
00:21:21,283 --> 00:21:22,492
Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.
322
00:21:22,492 --> 00:21:25,328
or hello, or whatever time it is
wherever you are.
323
00:21:25,328 --> 00:21:26,955
Good evening and welcome to the show.
324
00:21:26,955 --> 00:21:29,749
My name is Steve Martin and
I'll be out here in just a moment.
325
00:21:29,749 --> 00:21:31,543
And while we're waiting for me,
326
00:21:31,543 --> 00:21:33,753
I'd like to announce, first of all,
that two weeks ago,
327
00:21:33,753 --> 00:21:38,091
I recorded my first live comedy album.
328
00:21:38,091 --> 00:21:42,137
And two days from tonight,
we're going to erase it.
329
00:21:42,137 --> 00:21:44,389
So, that's why I'm sort of out here.
330
00:21:45,557 --> 00:21:47,559
That's funny, isn't it?
331
00:21:48,184 --> 00:21:51,354
Yes, comedy is king in this amazing world.
332
00:21:51,354 --> 00:21:53,773
You know, laughter is so important.
333
00:21:53,773 --> 00:21:57,068
It's really the one thing
that distinguishes
334
00:21:57,068 --> 00:21:59,654
a human being from
all the other creatures, you know,
335
00:21:59,654 --> 00:22:03,408
is that ability when something funny
happens to really be able to lean back
336
00:22:03,408 --> 00:22:06,244
and go, "Funny."
337
00:22:10,582 --> 00:22:13,001
The clubs would hire comedians.
338
00:22:13,001 --> 00:22:15,503
They were always the opening act.
339
00:22:15,503 --> 00:22:19,591
{\an8}It was my only bar scene ever,
and I didn't real--
340
00:22:19,591 --> 00:22:23,428
Sounds just like a California "ever"
when I said that, but anyway.
341
00:22:24,554 --> 00:22:26,723
The mecca was the Troubadour.
342
00:22:27,933 --> 00:22:30,393
Even though there was a club
called The Mecca.
343
00:22:31,019 --> 00:22:32,979
...welcome to Steve Martin.
344
00:22:34,356 --> 00:22:35,523
Thank you.
345
00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:39,110
Thank you. Well, shoot.
346
00:22:40,111 --> 00:22:44,407
You've really been a wonderful audience,
and thank you very much and goodnight.
347
00:22:47,369 --> 00:22:51,665
No, I just thought I'd say that.
As he said, I was doing the Bishop show...
348
00:22:51,665 --> 00:22:53,750
{\an8}Usually, he'd do two shows.
349
00:22:53,750 --> 00:22:56,169
{\an8}There could be, like,
six people in the audience.
350
00:22:56,795 --> 00:22:58,838
It was weird to watch when nobody laughed,
351
00:22:58,838 --> 00:23:01,049
because then you're like,
"Oh, is this funny?"
352
00:23:03,552 --> 00:23:05,929
Here we are in the alley
behind the Troubadour
353
00:23:05,929 --> 00:23:07,847
with Mr. Steve Martin.
354
00:23:08,723 --> 00:23:10,183
Yes, yes, it's me.
355
00:23:10,183 --> 00:23:11,518
Ladies and gentlemen, if you're listening,
356
00:23:11,518 --> 00:23:14,479
some people just walked by
and recognized me here. Exciting--
357
00:23:14,479 --> 00:23:15,772
Woody Allen, right?
358
00:23:15,772 --> 00:23:17,774
No, no, no, no.
359
00:23:17,774 --> 00:23:19,359
Are you Jerry Lewis?
360
00:23:19,359 --> 00:23:22,153
No, this is Steve Martin.
The King of Comedy.
361
00:23:22,737 --> 00:23:24,281
I've never heard of Steve Martin.
362
00:23:24,281 --> 00:23:25,365
Make me laugh.
363
00:23:27,534 --> 00:23:29,119
But then there'd be a second show
364
00:23:29,119 --> 00:23:32,372
and people had been drinking and you know,
it would go great.
365
00:23:32,372 --> 00:23:35,792
But now I realize a lot of you people
are sitting out there saying to yourself,
366
00:23:35,792 --> 00:23:38,795
"Oh, this is just another
banjo magic act."
367
00:23:40,755 --> 00:23:43,133
"But when is he going to do
balloon animals?"
368
00:23:44,885 --> 00:23:48,346
Once they got him, he had them.
369
00:24:07,449 --> 00:24:11,411
I think I tried hard to get him
to be romantic that summer.
370
00:24:12,871 --> 00:24:17,334
His brain works in many interesting,
different ways.
371
00:24:17,334 --> 00:24:21,171
"Dear, dear Mitz.
Actually, nothing much is happening.
372
00:24:21,171 --> 00:24:25,050
I auditioned at the Golden Horseshoe,
but haven't heard back."
373
00:24:25,800 --> 00:24:29,179
"I'm in the process
of growing a moustache, are you?"
374
00:24:37,062 --> 00:24:38,813
He had fun with my family.
375
00:24:39,522 --> 00:24:42,734
We would smoke a little pot
and laugh and eat.
376
00:24:45,028 --> 00:24:47,614
{\an8}My father was a writer, a screenwriter.
377
00:24:48,657 --> 00:24:52,285
{\an8}He and many of his friends
were blacklisted.
378
00:24:53,328 --> 00:24:57,332
There'd be dinners with artists, writers.
379
00:24:58,541 --> 00:25:01,044
It's the first time
I ever saw art in a house.
380
00:25:02,587 --> 00:25:05,298
Conversation was the opposite of my own.
381
00:25:06,132 --> 00:25:09,594
Dinner with my parents was silent.
382
00:25:12,514 --> 00:25:16,726
That was the first time I walked into
another complete life.
383
00:25:17,769 --> 00:25:19,729
Another kind of life.
384
00:25:42,752 --> 00:25:45,463
You know, the way we look at each other
when we're that age,
385
00:25:45,463 --> 00:25:47,591
we don't know anything about anything.
386
00:25:48,258 --> 00:25:50,552
And so, I broke up with Steve.
387
00:25:51,136 --> 00:25:53,263
I think I could have seen
that he would go someplace.
388
00:25:53,263 --> 00:25:56,766
I didn't think he'd stop. And he didn't.
389
00:25:58,393 --> 00:26:00,061
This is one of the most
beautiful sights...
390
00:26:00,061 --> 00:26:03,648
I once performed
at a drive-in movie theater.
391
00:26:03,648 --> 00:26:07,235
If they thought something was funny,
they honked.
392
00:26:09,487 --> 00:26:11,615
When people say, "Hey, mind if I smoke?"
393
00:26:11,615 --> 00:26:13,825
I say, "No, you mind if I fart?"
394
00:26:21,291 --> 00:26:24,169
I thought, "No, I can't let this
turn into my life.
395
00:26:25,045 --> 00:26:28,465
I don't wanna be doing this
in my 50s, 60s.
396
00:26:29,299 --> 00:26:33,720
So, I'll give myself till 30 to make it."
397
00:26:38,725 --> 00:26:41,603
You know, I'd work at night.
I'd go to college in the day.
398
00:26:42,312 --> 00:26:47,734
And I'm thinking, "How do I earn a living?
What do I do?"
399
00:26:48,777 --> 00:26:52,989
"August 9th, auditioned
for The Mighty Hercules TV show."
400
00:26:53,949 --> 00:26:56,117
Quit now, Hercules,
you don't stand a chance.
401
00:26:57,035 --> 00:26:59,079
That's what you think.
Here I come, Theseus.
402
00:26:59,079 --> 00:27:00,372
"Didn't get it."
403
00:27:01,957 --> 00:27:06,962
I was definitely thinking of
becoming a professor of philosophy
404
00:27:06,962 --> 00:27:10,423
because I always felt that teaching
was show business.
405
00:27:11,132 --> 00:27:13,301
You're standing up in front of people.
406
00:27:14,302 --> 00:27:18,139
You know, and then this opportunity
came through with The Smothers Brothers.
407
00:27:18,139 --> 00:27:20,141
Which was a hit show.
408
00:27:21,226 --> 00:27:25,313
So, here's my brother Tom with,
for the first time on television,
409
00:27:25,313 --> 00:27:29,025
30, count them, folks, 30 topless dancers.
410
00:27:30,986 --> 00:27:33,905
They were casting around
for young writers.
411
00:27:35,824 --> 00:27:37,867
I thought, "Well, that's show business."
412
00:27:42,414 --> 00:27:44,499
I had been performing stand-up comedy
around town
413
00:27:44,499 --> 00:27:46,668
and they had heard a little bit about me.
414
00:27:49,045 --> 00:27:50,964
I've got a great practical joke.
415
00:27:50,964 --> 00:27:53,216
Do you want to play it on your friends?
It's really funny.
416
00:27:53,216 --> 00:27:55,719
You're invited to one of those
big dinner parties,
417
00:27:55,719 --> 00:27:59,055
walk in and throw the salad on the floor.
418
00:28:00,181 --> 00:28:02,392
I did that at the last party I went to.
419
00:28:03,268 --> 00:28:05,687
That was about two years ago.
420
00:28:06,271 --> 00:28:08,607
And the only thing I'd written
were some jokes in my act
421
00:28:08,607 --> 00:28:11,234
and a few, little, weird, short stories.
422
00:28:11,860 --> 00:28:14,613
But my girlfriend
was dating the head writer.
423
00:28:15,447 --> 00:28:17,574
Remember, this is 1967.
424
00:28:18,241 --> 00:28:21,953
{\an8}I would go out to The Ice House
four or five times a week.
425
00:28:21,953 --> 00:28:25,624
{\an8}I probably saw him 20 or 30 times there.
426
00:28:26,082 --> 00:28:28,168
When you see something 30 times,
427
00:28:29,252 --> 00:28:31,838
you start to see the essence
of what's going on.
428
00:28:32,756 --> 00:28:34,507
And they hired me.
429
00:28:34,507 --> 00:28:36,885
I was launched into the stratosphere.
430
00:28:37,427 --> 00:28:40,430
From nowhere to somewhere in a week.
431
00:28:47,270 --> 00:28:49,773
I was scared out of my mind.
432
00:28:51,691 --> 00:28:54,694
I would say he was a little bit shy.
433
00:28:54,694 --> 00:28:55,987
Rolling!
434
00:28:55,987 --> 00:28:57,614
We didn't have an office for him,
435
00:28:57,614 --> 00:29:01,993
and he would sit in the hallway
outside of the writers' room.
436
00:29:01,993 --> 00:29:03,662
And just leaning against the wall.
437
00:29:05,247 --> 00:29:07,540
I went in and, you know,
I wrote something.
438
00:29:08,583 --> 00:29:11,002
Mason circled a line and he said,
439
00:29:11,002 --> 00:29:14,548
"That's the punchline and
we'll just take it and put it at the end."
440
00:29:18,510 --> 00:29:21,263
Started having anxiety attacks.
441
00:29:22,806 --> 00:29:25,350
I really struggled with it
for many, many years.
442
00:29:30,689 --> 00:29:35,819
"Well, here I am... alive.
Now what do I do?
443
00:29:36,820 --> 00:29:40,991
Two days ago, I went through what
was the worst experience of my life.
444
00:29:42,200 --> 00:29:46,454
Fantastically rapid palpitation
of the heart accompanied by fear.
445
00:29:48,331 --> 00:29:50,500
I felt very detached from the world.
446
00:29:50,500 --> 00:29:53,253
No past, only a distant present.
447
00:29:53,962 --> 00:29:55,589
I was very disjointed at work.
448
00:29:55,589 --> 00:29:58,300
I could not talk
without stumbling over words.
449
00:29:58,967 --> 00:30:00,844
I had thoughts of quitting."
450
00:30:02,637 --> 00:30:05,181
Who is that disgusting person?
451
00:30:06,850 --> 00:30:08,143
"And then...
452
00:30:08,977 --> 00:30:12,939
I drove home and realized
that I am pretty fucking great.
453
00:30:12,939 --> 00:30:15,859
I have a good job. I have a creative job.
454
00:30:16,359 --> 00:30:18,695
I have a good act, an artistic act.
455
00:30:19,237 --> 00:30:20,739
I have a mind.
456
00:30:21,698 --> 00:30:26,661
I decided to think of my work as an end
rather than happiness as an end.
457
00:30:28,496 --> 00:30:30,665
That is a good idea."
458
00:30:32,959 --> 00:30:35,128
I mean, Tommy Smothers once said,
459
00:30:35,128 --> 00:30:38,173
"Talking to Steve Martin
is like talking to nobody."
460
00:30:40,842 --> 00:30:42,594
And he was right.
461
00:30:42,594 --> 00:30:46,389
{\an8}I'd like to introduce you, but I can't
quite decide how to describe your act.
462
00:30:46,389 --> 00:30:47,641
{\an8}What would you suggest?
463
00:30:47,641 --> 00:30:49,059
Oh, how about...
464
00:30:50,185 --> 00:30:52,437
..."world's greatest comedian"?
465
00:30:54,272 --> 00:30:55,273
No.
466
00:30:58,401 --> 00:31:00,528
Hi, I'm the world's greatest comedian.
467
00:31:01,446 --> 00:31:03,573
Hello. Thank you. Thank you very much.
468
00:31:04,908 --> 00:31:07,744
Thank you. Well, thank you.
469
00:31:10,038 --> 00:31:12,749
This is too much. I didn't expect this.
Thank you.
470
00:31:12,749 --> 00:31:15,627
I'd like to start off with something
that's an old gag
471
00:31:15,627 --> 00:31:17,587
and I haven't really perfected it yet,
472
00:31:17,587 --> 00:31:20,465
but something that's always funny
no matter how many times you see it,
473
00:31:20,465 --> 00:31:22,968
it's the old
forgetting your own name gag.
474
00:31:22,968 --> 00:31:26,346
This is where I start to say my own name
475
00:31:26,346 --> 00:31:28,181
and then, suddenly,
I pretend like I forgot it.
476
00:31:28,181 --> 00:31:31,101
Now, I haven't perfected this yet,
but something that's really funny.
477
00:31:31,101 --> 00:31:34,604
So, here we go,
the old forgetting your own name gag.
478
00:31:40,026 --> 00:31:41,736
Hi, folks, I'm Steve Martin.
479
00:31:42,529 --> 00:31:44,155
Oh, I blew it.
480
00:31:47,367 --> 00:31:50,787
Peace, now! Peace, now! Peace, now!
481
00:31:50,787 --> 00:31:53,582
The Vietnam War was raging,
482
00:31:53,582 --> 00:31:57,002
and everyone had really long hair
and was very, very serious.
483
00:31:57,002 --> 00:31:58,795
Instead of making war,
it's better to just stay...
484
00:31:58,795 --> 00:32:01,548
- Let's stay in bed for three years.
- And grow your hair.
485
00:32:01,548 --> 00:32:02,966
- Yes.
- For peace.
486
00:32:04,384 --> 00:32:08,346
Well, I feel that every act should contain
some kind of social comment
487
00:32:08,346 --> 00:32:11,099
and something really meaningful.
488
00:32:11,099 --> 00:32:14,185
So, right now,
I'd like to do my balloon animals.
489
00:32:17,105 --> 00:32:17,939
Here we go.
490
00:32:19,065 --> 00:32:22,152
This is really fun. This is for the kids.
491
00:32:23,612 --> 00:32:25,155
All comedy was political.
492
00:32:26,615 --> 00:32:28,533
And you could just mention the name Nixon
493
00:32:28,533 --> 00:32:31,745
and get a big laugh or boo
or some huge response.
494
00:32:33,163 --> 00:32:37,334
And I felt that it was time
to change that.
495
00:32:39,377 --> 00:32:44,007
{\an8}At the time, the comedians
were into talking about the war,
496
00:32:44,007 --> 00:32:47,469
{\an8}talking about some maybe off-color stuff.
497
00:32:47,469 --> 00:32:52,098
Oh, beautiful for smoggy skies
Insecticided grain
498
00:32:52,098 --> 00:32:53,475
Well, I'm with the women's libs too, man.
499
00:32:53,475 --> 00:32:56,353
You can pay all the check
and leave a big tip too.
500
00:32:56,353 --> 00:32:59,439
I'd hate to be white,
'cause y'all got to go to the Moon.
501
00:32:59,439 --> 00:33:03,985
Hey, man, let's organize and help
them white motherfuckers get to the Moon,
502
00:33:03,985 --> 00:33:05,946
so they leave us alone.
503
00:33:09,032 --> 00:33:10,909
Steve was simply silly.
504
00:33:12,535 --> 00:33:14,579
What he was doing was unique.
It was chancy.
505
00:33:14,579 --> 00:33:17,374
No one thought it was brilliant,
including Steve.
506
00:33:17,916 --> 00:33:19,793
Now, I know this really looks stupid.
507
00:33:21,878 --> 00:33:26,132
And it looks like there's no explanation
for what I just did, but let me explain.
508
00:33:27,884 --> 00:33:29,344
You see...
509
00:33:37,686 --> 00:33:39,938
I got nothing but bad reviews.
510
00:33:44,192 --> 00:33:47,112
"The worst thing to ever happen
to American comedy." I remember that.
511
00:33:48,321 --> 00:33:53,410
"Steve Martin, who I consider to be
the luckiest person in show business."
512
00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:56,496
While we're waiting for me,
I'd like to do a comedy routine
513
00:33:56,496 --> 00:33:58,081
that's sort of been a big one for me.
514
00:33:58,081 --> 00:34:01,042
I'm sure most of you will recognize
the title when I mention it.
515
00:34:01,042 --> 00:34:03,962
It's the comedy
nose on microphone routine.
516
00:34:04,713 --> 00:34:06,172
No, no.
517
00:34:06,756 --> 00:34:10,552
Even better, he said,
"The world's luckiest amateur."
518
00:34:11,970 --> 00:34:14,389
Well, you know, kind of true.
519
00:34:20,561 --> 00:34:22,606
Even I have to chuckle on that.
520
00:34:23,481 --> 00:34:24,816
But I liked it.
521
00:34:25,358 --> 00:34:28,028
And I just wanted it to work.
522
00:34:28,778 --> 00:34:30,530
All right, I'm gonna do some meditation
for you now.
523
00:34:30,530 --> 00:34:33,199
Some yoga meditation
on my meditation stool.
524
00:34:33,199 --> 00:34:37,329
You sit on the meditation stool,
just like this.
525
00:34:38,371 --> 00:34:40,999
And then you get something to read,
you know.
526
00:34:41,666 --> 00:34:43,919
And meditate. Just like this.
527
00:34:44,419 --> 00:34:46,253
This was the hippie days.
528
00:34:46,713 --> 00:34:49,590
Welcome, brothers. Peace.
529
00:34:49,590 --> 00:34:52,427
It was just... That was the style,
I was in with the style.
530
00:34:52,427 --> 00:34:56,181
If you didn't have long hair
and smoke marijuana, you were an outcast.
531
00:34:56,181 --> 00:34:58,725
I think the pill's taking effect.
532
00:34:58,725 --> 00:35:01,228
I feel so groovy.
533
00:35:01,228 --> 00:35:03,063
How do you feel, kitty?
534
00:35:03,063 --> 00:35:05,190
But I never smoked pot, and I never...
535
00:35:05,190 --> 00:35:09,027
I couldn't take aspirin.
I was so afraid of anxiety attacks.
536
00:35:09,027 --> 00:35:11,446
You smoke this.
I think you might enjoy it.
537
00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:15,158
{\an8}- What do you think of my hair?
- Awful.
538
00:35:17,994 --> 00:35:19,663
{\an8}You look like like Charles Manson.
539
00:35:20,664 --> 00:35:22,749
{\an8}Well, I mean, you look like a...
Well, you look like a...
540
00:35:22,749 --> 00:35:25,669
{\an8}you look like a simian.
541
00:35:27,671 --> 00:35:29,839
Like from the San Francisco Zoo.
542
00:35:30,507 --> 00:35:33,260
Or the San Diego Zoo, which is even worse.
543
00:35:37,013 --> 00:35:39,474
I don't think it does anything
for your career.
544
00:35:43,645 --> 00:35:46,982
I always thought my father
was a little embarrassed by me.
545
00:35:48,275 --> 00:35:52,862
He couldn't quite be proud
of an unconventional showbiz act
546
00:35:52,862 --> 00:35:55,615
that he didn't quite understand.
547
00:35:56,074 --> 00:36:00,287
By that time, I had been so, kind of,
alienated from my father
548
00:36:00,287 --> 00:36:05,125
that negative comments
were actually my encouragement.
549
00:36:10,589 --> 00:36:14,342
{\an8}About 1970, Ann-Margret and her husband,
Roger Smith hired me
550
00:36:14,342 --> 00:36:16,011
{\an8}to open the show for them in Vegas.
551
00:36:16,011 --> 00:36:17,971
And I was, like, I was a star.
552
00:36:17,971 --> 00:36:21,099
And they had this fantastic dressing room
that was better than any house
553
00:36:21,099 --> 00:36:23,018
I've ever lived in my life.
554
00:36:23,018 --> 00:36:27,022
And I see Elvis coming back
to visit Ann-Margret.
555
00:36:27,022 --> 00:36:29,566
He was all in white,
and he had the big belt,
556
00:36:29,566 --> 00:36:32,027
and he goes past my dressing room,
and he says,
557
00:36:32,027 --> 00:36:35,697
"Son, you have an oblique sense of humor.
558
00:36:36,281 --> 00:36:37,991
You want to see my guns?"
559
00:36:42,037 --> 00:36:43,663
Hello, thank you very much.
560
00:36:45,874 --> 00:36:49,753
Well, this is too much.
Whoa, thank you, you're beautiful...
561
00:36:49,753 --> 00:36:51,171
It was the Hilton.
562
00:36:52,255 --> 00:36:53,882
Thank God it's gone.
563
00:36:54,799 --> 00:36:58,678
It had the highest ceiling of any theater,
which is a disaster for comedy,
564
00:36:58,678 --> 00:37:01,514
which means the laughs just sort of...
They don't gel.
565
00:37:01,514 --> 00:37:06,311
They just go up into the air and
they just dissipate, you know, like smoke.
566
00:37:06,311 --> 00:37:09,564
This is my impression of
The Incredible Shrinking Man.
567
00:37:09,564 --> 00:37:13,860
Now, in order for me to do this,
you have to close your eyes,
568
00:37:13,860 --> 00:37:16,905
just for about three seconds,
and then open them again.
569
00:37:16,905 --> 00:37:21,284
And you will see right before you,
The Incredible Shrinking Man.
570
00:37:21,284 --> 00:37:25,121
So, everyone, close your eyes.
I'll tell you when to open them.
571
00:37:28,291 --> 00:37:29,626
Okay, open them!
572
00:37:33,171 --> 00:37:35,006
Well, ladies and gentlemen.
573
00:37:36,132 --> 00:37:41,096
Well, thank you very much, really.
Too much. All right.
574
00:37:41,972 --> 00:37:45,725
The fabulous glove into dove trick.
575
00:37:50,522 --> 00:37:52,107
The napkin trick.
576
00:37:56,653 --> 00:37:58,446
I think the glove's better.
577
00:38:08,081 --> 00:38:10,458
A little delayed reaction there.
578
00:38:11,501 --> 00:38:14,045
Has Ann-Margret come on yet?
579
00:38:14,045 --> 00:38:18,091
And I went back and all my stuff
in my dressing room was in the hallway.
580
00:38:19,217 --> 00:38:20,218
In boxes.
581
00:38:21,803 --> 00:38:22,929
That's how...
582
00:38:24,389 --> 00:38:26,016
That's how hot I was.
583
00:38:29,603 --> 00:38:32,814
{\an8}Okay, we have you in your glory.
584
00:38:33,315 --> 00:38:36,526
{\an8}- All right.
- Now, what's new, besides the beard?
585
00:38:37,944 --> 00:38:41,406
Well, here I am, I'm standing in front
of my parents' house.
586
00:38:41,406 --> 00:38:45,702
I'm 25 years old now.
I guess I'm a black sheep.
587
00:38:48,496 --> 00:38:51,750
Well, I mean, we've got you,
so we're stuck with you.
588
00:38:51,750 --> 00:38:54,878
- That's right.
- But the question is why? I mean, why?
589
00:38:54,878 --> 00:38:57,505
Well, I was thinking
about that the other day and the reason is
590
00:38:57,505 --> 00:39:02,385
I've decided, is that in my job
or in my life anymore,
591
00:39:02,385 --> 00:39:05,305
I don't have any authorities over me.
592
00:39:05,305 --> 00:39:07,057
If I had a job I'd have a boss.
593
00:39:08,308 --> 00:39:11,102
If I were living with my parents,
I'd have my parents, but I don't.
594
00:39:11,102 --> 00:39:16,524
I just work for myself
and get paid for being me.
595
00:39:17,025 --> 00:39:19,611
But I was trying to be somebody else here.
596
00:39:19,611 --> 00:39:22,781
Somebody said, "Oh, you look like
you're trying to be the Eagles."
597
00:39:23,615 --> 00:39:27,827
And I wasn't making any waves,
so I made a decision.
598
00:39:27,827 --> 00:39:30,538
Instead of being at the tail end
of an old movement,
599
00:39:30,538 --> 00:39:32,666
I'll be at the front end of a new one.
600
00:39:37,546 --> 00:39:42,676
Whenever I shave off my beard,
I like to use Gillette Foamy.
601
00:39:44,844 --> 00:39:46,930
When I worked
with Bob Einstein, he said,
602
00:39:46,930 --> 00:39:49,808
"You know what's gonna help you?
Age."
603
00:39:49,808 --> 00:39:51,142
And he was right.
604
00:39:52,018 --> 00:39:55,647
Because the act looked juvenile.
605
00:39:57,357 --> 00:40:00,485
That's why it helped
when my hair turned grey a little bit.
606
00:40:01,736 --> 00:40:05,031
You'll always have to think
that a grown man was doing this.
607
00:40:07,075 --> 00:40:09,911
And so I decided,
"Okay, I'm putting on a suit,
608
00:40:09,911 --> 00:40:12,205
I'm putting on a tie
and I'm cutting my hair."
609
00:40:14,165 --> 00:40:16,543
Instead of looking like a hippie
from the '60s,
610
00:40:16,543 --> 00:40:19,087
I'll look like somebody new from the '70s.
611
00:40:19,087 --> 00:40:21,506
Look at that. Thank you very much.
612
00:40:23,258 --> 00:40:25,010
Or like someone from the future.
613
00:40:25,886 --> 00:40:27,304
Thank you very much.
614
00:40:28,138 --> 00:40:29,973
I wanted to do my sound effects bit.
615
00:40:29,973 --> 00:40:32,559
All comedians do sound effects,
where you tell a little story, you know,
616
00:40:32,559 --> 00:40:34,644
and sort of make it come to life,
617
00:40:34,644 --> 00:40:36,688
you know, through the use
of sound effects.
618
00:40:36,688 --> 00:40:39,107
And I really worked on this.
It's done totally with my own voice.
619
00:40:39,107 --> 00:40:41,151
There's no... Do I look all right?
620
00:40:41,151 --> 00:40:43,153
There's no artificial gimmicks
or anything.
621
00:40:43,153 --> 00:40:45,530
So, here we go. The old sound effects bit.
622
00:40:47,282 --> 00:40:49,951
Well, I woke up this morning
and had a bowl of cornflakes.
623
00:40:56,291 --> 00:40:58,710
Then I went down and started up the car.
624
00:41:02,214 --> 00:41:04,466
Then a band of Hells Angels roared up.
625
00:41:14,059 --> 00:41:16,686
{\an8}We met in Disneyland
before our senior year
626
00:41:16,686 --> 00:41:19,898
{\an8}and we worked all summer
at the Magic Shop.
627
00:41:19,898 --> 00:41:21,942
We were instant friends.
628
00:41:23,401 --> 00:41:26,655
{\an8}When he started performing solo,
I told my brother,
629
00:41:26,655 --> 00:41:30,825
{\an8}"Bill, you gotta go see Steve.
He's funny now."
630
00:41:31,618 --> 00:41:33,286
You want a Steve Martin laugh?
631
00:41:35,497 --> 00:41:38,541
My brother had Steve start opening for us.
632
00:41:39,042 --> 00:41:41,127
He'd make $50 or $150 a night.
633
00:41:43,338 --> 00:41:46,258
He believed in Steve
and Steve believed in Steve.
634
00:41:46,258 --> 00:41:48,969
No pictures. No pictures.
635
00:41:50,053 --> 00:41:53,056
Steve believed in Steve the least.
636
00:41:54,182 --> 00:41:57,477
...like to use good mic technique,
and this is basically it.
637
00:41:58,061 --> 00:41:59,688
Thank you, and good night.
638
00:42:06,528 --> 00:42:08,280
Good evening. I'm Linda Ron... Oh!
639
00:42:09,948 --> 00:42:11,866
I opened for everybody.
640
00:42:12,492 --> 00:42:16,955
The Carpenters, Mimi Fariña,
Sonny and Cher, Poco, B.B. King,
641
00:42:16,955 --> 00:42:19,165
Sha Na Na, Merle Haggard.
642
00:42:19,165 --> 00:42:21,001
Black Oak Arkansas.
643
00:42:24,004 --> 00:42:27,674
I don't remember opening for
Black Oak Arkansas, but it must be a fact.
644
00:42:28,133 --> 00:42:29,551
Well, thank you very much.
645
00:42:29,551 --> 00:42:33,054
It was great for a while,
but I realized it was going nowhere.
646
00:42:33,054 --> 00:42:35,724
I'm just going to do
about ten minutes because...
647
00:42:37,058 --> 00:42:38,935
Thank you, thank you.
648
00:42:39,769 --> 00:42:41,813
Well, how about five minutes?
649
00:42:42,647 --> 00:42:47,152
I'd go do a show
and I'd get paid $200 for the show,
650
00:42:47,152 --> 00:42:49,905
and it would cost me $250
to get there and get back.
651
00:42:51,281 --> 00:42:52,908
What am I doing wrong?
652
00:42:53,909 --> 00:42:57,245
No matter how good I am,
no matter how I went over,
653
00:42:58,038 --> 00:42:59,497
nobody cared.
654
00:43:00,415 --> 00:43:02,918
{\an8}Dirt Band! Dirt Band!
655
00:43:03,501 --> 00:43:05,587
{\an8}That's what he'd hear a lot
during his show.
656
00:43:06,963 --> 00:43:08,673
I can remember being off stage
657
00:43:08,673 --> 00:43:11,301
and you hear the noise of the audience
before the shows, kind of like...
658
00:43:12,844 --> 00:43:14,846
And then they go, "And now, Steve Martin,"
659
00:43:14,846 --> 00:43:18,516
and there's no sound change,
no applause.
660
00:43:20,268 --> 00:43:22,646
It just continues and you start
doing your act and there's still...
661
00:43:22,646 --> 00:43:24,522
Yeah, you're-- It was a battle.
662
00:43:27,025 --> 00:43:29,819
If I turn 30, I'd better start looking
for something else,
663
00:43:29,819 --> 00:43:33,240
'cause I thought, you know, this...
I just don't want to end up doing this.
664
00:43:35,742 --> 00:43:39,371
Aspen, December 28th, 1974.
665
00:43:40,538 --> 00:43:42,499
"Jack Benny died yesterday
666
00:43:42,499 --> 00:43:45,752
and that would be the proper time
for the beginning of a journal.
667
00:43:46,586 --> 00:43:50,257
Jack Benny's voice was one of the
earliest sounds I know,
668
00:43:50,257 --> 00:43:54,761
and that sound has been perhaps
what I want to create."
669
00:43:54,761 --> 00:43:57,013
Did you see my wife?
No, I haven't.
670
00:43:57,013 --> 00:43:58,682
Matter of fact,
I don't even know your wife.
671
00:43:58,682 --> 00:44:00,850
Then how do you know you didn't see her?
672
00:44:01,560 --> 00:44:02,561
Have you ever seen me before?
673
00:44:02,561 --> 00:44:04,521
No? Then how do you know it's me?
674
00:44:08,692 --> 00:44:11,194
Sometimes, like the night
in New York City,
675
00:44:11,194 --> 00:44:16,074
I sobbed in my hotel room after
watching old film clips of comedians.
676
00:44:17,617 --> 00:44:19,452
I'm getting happy feet!
677
00:44:21,580 --> 00:44:23,999
"I must develop the use of my body more.
678
00:44:25,041 --> 00:44:29,254
I was using it well, I thought.
But few laughed."
679
00:44:30,255 --> 00:44:33,466
Because audiences of 1974 were terrible.
680
00:44:33,925 --> 00:44:35,635
They're conditioned
through late night rock shows
681
00:44:35,635 --> 00:44:38,138
to yell and participate vocally in a show.
682
00:44:38,930 --> 00:44:40,765
Now make orange juice!
683
00:44:44,227 --> 00:44:45,645
"No thanks."
684
00:44:46,980 --> 00:44:50,358
"So, this year
will be very revealing of myself.
685
00:44:50,358 --> 00:44:52,444
I intend to perform only.
686
00:44:52,986 --> 00:44:56,197
No slipshod halfway shows
in hostile environments."
687
00:44:59,951 --> 00:45:05,040
And that was the first time I thought,
"Headline. Don't open."
688
00:45:09,127 --> 00:45:11,254
When you headline,
it has a different power.
689
00:45:13,298 --> 00:45:17,802
So I went from playing 500 seat places,
opening for somebody,
690
00:45:17,802 --> 00:45:20,263
to playing for literally 40 people.
691
00:45:21,598 --> 00:45:24,851
I got a great dirty trick
you can play on a three-year-old kid.
692
00:45:26,436 --> 00:45:30,148
See, kids learn how to talk
from listening to their parents.
693
00:45:30,774 --> 00:45:32,525
See, what you do,
you have a three-year-old kid
694
00:45:32,525 --> 00:45:34,069
and you want
to play a dirty trick on them.
695
00:45:34,069 --> 00:45:36,363
You talk wrong.
696
00:45:37,447 --> 00:45:39,866
So, now it's like his first day in school,
and he raises his hand,
697
00:45:39,866 --> 00:45:41,826
"May I mambo dog face
to the banana patch?"
698
00:45:53,505 --> 00:45:55,048
But it worked.
699
00:45:56,299 --> 00:45:59,261
More! More! More!
700
00:46:12,816 --> 00:46:16,236
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much.
701
00:46:16,236 --> 00:46:18,154
This is too much. Thank you.
702
00:46:19,614 --> 00:46:23,326
Okay, I guess I'll just practice one joke
for tonight's show.
703
00:46:24,244 --> 00:46:26,371
Well, this grasshopper walks into a bar.
704
00:46:26,371 --> 00:46:30,208
The bartender says,
"Hey, we got a drink named after you."
705
00:46:30,208 --> 00:46:34,379
And the grasshopper says,
"You mean you got a drink named Fred?"
706
00:46:34,379 --> 00:46:36,256
Laughter, laughter, laughter, laughter.
707
00:46:36,256 --> 00:46:38,425
"Hey, we got a drink named after you."
708
00:46:38,425 --> 00:46:41,761
And the grasshopper says,
"You mean you got a drink named Fred?"
709
00:46:41,761 --> 00:46:44,431
Laughter, laughter, laughter.
710
00:46:46,474 --> 00:46:49,394
{\an8}Steve was always trying
to find an audience,
711
00:46:49,394 --> 00:46:52,856
{\an8}finding some here and some over there.
712
00:46:53,607 --> 00:46:56,651
I've seen the world from both sides now!
713
00:46:56,651 --> 00:46:59,362
From upside down and round and round.
714
00:46:59,362 --> 00:47:02,198
And I only have one question.
715
00:47:03,241 --> 00:47:05,076
Where am I?
716
00:47:06,036 --> 00:47:09,372
We've got to remind you that
you're listening to WRVU, Nashville.
717
00:47:09,372 --> 00:47:10,707
Where are you appearing next?
718
00:47:10,707 --> 00:47:14,169
We'll give you a Johnny Carson type plug,
make me feel just like JC.
719
00:47:14,169 --> 00:47:16,338
{\an8}Well, Johnny, I'll be at the...
720
00:47:16,338 --> 00:47:18,173
{\an8}I don't know where I'll be,
as a matter of fact.
721
00:47:18,173 --> 00:47:21,801
I think I'm going to Russellville.
I don't even know what state that's in.
722
00:47:22,552 --> 00:47:23,553
Yes?
723
00:47:24,095 --> 00:47:25,263
Should I answer that?
724
00:47:25,263 --> 00:47:28,308
Hello, BSU, WPWPW, yes?
725
00:47:28,308 --> 00:47:30,518
I saw you with your arrow
through your head.
726
00:47:30,518 --> 00:47:32,437
- You did?
- Yeah, it was intense.
727
00:47:32,437 --> 00:47:35,273
I have never, ever worn an arrow
through my head.
728
00:47:35,273 --> 00:47:39,527
That's the peculiar thing.
You must be mistaking me for someone else.
729
00:47:39,527 --> 00:47:41,238
- Hello?
- You're on the air.
730
00:47:41,238 --> 00:47:43,240
- I'm on the air?
- Well, yes.
731
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:44,824
- He asked you first.
- Is this Steve Martin?
732
00:47:46,826 --> 00:47:48,495
- Could be.
- It could be?
733
00:47:49,120 --> 00:47:51,706
Well, I'm at the party room in Hemingway.
734
00:47:51,706 --> 00:47:53,458
The only thing we're missing is you.
735
00:47:54,626 --> 00:47:55,961
Girls, girls!
736
00:47:56,628 --> 00:47:58,171
Well, I have a sexual problem.
737
00:47:58,171 --> 00:47:59,631
Oh, what's that?
738
00:47:59,631 --> 00:48:01,508
I like to wear men's underwear.
739
00:48:01,508 --> 00:48:04,010
All right!
740
00:48:04,678 --> 00:48:09,182
How many people remember a couple
of years ago when the earth blew up?
741
00:48:10,725 --> 00:48:12,602
See, so few people remember that.
742
00:48:12,602 --> 00:48:16,898
And you would think that something
like that people would remember, but no.
743
00:48:18,483 --> 00:48:20,443
You don't remember that?
744
00:48:20,443 --> 00:48:22,904
The earth blew up
and was completely destroyed.
745
00:48:23,947 --> 00:48:26,783
And we escaped to this planet
on the giant space ark.
746
00:48:29,744 --> 00:48:32,122
And the government decided not
to tell the stupider people
747
00:48:32,122 --> 00:48:33,915
because they thought it might...
748
00:48:37,961 --> 00:48:39,963
Well, let's move on.
749
00:48:50,056 --> 00:48:53,894
{\an8}There were a lot of college gigs early on.
A lot of clubs.
750
00:48:54,978 --> 00:48:58,982
Every club he played in, you'd start
to hear Steve Martin routines
751
00:48:58,982 --> 00:49:00,775
coming from the staff.
752
00:49:00,775 --> 00:49:03,987
He just seeped into
everybody's consciousness.
753
00:49:08,241 --> 00:49:09,326
Wait a second.
754
00:49:09,326 --> 00:49:13,830
You know, you perform in all kinds
of odd performing situations.
755
00:49:15,206 --> 00:49:19,127
I remember one night
I was playing for about 100 students.
756
00:49:19,127 --> 00:49:21,463
I'm into language,
that's kind of my thing, I guess.
757
00:49:21,463 --> 00:49:23,965
You know, being a professional comedian,
you have to have a knowledge of language
758
00:49:23,965 --> 00:49:28,094
and that's... let's face it, some people
have a way with words, other people...
759
00:49:32,057 --> 00:49:34,100
...not have way, I guess.
760
00:49:34,851 --> 00:49:37,437
It wasn't a theater.
It was one of those school rooms
761
00:49:37,437 --> 00:49:40,106
with the little stage,
like for drama students.
762
00:49:40,106 --> 00:49:43,652
So, there's no wings.
You had to exit through the class.
763
00:49:44,945 --> 00:49:48,031
And I finished, and I said,
"Thank you and good night."
764
00:49:48,782 --> 00:49:50,659
And they're still sitting there like this.
765
00:49:54,454 --> 00:50:00,001
So, I actually went out and I said,
"It's over. It's actually over."
766
00:50:00,794 --> 00:50:02,546
And they still sat there.
767
00:50:05,006 --> 00:50:07,842
So, I went through the audience,
and I just started talking.
768
00:50:07,842 --> 00:50:10,178
I have no idea what I was saying.
769
00:50:10,178 --> 00:50:11,972
You know, folks,
we've had some fun out here
770
00:50:11,972 --> 00:50:14,057
and I think that's so important.
771
00:50:14,057 --> 00:50:18,270
People come to me, they say,
"Steve, what's your motto?"
772
00:50:19,729 --> 00:50:21,356
My motto.
773
00:50:21,356 --> 00:50:22,941
"Laugh once a day.
774
00:50:23,692 --> 00:50:26,194
Because a day without sunshine
is like...
775
00:50:26,194 --> 00:50:27,320
...night."
776
00:50:30,407 --> 00:50:34,536
I left and it had a little bit
of a weird Pied Piper effect
777
00:50:34,536 --> 00:50:37,455
because they just started following me.
778
00:50:43,461 --> 00:50:46,590
Eventually, I ended up taking
the audience out into the street
779
00:50:46,590 --> 00:50:48,216
and walking around with them.
780
00:50:50,427 --> 00:50:55,098
And I was walking along outside and
this audience sort of following along.
781
00:50:55,098 --> 00:50:57,893
And I came across a drained swimming pool.
782
00:50:58,935 --> 00:51:03,064
And I said, "Okay," I said,
"Everybody get in the pool.
783
00:51:04,774 --> 00:51:07,152
And now I'm going to swim across you."
784
00:51:11,156 --> 00:51:15,660
I went home that night and I thought,
"Oh, something happened. That was good."
785
00:51:18,830 --> 00:51:21,333
And that was the beginning
of a very important part of my career
786
00:51:21,333 --> 00:51:23,710
where I left the stage.
787
00:51:26,087 --> 00:51:30,675
Now, I've got to get rambling,
and you've been a great crowd, really.
788
00:51:30,675 --> 00:51:34,721
Gee, I think I'll read for a while.
789
00:51:37,641 --> 00:51:39,100
Everything sort of opened up.
790
00:51:41,895 --> 00:51:45,607
{\an8}He'd take people out for hamburgers
and order 350 of them
791
00:51:45,607 --> 00:51:47,108
{\an8}or something like that.
792
00:51:47,859 --> 00:51:49,152
Did you see the show tonight?
793
00:51:49,152 --> 00:51:50,779
Yeah, I was with you in Krystal.
794
00:51:51,238 --> 00:51:52,656
Did you enjoy the burger?
795
00:51:52,656 --> 00:51:54,658
No, I didn't get a chance.
There were too many people.
796
00:51:54,658 --> 00:51:57,285
All I saw was
a couple of waitresses crying.
797
00:51:59,371 --> 00:52:01,081
The last couple of times
he did that, in fact,
798
00:52:01,081 --> 00:52:03,708
he drew complaints
from neighbors a block away.
799
00:52:03,708 --> 00:52:07,170
They complained to police
about the volume of the noise
800
00:52:07,170 --> 00:52:08,880
caused by hundreds of people laughing.
801
00:52:08,880 --> 00:52:11,841
By the way, I do sell drugs between shows.
802
00:52:14,344 --> 00:52:16,721
Is that the police? Oh, God.
803
00:52:16,721 --> 00:52:18,098
- Outside.
- Having some jive.
804
00:52:18,098 --> 00:52:19,683
- Are they outside?
- Yeah.
805
00:52:19,683 --> 00:52:21,643
If the police come,
act natural, all right?
806
00:52:24,187 --> 00:52:26,523
Listen, if the police come,
I want everyone to put on a balloon hat
807
00:52:26,523 --> 00:52:28,692
so they won't tell which one is me.
808
00:52:28,692 --> 00:52:31,486
Don't you worry about it. It's my problem.
809
00:52:32,862 --> 00:52:35,740
Okay, let's rip the place apart!
810
00:52:38,118 --> 00:52:40,870
Then the owner said,
"Yeah, well, we're doing okay,"
811
00:52:40,870 --> 00:52:43,206
he said, "But we don't get many
Steve Martins here."
812
00:52:43,206 --> 00:52:45,292
Like I was a big hit.
813
00:52:45,292 --> 00:52:47,919
And I thought,
"What are you talking about?"
814
00:52:50,380 --> 00:52:52,883
I was in debt $5,000.
815
00:52:53,717 --> 00:52:56,261
College gigs just did not pay very well,
816
00:52:56,261 --> 00:53:01,057
so I agreed to headline the Playboy Club
in San Francisco for a week.
817
00:53:01,057 --> 00:53:05,562
The crowd was much older than
I was used to, but I needed the money.
818
00:53:06,187 --> 00:53:11,401
I'm all dressed up because
it's a very special kind of restaurant.
819
00:53:13,778 --> 00:53:15,947
And I said to a musician backstage,
I said,
820
00:53:15,947 --> 00:53:18,408
"Hey, we got a full house out there."
821
00:53:22,579 --> 00:53:24,664
And he just kind of looked at me,
and he went...
822
00:53:29,169 --> 00:53:31,963
"The Bunny introduced me as Steve Miller."
823
00:53:38,053 --> 00:53:39,930
They didn't pay to get in to see me.
824
00:53:40,639 --> 00:53:42,432
I was tangential.
825
00:53:43,975 --> 00:53:45,310
Puppy dog.
826
00:53:49,397 --> 00:53:53,610
I heard a guy say,
"I don't understand any of this."
827
00:53:54,319 --> 00:53:57,822
And it was not a moment of pride,
you know.
828
00:54:00,325 --> 00:54:03,411
Death. Comedy death.
829
00:54:03,411 --> 00:54:05,830
Which is worse than regular death.
830
00:54:15,840 --> 00:54:18,969
"Where is the old-time show business
I dreamed of?
831
00:54:18,969 --> 00:54:20,929
Is this it?
832
00:54:22,514 --> 00:54:25,141
Where's my theme song?"
833
00:54:26,768 --> 00:54:30,146
Comedy is timing.
There's no way around it.
834
00:54:30,146 --> 00:54:35,235
If the audience is not allowing you
to use your timing, then you're dead.
835
00:54:36,027 --> 00:54:37,737
I have a joke I'd like to tell you--
836
00:54:40,282 --> 00:54:41,992
"Alternatives:
837
00:54:43,118 --> 00:54:44,869
Quit.
838
00:54:45,579 --> 00:54:47,163
TV.
839
00:54:47,622 --> 00:54:49,457
A likely possibility."
840
00:54:49,457 --> 00:54:51,501
{\an8}I want to go into show business.
841
00:54:52,836 --> 00:54:54,170
I don't believe this.
842
00:54:54,170 --> 00:54:56,631
Hey, would I lie?
843
00:54:58,550 --> 00:54:59,676
So, there I was.
844
00:55:00,594 --> 00:55:04,931
And I had my act
that I'd been working on for ten years.
845
00:55:05,974 --> 00:55:08,018
It's like waiting around the corner,
you know?
846
00:55:08,018 --> 00:55:10,687
You've got all your bags packed
and you're ready to go.
847
00:55:10,687 --> 00:55:12,439
And you're just waiting
for the bus to come.
848
00:55:12,439 --> 00:55:15,275
"Here comes my bus and I'm getting on
and I've got all my bags with me."
849
00:55:21,615 --> 00:55:24,659
{\an8}Well, you know, if it looks like
I'm fooling around up here,
850
00:55:24,659 --> 00:55:27,245
{\an8}I wasn't gonna tell you this, but...
851
00:55:27,245 --> 00:55:31,041
I'm quitting show business tonight.
Thank you.
852
00:55:32,167 --> 00:55:35,045
And this is my final performance
in the business.
853
00:55:35,045 --> 00:55:39,090
So, I'm just kind of doing anything
I ever wanted to do, you know,
854
00:55:39,090 --> 00:55:41,551
and it doesn't matter
if I go over, you know,
855
00:55:41,551 --> 00:55:43,220
or if everybody hates me, you know,
856
00:55:43,220 --> 00:55:44,930
or if there's reviewers out there going,
857
00:55:44,930 --> 00:55:48,266
"I didn't think that
this was the most wonderful thing..."
858
00:55:49,643 --> 00:55:53,480
So I'm just kind of doing anything
I ever wanted to do, so...
859
00:55:58,568 --> 00:56:01,071
I was really stupid.
860
00:56:01,821 --> 00:56:06,576
It took me a while to figure out,
this act doesn't work everywhere.
861
00:56:08,912 --> 00:56:12,040
At the Playboy Club, it was just weird.
862
00:56:12,040 --> 00:56:14,125
The Boarding House was very hip
863
00:56:14,125 --> 00:56:17,504
and it became notable
because it was weird.
864
00:56:18,463 --> 00:56:20,257
You ever feel like
doing something just crazy?
865
00:56:20,257 --> 00:56:24,594
I mean, really, just, like, crazy thing?
Let's go murder someone.
866
00:56:26,137 --> 00:56:27,847
See, I think it was generational.
867
00:56:27,847 --> 00:56:31,184
{\an8}There was a generation
of pot smoking, crazy people
868
00:56:31,184 --> 00:56:34,854
{\an8}who could bend enough to get
what you were talking about.
869
00:56:35,480 --> 00:56:37,566
And they weren't going
to the Playboy Club.
870
00:56:38,400 --> 00:56:42,779
Let me shuffle the cards first
using the famous cow pasture shuffle.
871
00:56:48,952 --> 00:56:50,745
Now, what's your sign?
872
00:56:50,745 --> 00:56:53,415
Scorpio. Let's see, I'm a feces.
So, that'll make...
873
00:56:56,459 --> 00:56:58,753
{\an8}You have to find your audience.
874
00:56:59,379 --> 00:57:00,964
{\an8}And Steve did that.
875
00:57:00,964 --> 00:57:04,426
They were all there for him.
There were his fans.
876
00:57:07,596 --> 00:57:10,015
See, I always fill the balloons up
with words and if they pop, they go,
877
00:57:10,015 --> 00:57:11,266
"Damn it!"
878
00:57:20,233 --> 00:57:21,735
Puppy dog.
879
00:57:25,196 --> 00:57:28,950
Actually, what this is, it's a...
birth control device.
880
00:57:29,951 --> 00:57:31,912
And I'll show you how this works.
881
00:57:32,704 --> 00:57:36,875
See, if you wear this on your head...
882
00:57:37,834 --> 00:57:39,461
...then no one will talk to you.
883
00:57:44,090 --> 00:57:46,218
I'd like to get serious just for a moment.
884
00:57:50,722 --> 00:57:54,768
There was a presence there on stage
of someone quite special
885
00:57:54,768 --> 00:57:57,187
that you just wanted to see.
886
00:57:58,063 --> 00:57:59,481
So, I guess I'll say goodnight now.
887
00:57:59,481 --> 00:58:03,109
And, you know, ordinarily,
I just walk off the stage
888
00:58:03,109 --> 00:58:05,362
and go back to the dressing room,
you know, but...
889
00:58:06,363 --> 00:58:07,781
...I don't think I'm going
to do that tonight.
890
00:58:07,781 --> 00:58:09,241
I think tonight...
891
00:58:10,575 --> 00:58:12,869
...I'm going to Bananaland.
892
00:58:15,622 --> 00:58:17,958
And it's so beautiful
in Bananaland tonight.
893
00:58:17,958 --> 00:58:19,542
You know, it's just...
894
00:58:20,252 --> 00:58:24,256
The little men are in
their banana-skin coats and banana-shoes,
895
00:58:25,090 --> 00:58:27,300
and they have the little banana-mobile.
896
00:58:28,843 --> 00:58:31,846
And it's so wonderful
in Bananaland because...
897
00:58:32,847 --> 00:58:35,976
...in Bananaland,
only two things are true.
898
00:58:37,018 --> 00:58:41,106
One, all chairs are green.
899
00:58:42,732 --> 00:58:47,237
And two, no chairs are green.
900
00:58:50,448 --> 00:58:52,576
That's where I'm going.
901
00:58:53,952 --> 00:58:58,623
{\an8}The end of the '60s lasted
until about 1975.
902
00:58:58,623 --> 00:59:01,668
It was a very dark period
903
00:59:01,668 --> 00:59:07,007
to have this clean guy in a white suit
come out and take you away.
904
00:59:07,007 --> 00:59:11,136
If you bought into it,
you'd go for a fun ride.
905
00:59:39,497 --> 00:59:44,419
But remember, the Boarding House seated
300 people, so it wasn't a breakout.
906
00:59:44,419 --> 00:59:48,715
But if you have a packed house
that feels like something's happening.
907
00:59:56,514 --> 00:59:57,933
I think we should all be one.
908
00:59:57,933 --> 01:00:01,144
That's why I'm just going to step down
among the people.
909
01:00:02,312 --> 01:00:03,688
Don't touch me.
910
01:00:05,440 --> 01:00:11,404
And when that corner turned,
I felt great, you know?
911
01:00:23,500 --> 01:00:27,212
That was actually the first time
I was ready for anything.
912
01:00:28,380 --> 01:00:31,091
The act was starting to click.
913
01:00:58,535 --> 01:01:01,121
Oh, the shark bites
914
01:01:01,121 --> 01:01:03,873
With it's teeth, dear
915
01:01:03,873 --> 01:01:07,919
And it keeps them pearly white
916
01:01:09,379 --> 01:01:11,965
Oh, the shark bites
917
01:01:11,965 --> 01:01:14,718
With its teeth, dear
918
01:01:14,718 --> 01:01:18,722
And it keeps them pearly white
919
01:01:20,015 --> 01:01:22,517
Oh, the shark bites
920
01:01:22,517 --> 01:01:25,186
With it's teeth, dear
921
01:01:25,186 --> 01:01:26,813
And it keeps them...
922
01:01:26,813 --> 01:01:30,942
Here's one of the funniest guys I've ever
met in my entire life, Mr. Steve Martin.
923
01:01:30,942 --> 01:01:33,069
- Steve Martin.
- Oh, wow.
924
01:01:33,069 --> 01:01:34,738
He's back tonight to do something else,
925
01:01:34,738 --> 01:01:36,740
and I don't have the slightest idea
what it is.
926
01:01:36,740 --> 01:01:38,992
Well, it's great to be back here, and...
927
01:01:38,992 --> 01:01:43,079
I know that sounds corny, because every
entertainer who comes on goes,
928
01:01:43,079 --> 01:01:45,332
"Hey, it's really great to be here."
929
01:01:45,332 --> 01:01:48,084
And it really sounds phony,
but believe me, I'm sincere when I say,
930
01:01:48,084 --> 01:01:50,086
"Hey, it's really great to be here."
931
01:01:50,086 --> 01:01:52,214
- Cher, it's really great to be here.
- Thank you.
932
01:01:52,214 --> 01:01:54,799
Well, actually, excuse me,
it's great to be here. I'm sorry.
933
01:01:54,799 --> 01:01:58,053
Okay... well, actually,
it's really great to be here.
934
01:01:58,053 --> 01:01:59,512
This is where it's great to be. I'm sorry.
935
01:01:59,512 --> 01:02:01,014
I think Steve is so far out.
936
01:02:01,014 --> 01:02:05,602
I mean, he always does these
weird, crazy, unimaginable things.
937
01:02:05,602 --> 01:02:08,313
- Hey, hold it a second. Wait a second.
- What are you going to do--?
938
01:02:08,313 --> 01:02:11,566
Telling these people
I do weird and crazy things, John.
939
01:02:12,400 --> 01:02:14,819
Great to be here. Wow.
940
01:02:14,819 --> 01:02:17,072
Oh, boy, I remember when
it was great to be there,
941
01:02:17,072 --> 01:02:19,407
but it is great to be here.
942
01:02:19,407 --> 01:02:24,204
And it keeps them pearly white
943
01:02:24,204 --> 01:02:26,831
I was always fascinated by arrogance.
944
01:02:26,831 --> 01:02:29,251
I have a favor I'd like to ask you.
Would you take my picture?
945
01:02:29,251 --> 01:02:31,711
Let me get in kind of
a casual thing, like a...
946
01:02:32,671 --> 01:02:34,089
Like a...
947
01:02:36,550 --> 01:02:39,135
And I started to create
a character for me.
948
01:02:39,135 --> 01:02:41,972
These cameras are so fantastic, like
an idiot can really work this kind of...
949
01:02:42,931 --> 01:02:46,226
A kind of overly confident idiot.
950
01:02:46,893 --> 01:02:51,773
I started to realize what I was doing
was a parody of show business.
951
01:02:52,482 --> 01:02:58,154
{\an8}His act was not comedy.
It was about the absurdity of performing
952
01:02:58,154 --> 01:03:03,451
and the ridiculousness of people standing
up in front of other people being funny.
953
01:03:03,451 --> 01:03:04,911
Do I look stupid?
954
01:03:06,830 --> 01:03:08,665
{\an8}It was aggressively stupid.
955
01:03:08,665 --> 01:03:11,293
Have I degraded myself?
956
01:03:12,377 --> 01:03:15,922
And aggressive stupidity,
you can't ignore it.
957
01:03:16,631 --> 01:03:19,342
I've been stuck on this escalator
for 40 minutes.
958
01:03:20,135 --> 01:03:23,555
When you insist on something
that is wrong.
959
01:03:24,097 --> 01:03:24,973
Help!
960
01:03:24,973 --> 01:03:31,187
What it was, was here is
an asshole who is going to act like one.
961
01:03:31,187 --> 01:03:34,524
But he wants you to know
that he knows that.
962
01:03:34,524 --> 01:03:36,860
That we're both gonna laugh
at the same asshole.
963
01:03:37,819 --> 01:03:39,988
Hey, I don't do a Vegas act.
964
01:03:39,988 --> 01:03:43,199
See in Vegas, you know,
it costs like $15 to get in.
965
01:03:43,199 --> 01:03:45,035
You go and you pay the money
and you sit down
966
01:03:45,035 --> 01:03:47,412
and the opening act
usually like a singer, you know.
967
01:03:47,412 --> 01:03:50,540
And he's really great,
really keeps it moving really fa--
968
01:03:50,540 --> 01:03:52,792
You can't understand a word he says,
but it doesn't matter
969
01:03:52,792 --> 01:03:54,127
because he's so entertaining.
970
01:03:54,127 --> 01:03:55,712
Hey, good evening, ladies and gentlemen...
971
01:04:04,054 --> 01:04:06,181
Curtain up, light the light
972
01:04:06,181 --> 01:04:08,600
Okay, and I'd now like
to introduce the band.
973
01:04:11,269 --> 01:04:12,896
Frank's an old personal friend of mine.
Okay.
974
01:04:12,896 --> 01:04:15,148
Sammy Davis Jr.,
personal friend of mine. Okay!
975
01:04:16,608 --> 01:04:18,818
Oh, hey, great to be... here.
976
01:04:21,655 --> 01:04:23,949
Oh, the shark bites...
977
01:04:23,949 --> 01:04:27,077
Steve Martin, I'm a personal friend
of mine too, okay.
978
01:04:27,577 --> 01:04:28,912
It's great to be here!
979
01:04:32,165 --> 01:04:34,960
And now, it's time for a little dance.
And here we go!
980
01:04:45,011 --> 01:04:49,140
Sammy came over.
But there was an instant endorsement.
981
01:04:49,140 --> 01:04:50,600
Yeah, I didn't know
what I was supposed to do
982
01:04:50,600 --> 01:04:53,353
because, you know,
we never hugged at home.
983
01:04:54,312 --> 01:04:56,231
Am I supposed to hug? I don't know.
984
01:04:56,231 --> 01:04:58,024
That's five or six minutes
of the funniest things
985
01:04:58,024 --> 01:04:59,150
I've ever seen here for a long time.
986
01:04:59,150 --> 01:05:01,903
Really. That's super.
That's really funny.
987
01:05:03,780 --> 01:05:10,328
I felt that I alone was carrying
the banner for the new comedy and then...
988
01:05:15,750 --> 01:05:18,587
Live from New York, it's Saturday night!
989
01:05:18,587 --> 01:05:23,383
I saw Saturday Night Live
and I thought, "Oh. Oh, no."
990
01:05:23,383 --> 01:05:25,677
- I would like...
- I would like...
991
01:05:25,677 --> 01:05:28,388
to feed your fingertips...
992
01:05:28,388 --> 01:05:30,807
to the wolverines.
993
01:05:32,601 --> 01:05:34,394
There's somebody else doing it.
994
01:05:35,562 --> 01:05:38,940
{\an8}I was aware of him when he was writing
on Smothers Brothers
995
01:05:38,940 --> 01:05:40,817
{\an8}and I was writing on Laugh-In.
996
01:05:40,817 --> 01:05:43,612
I think there was a touch football game
between the two.
997
01:05:45,697 --> 01:05:50,035
Later, Lily Tomlin and I saw him
in LA somewhere, I think.
998
01:05:50,493 --> 01:05:52,287
Hey, man, wanna smoke some shit?
999
01:05:52,287 --> 01:05:54,664
No, I don't want any marijuana.
1000
01:05:54,664 --> 01:05:56,750
Marijuana? This is shit.
1001
01:05:59,336 --> 01:06:01,087
I was real naive in those days,
too, you know.
1002
01:06:01,087 --> 01:06:03,465
People would come and say,
"Hey, you wanna snort?
1003
01:06:03,465 --> 01:06:04,966
And I go, "Sure."
1004
01:06:09,512 --> 01:06:11,932
I thought,
"I'm really missing something here."
1005
01:06:12,474 --> 01:06:14,893
We were doing deeply political satire.
1006
01:06:15,602 --> 01:06:18,355
And... Steve wasn't.
1007
01:06:19,105 --> 01:06:22,275
You know, the show was so hot,
you know.
1008
01:06:22,275 --> 01:06:24,110
They were on a roll.
1009
01:06:24,110 --> 01:06:27,072
And I had this little bit
of drawing power,
1010
01:06:27,072 --> 01:06:29,199
but I was still underground.
1011
01:06:29,783 --> 01:06:31,576
I wanted people
I knew could do the show
1012
01:06:31,576 --> 01:06:33,828
and so, Steve was a risk.
1013
01:06:36,873 --> 01:06:40,126
Ladies and gentlemen, Steve Martin!
1014
01:06:40,126 --> 01:06:42,170
For me, risk is oxygen.
1015
01:06:42,170 --> 01:06:46,007
If you're not on the edge,
how are you expected to feel alive?
1016
01:06:49,678 --> 01:06:54,266
I can only think a few times in my life
before I was about to go on
1017
01:06:54,266 --> 01:06:56,768
where I would think,
"Wait'll they see this."
1018
01:06:58,019 --> 01:07:01,022
Most of the time it was,
"I hope this goes well."
1019
01:07:01,523 --> 01:07:03,942
Boy, I'll never forget
how great it was to be over there.
1020
01:07:04,484 --> 01:07:06,069
Okay, we're moving now.
1021
01:07:07,779 --> 01:07:08,905
Excuse me.
1022
01:07:11,741 --> 01:07:12,867
All right.
1023
01:07:16,454 --> 01:07:18,790
Are we on? We are.
Okay, okay, okay, okay.
1024
01:07:18,790 --> 01:07:22,878
To... open the show, I always like
to do one thing that is impossible.
1025
01:07:22,878 --> 01:07:26,506
So right now I'm going to suck this stool
into my lungs.
1026
01:07:30,176 --> 01:07:31,636
Oh, darn. Okay.
1027
01:07:34,097 --> 01:07:36,725
Well, here's
something you don't often see.
1028
01:07:38,602 --> 01:07:42,522
Introducing Fido-flex,
the digital watchdog.
1029
01:07:42,522 --> 01:07:47,193
And now, it's time to play Jeopardy 1999.
1030
01:07:47,193 --> 01:07:51,489
Zoom! Zoom! Zoom!
1031
01:07:52,741 --> 01:07:54,284
No, I gotta...
1032
01:07:54,910 --> 01:07:55,952
Zoom!
1033
01:07:56,369 --> 01:08:00,373
I remember thinking, "Wow, other people."
1034
01:08:01,750 --> 01:08:03,001
What's your favorite landmass?
1035
01:08:03,001 --> 01:08:05,921
The Dalmatian Islands,
just off the coast of Yugoslavia.
1036
01:08:05,921 --> 01:08:08,632
The southern one?
A little further inland?
1037
01:08:08,632 --> 01:08:12,344
Just above the thirtieth parallel!
1038
01:08:12,844 --> 01:08:15,597
I'd worked alone for 15 years.
1039
01:08:15,597 --> 01:08:18,933
And now you're in a sketch and
you're looking in someone's eyes,
1040
01:08:18,933 --> 01:08:21,978
and they have a gleam in their eye
and you have a gleam in your eye.
1041
01:08:22,687 --> 01:08:23,897
It's really a good feeling.
1042
01:08:25,732 --> 01:08:27,567
The banjo's such a happy instrument.
It really is.
1043
01:08:27,567 --> 01:08:31,862
It's a good thing for a comedian like me,
and just a happy thing.
1044
01:08:31,862 --> 01:08:32,947
You can go,
1045
01:08:32,947 --> 01:08:37,035
Oh, murder and death
And grief and sorrow
1046
01:08:39,913 --> 01:08:43,833
Okay, I want to do this last banjo tune
and we'll move on with the show.
1047
01:08:43,833 --> 01:08:47,462
Can I get, like, a tight shot?
Maybe on the fingers on this, okay?
1048
01:08:47,462 --> 01:08:49,548
Dave? Dave Wilson, the director.
1049
01:08:50,382 --> 01:08:53,176
I'd like to start off
with a tight shot. Okay?
1050
01:08:55,804 --> 01:08:58,932
I did this thing in dress,
I thought we had it worked out, I'm sorry.
1051
01:08:58,932 --> 01:09:01,768
Excuse me. Okay,
I'll do something else then.
1052
01:09:01,768 --> 01:09:04,145
I can go with it.
All right, you know what I'm saying?
1053
01:09:05,188 --> 01:09:06,815
It's just...
1054
01:09:07,524 --> 01:09:09,067
You know, you ask for something,
you think you're gonna get it,
1055
01:09:09,067 --> 01:09:11,570
throws you off when you're a performer,
a professional, like I am.
1056
01:09:11,570 --> 01:09:15,031
And... I'm sorry if I look a little angry,
but I guess I am.
1057
01:09:15,031 --> 01:09:17,826
Because, you know, it hurts you.
You know what I'm saying?
1058
01:09:17,826 --> 01:09:22,746
It hurts the people who are
watching the show when, me, the artist,
1059
01:09:22,746 --> 01:09:25,750
comes out here and I can't get what?
A little cooperation. Know what I mean?
1060
01:09:25,750 --> 01:09:29,337
I mean, I can't get a little help
from the backstage crew?
1061
01:09:30,130 --> 01:09:33,884
Excuse me.
1062
01:09:38,138 --> 01:09:40,389
I'm sorry, I'm angry.
1063
01:09:43,852 --> 01:09:45,395
I'm sorry.
1064
01:09:45,395 --> 01:09:47,438
We'll be back after this commercial.
1065
01:09:53,152 --> 01:09:55,906
And I had a show the next day,
on a Monday.
1066
01:09:55,906 --> 01:09:57,991
- Fifteen, Steve. Fifteen minutes.
- Thank you.
1067
01:09:59,409 --> 01:10:01,578
I said, "How many people are out there?"
1068
01:10:01,578 --> 01:10:04,831
And he said, "7,000."
1069
01:10:05,665 --> 01:10:06,917
I'm like, "What?"
1070
01:10:15,967 --> 01:10:20,055
And there was this impact like a wave.
1071
01:10:30,357 --> 01:10:31,816
"Something's changed."
1072
01:10:33,401 --> 01:10:34,444
Thank you. Keep it.
1073
01:10:37,322 --> 01:10:38,281
Telephoto lens.
1074
01:10:38,865 --> 01:10:39,908
Double scotch.
1075
01:10:39,908 --> 01:10:40,992
Do you recognize him?
1076
01:10:40,992 --> 01:10:42,619
He's hosted the Tonight Show
a couple of times.
1077
01:10:44,162 --> 01:10:46,456
Is Steve Martin here?
I wanna seduce him.
1078
01:10:47,832 --> 01:10:49,834
{\an8}In the mid-'70s, he came out
1079
01:10:49,834 --> 01:10:53,296
{\an8}and it just felt like
a flash bulb of energy.
1080
01:11:00,595 --> 01:11:02,806
This is just gonna be pure fun.
1081
01:11:08,520 --> 01:11:09,479
I'm a rambling guy.
1082
01:11:09,479 --> 01:11:11,523
Way to go, Steve! That's good stuff.
1083
01:11:12,399 --> 01:11:13,733
One of the most refreshing comedians
1084
01:11:13,733 --> 01:11:16,403
to come along in a long time
is Steve Martin.
1085
01:11:16,403 --> 01:11:18,238
As you know, he advertises himself
1086
01:11:18,238 --> 01:11:21,199
as a wild and crazy guy
when he's on stage.
1087
01:11:21,825 --> 01:11:24,452
The first time we did the Czech brothers,
it played okay.
1088
01:11:24,452 --> 01:11:27,372
We are two wild and crazy guys.
1089
01:11:28,748 --> 01:11:30,375
And we kind of forgot about it.
1090
01:11:31,793 --> 01:11:35,672
And then the next time I hosted,
Danny said, "Let's do another one."
1091
01:11:35,672 --> 01:11:38,633
And suddenly the sketch started
and there was this...
1092
01:11:45,932 --> 01:11:48,435
{\an8}We would go up to see his show.
1093
01:11:48,435 --> 01:11:53,148
{\an8}We got to the theater and people
were lined up around the building.
1094
01:11:53,148 --> 01:11:56,109
I didn't think he was opening
for somebody,
1095
01:11:56,109 --> 01:11:59,654
and then I started seeing
rabbit ears and thought,
1096
01:11:59,654 --> 01:12:02,824
"Oh my gosh, it was all for him."
1097
01:12:03,909 --> 01:12:06,202
It's kind of fun for me to see
the people in the audience
1098
01:12:06,202 --> 01:12:09,372
with the amateur model
arrow through the head.
1099
01:12:13,418 --> 01:12:15,420
This, of course,
is the professional model.
1100
01:12:16,922 --> 01:12:19,132
Made in Germany, cost 150 dollars.
1101
01:12:19,132 --> 01:12:22,135
But... that's okay for me!
1102
01:12:26,389 --> 01:12:30,310
Because I am a wild and crazy guy.
1103
01:12:42,030 --> 01:12:44,574
This must be, obviously,
very exciting for you now.
1104
01:12:44,574 --> 01:12:47,202
Really, 'cause Steve gets
standing ovations as a comedian.
1105
01:12:47,202 --> 01:12:49,704
- That very seldom happens.
- Yeah, it's been a...
1106
01:12:50,747 --> 01:12:53,250
In the last six months
it's been explosive.
1107
01:12:53,250 --> 01:12:56,044
- Yeah.
- Which, you know, I'm thankful for
1108
01:12:56,044 --> 01:12:59,798
- and puzzled by, but am very happy about.
- Yeah.
1109
01:13:00,423 --> 01:13:02,342
We're having some fun now, hey!
1110
01:13:02,342 --> 01:13:05,554
The biggest shift was,
so I'm playing these places
1111
01:13:05,554 --> 01:13:10,308
and I was still doing the bit
where I would take audiences outside.
1112
01:13:11,184 --> 01:13:13,520
And I realized they're standing
in traffic,
1113
01:13:13,520 --> 01:13:16,231
they're standing on cars,
and I said, "Well, that bit's over."
1114
01:13:16,231 --> 01:13:18,692
Becoming too dangerous, literally.
1115
01:13:20,151 --> 01:13:23,989
I mentioned it earlier in the show
as the drug joke.
1116
01:13:23,989 --> 01:13:25,699
And I hate to do that because...
1117
01:13:25,699 --> 01:13:27,993
it creates myths
and I'm not into drugs anymore.
1118
01:13:27,993 --> 01:13:33,707
I quit completely and I hate people
who are still into it so...
1119
01:13:33,707 --> 01:13:37,085
Well, I do take one drug now for fun,
and maybe you've heard of it.
1120
01:13:37,085 --> 01:13:38,920
It's a new thing.
I don't know if you have or not.
1121
01:13:38,920 --> 01:13:41,882
It's a new thing... makes you small.
1122
01:13:43,300 --> 01:13:44,593
About this big.
1123
01:13:47,137 --> 01:13:49,014
And you might as well plug your album
while you're here.
1124
01:13:49,014 --> 01:13:51,558
Are they prepared comedy gags?
1125
01:13:51,558 --> 01:13:54,144
No, it's completely spontaneous.
Every album is different.
1126
01:13:54,144 --> 01:13:57,105
I'll be darned.
How many did they release? Millions?
1127
01:13:57,105 --> 01:13:58,899
Yeah. I've recorded a million of them.
1128
01:13:58,899 --> 01:14:00,859
And they're all completely different.
1129
01:14:07,324 --> 01:14:09,451
Steve Martin. Let's Get Small.
1130
01:14:09,451 --> 01:14:11,494
These represent funny comedy gags.
1131
01:14:11,494 --> 01:14:13,496
You can play this
on your record player at home.
1132
01:14:13,496 --> 01:14:14,414
That's it.
1133
01:14:14,414 --> 01:14:17,292
And, you know, I'll be home,
sitting with my friends, and...
1134
01:14:17,292 --> 01:14:20,253
we'll be sitting around
and somebody will say,
1135
01:14:20,253 --> 01:14:21,463
"Hey...
1136
01:14:23,506 --> 01:14:25,008
Let's get small."
1137
01:14:30,805 --> 01:14:34,976
{\an8}My brother recorded all his albums
before Saturday Night Live,
1138
01:14:34,976 --> 01:14:38,480
{\an8}before Tonight Show,
and they sat around for two years.
1139
01:14:42,234 --> 01:14:44,361
Now, I know I shouldn't get small
when I'm driving.
1140
01:14:46,404 --> 01:14:48,949
But I was driving around the other day,
and I said, "What the heck," you know.
1141
01:14:48,949 --> 01:14:50,492
So I'm driving, going...
1142
01:15:00,335 --> 01:15:05,423
I hold in my hand the first
platinum comedy album in history.
1143
01:15:05,423 --> 01:15:09,511
Platinum means you have to sell
a million albums.
1144
01:15:11,221 --> 01:15:13,473
It's an honor to know
that you sold a million albums,
1145
01:15:13,473 --> 01:15:15,475
but it's also kind of weird
to know that there are
1146
01:15:15,475 --> 01:15:18,478
a million lunatics out in the country.
1147
01:15:19,437 --> 01:15:20,897
There are a great deal
more than a million.
1148
01:15:20,897 --> 01:15:23,316
They're just slowly finding you out.
1149
01:15:23,984 --> 01:15:24,818
Well...
1150
01:15:24,818 --> 01:15:26,486
Steve never thought
he'd get a record deal.
1151
01:15:27,988 --> 01:15:30,115
And he ended up selling
nine million albums.
1152
01:15:34,035 --> 01:15:35,328
And what would be
your day like though?
1153
01:15:35,328 --> 01:15:37,872
For example, today, what you did
the Good Morning, America show.
1154
01:15:37,872 --> 01:15:39,916
- I did Good Morning, America.
- Did this show.
1155
01:15:39,916 --> 01:15:42,335
Then we fly to Washington, DC.
1156
01:15:42,335 --> 01:15:45,088
Two shows at Kennedy Performing Arts.
1157
01:15:46,256 --> 01:15:48,717
When I played Kennedy Center,
I asked the promoter,
1158
01:15:48,717 --> 01:15:50,594
"I'm just curious,
how much am I making?"
1159
01:15:51,595 --> 01:15:53,763
And he said, "25,000."
1160
01:15:53,763 --> 01:15:56,141
And I said, "Wow, that's great."
1161
01:15:56,141 --> 01:15:58,768
And he said,
"And the second show is better."
1162
01:15:58,768 --> 01:16:01,563
And then we come back here
and then we go to...
1163
01:16:01,563 --> 01:16:03,315
I think, Boston the next day,
1164
01:16:03,315 --> 01:16:06,401
and we're doing 50 cities in 60 days.
1165
01:16:10,906 --> 01:16:12,365
How many people are here?
1166
01:16:12,365 --> 01:16:16,077
Two, four, six, seven,
1167
01:16:16,077 --> 01:16:19,289
eight, ten, 11, 12, 13,
1168
01:16:19,289 --> 01:16:22,125
plus 16, 17.
1169
01:16:22,125 --> 01:16:24,377
There's the guy at the bar.
That's 18.
1170
01:16:24,377 --> 01:16:26,254
So I do just--
Should I do more time, or...?
1171
01:16:26,254 --> 01:16:29,716
No, probably shouldn't do more time,
that's just ridiculous.
1172
01:16:34,471 --> 01:16:38,475
Steve Martin would sell out
before the ads could finish running.
1173
01:16:40,060 --> 01:16:42,187
And then we would go in restaurants
1174
01:16:42,187 --> 01:16:45,815
and we could overhear people talking
and using his tag lines.
1175
01:16:48,944 --> 01:16:52,572
{\an8}I think they were just really happy
to be part of something.
1176
01:16:53,990 --> 01:16:56,201
It was a cultural phenomenon.
1177
01:17:01,164 --> 01:17:04,000
Oh, no, I'm getting happy feet!
1178
01:17:08,296 --> 01:17:11,716
And we didn't use
any video projection or anything.
1179
01:17:11,716 --> 01:17:15,428
And 20,000 people away.
They were getting it.
1180
01:17:18,139 --> 01:17:20,433
And I think what happened is,
1181
01:17:20,433 --> 01:17:26,147
material became secondary
to the nature of the act.
1182
01:17:26,147 --> 01:17:30,026
It's where you're performing right down
to your fingertips.
1183
01:17:32,279 --> 01:17:34,281
Where every movement counts.
1184
01:17:35,490 --> 01:17:38,868
Where there's nothing extraneous.
1185
01:17:40,787 --> 01:17:43,248
You're conducting the audience.
1186
01:17:43,999 --> 01:17:45,667
Okay. I'd like to--
1187
01:17:52,132 --> 01:17:55,594
He made 60 sell-out
concert appearances in 1977.
1188
01:17:55,594 --> 01:17:58,555
Last month, he gave a one-man concert
here in Southern California
1189
01:17:58,555 --> 01:18:01,725
before 9,000 fans
at the Anaheim Convention Center,
1190
01:18:01,725 --> 01:18:04,936
not too far from where he grew up
in the little town of Garden Grove.
1191
01:18:04,936 --> 01:18:07,814
About 17 years ago, I used to stand
across the street at Disneyland
1192
01:18:07,814 --> 01:18:11,568
and sell guidebooks for 25 cents.
1193
01:18:11,568 --> 01:18:15,488
And... I think one of the big thrills
for me is to be able to...
1194
01:18:16,197 --> 01:18:18,366
...not to come back in a limousine,
1195
01:18:18,366 --> 01:18:20,327
but to be able to come back
and see your old friends
1196
01:18:20,327 --> 01:18:22,579
and kind of be the same thing
that you were...
1197
01:18:22,579 --> 01:18:24,414
Hey, Steve,
one of your old friends is here.
1198
01:18:24,414 --> 01:18:26,124
Oh, really? Well, get rid of him.
1199
01:18:29,920 --> 01:18:34,007
Once we sat on his...
the porch of this house in Aspen.
1200
01:18:34,716 --> 01:18:37,510
{\an8}And he says, "Is this the life?
1201
01:18:37,510 --> 01:18:39,638
{\an8}I mean, we just wrote some great comedy.
1202
01:18:39,638 --> 01:18:44,017
You have a great bottle of wine.
It's a beautiful sunset.
1203
01:18:45,518 --> 01:18:47,896
This is... this is the best."
1204
01:18:47,896 --> 01:18:51,691
And I remember saying to myself,
"No. It's not the best.
1205
01:18:53,485 --> 01:18:55,278
I want a... I want a girlfriend."
1206
01:18:58,114 --> 01:19:00,575
What about your love life?
How is Steve Martin's love life?
1207
01:19:01,785 --> 01:19:03,119
Well...
1208
01:19:04,204 --> 01:19:07,958
Are you married? Are you straight?
Are you nuts?
1209
01:19:09,542 --> 01:19:12,254
Think of it this way. Say I get married,
1210
01:19:12,254 --> 01:19:15,507
and I say, "Well, going on the road
for three months
1211
01:19:15,507 --> 01:19:17,008
and I'll see you sometime."
1212
01:19:18,969 --> 01:19:22,973
I've never... I don't have a home life.
1213
01:19:24,307 --> 01:19:25,684
Actually, that's a myth
about entertainers.
1214
01:19:25,684 --> 01:19:27,936
You always think you meet girls,
and you don't.
1215
01:19:27,936 --> 01:19:29,479
Because here I'm in town for nine days,
1216
01:19:29,479 --> 01:19:32,232
and you don't have time
to get to know anybody.
1217
01:19:32,232 --> 01:19:33,942
And I'm not into that one-night thing.
1218
01:19:33,942 --> 01:19:36,194
I think a person should
get to know someone
1219
01:19:36,194 --> 01:19:38,989
and even be in love with them
before you...
1220
01:19:38,989 --> 01:19:40,782
...use and degrade them.
1221
01:19:45,579 --> 01:19:46,955
Would you mind if I kissed you?
1222
01:19:48,373 --> 01:19:50,166
No, I don't mind.
1223
01:19:51,751 --> 01:19:53,044
Good.
1224
01:19:56,590 --> 01:19:58,550
I'll remember that for the future.
1225
01:20:00,218 --> 01:20:04,014
I also get the sense that
you really are quite buttoned-up,
1226
01:20:04,014 --> 01:20:06,099
and nobody's gonna get too close
to Steve Martin.
1227
01:20:06,099 --> 01:20:07,976
And yet your persona is,
1228
01:20:07,976 --> 01:20:09,603
"I'm the wild and crazy guy,
and I'll do anything.
1229
01:20:09,603 --> 01:20:12,689
I'll take my pants off and run around
with the dog in front of me."
1230
01:20:13,773 --> 01:20:14,733
Yeah.
1231
01:20:23,658 --> 01:20:27,954
Well, I say, like, um,
if you make it in business,
1232
01:20:27,954 --> 01:20:31,124
you sit behind a big,
elegant desk with a view,
1233
01:20:31,124 --> 01:20:34,419
and if you make it in show business,
you end up riding an elephant.
1234
01:20:37,255 --> 01:20:39,716
I remember talking
to Carl Gottlieb and he said,
1235
01:20:39,716 --> 01:20:45,180
"You know, when a TV actor walks
into the room, everybody goes,
1236
01:20:45,180 --> 01:20:48,683
'Hey, how you doing?' They walk.
'Hey... We love you, blah-blah.'
1237
01:20:48,683 --> 01:20:51,686
When a movie actor walks in they go..."
1238
01:20:54,606 --> 01:20:57,234
And I kind of like that.
Actually kind of impressed me.
1239
01:20:59,236 --> 01:21:01,863
Oh, Steve, you better
pull yourself together.
1240
01:21:01,863 --> 01:21:03,823
You've got a big movie offer.
1241
01:21:04,658 --> 01:21:06,117
I do?
1242
01:21:07,244 --> 01:21:08,995
What's the movie offer?
1243
01:21:10,372 --> 01:21:13,083
From stand-up to movies is just smart.
1244
01:21:14,042 --> 01:21:16,670
If I do the best stand-up show
I've ever done,
1245
01:21:16,670 --> 01:21:19,422
the next day it's completely gone.
It's over.
1246
01:21:19,422 --> 01:21:21,466
Whoa! "God damn it!" What?
1247
01:21:23,260 --> 01:21:26,680
Plus, I had to fly to Florida.
1248
01:21:26,680 --> 01:21:30,016
But if I do a movie,
I can do seven takes,
1249
01:21:30,016 --> 01:21:32,561
get it right, forever,
1250
01:21:32,561 --> 01:21:34,312
and then the movie goes to Florida.
1251
01:21:35,188 --> 01:21:36,898
Excellent choice.
1252
01:21:36,898 --> 01:21:39,150
This is not your first movie.
You've been in others.
1253
01:21:39,150 --> 01:21:40,318
I was in Gone with the Wind.
1254
01:21:42,279 --> 01:21:44,030
I did On the Waterfront.
1255
01:21:44,656 --> 01:21:46,241
- Did you?
- A Streetcar Named Desire.
1256
01:21:46,700 --> 01:21:48,785
And now, The Jerk.
1257
01:21:49,911 --> 01:21:52,038
It started off as Banana Boulevard.
1258
01:21:52,038 --> 01:21:54,457
About a guy who can't live in the world,
1259
01:21:54,457 --> 01:21:59,462
so he has to become crazy
and he crosses over into Bananaland.
1260
01:22:00,547 --> 01:22:02,215
I had 17 versions.
1261
01:22:02,215 --> 01:22:04,926
I mean, it's...
They're unproduceable, all right?
1262
01:22:09,806 --> 01:22:13,852
I wrote it, two other really good writers,
Carl Gottlieb, who wrote Jaws.
1263
01:22:14,644 --> 01:22:16,062
{\an8}The fish movie.
1264
01:22:16,521 --> 01:22:19,524
{\an8}And Michael Elias,
who was a great comedy writer.
1265
01:22:19,524 --> 01:22:22,402
{\an8}I do interviews about my novel.
1266
01:22:22,402 --> 01:22:24,195
{\an8}They all want to talk about The Jerk.
1267
01:22:24,195 --> 01:22:26,114
"What's your favorite part?
Which part did you write?
1268
01:22:26,114 --> 01:22:27,866
What was it like to write
with Steve Martin?"
1269
01:22:27,866 --> 01:22:29,784
I want to sell my book.
1270
01:22:33,830 --> 01:22:35,749
{\an8}He hates these cans!
1271
01:22:36,917 --> 01:22:39,002
{\an8}Stay away from the cans!
1272
01:22:39,002 --> 01:22:40,879
Could you explain to us what it's about?
1273
01:22:41,838 --> 01:22:44,132
Well, I... When I saw the film completed,
1274
01:22:44,132 --> 01:22:48,345
I honestly did not know what it was about.
1275
01:22:50,096 --> 01:22:51,640
There's cans in there too!
1276
01:22:51,640 --> 01:22:53,391
Then a friend of mine, I said,
"How did you like the film?"
1277
01:22:53,391 --> 01:22:58,772
He says, "I loved it. It's about
the most naive person who ever lived."
1278
01:23:01,316 --> 01:23:02,609
More cans!
1279
01:23:03,485 --> 01:23:05,278
Die, you bastard!
1280
01:23:09,032 --> 01:23:10,951
Steve Martin,
America's hottest young comedian,
1281
01:23:10,951 --> 01:23:13,328
has just taken the big leap
onto the big screen,
1282
01:23:13,328 --> 01:23:16,539
making his movie debut
in a new picture called The Jerk.
1283
01:23:18,166 --> 01:23:20,669
{\an8}It was a hit from day one.
1284
01:23:24,673 --> 01:23:28,510
You know, Steve was a little nervous,
but he didn't let it show.
1285
01:23:28,510 --> 01:23:31,846
First axiom of the business,
"Never let 'em see you sweat."
1286
01:23:37,394 --> 01:23:40,981
When I was on stage, I would think,
1287
01:23:40,981 --> 01:23:43,441
"I know what I am right now. I'm a cat."
1288
01:23:43,441 --> 01:23:45,735
Whoa! Give me that, give me that,
give me that!
1289
01:23:47,737 --> 01:23:50,073
Or, "I'm R. Crumb."
1290
01:23:51,366 --> 01:23:55,203
I always felt the act
is what you want it to be.
1291
01:23:55,203 --> 01:23:56,871
You want it to be smart,
you can find that.
1292
01:23:56,871 --> 01:23:58,999
You want it to be stupid,
you can find that.
1293
01:23:58,999 --> 01:24:01,418
You want it to be parody,
you can find that.
1294
01:24:02,377 --> 01:24:04,379
Boy, those are good seats up there.
1295
01:24:12,888 --> 01:24:16,308
The show has started!
1296
01:24:21,563 --> 01:24:24,149
{\an8}I used to like walking behind him...
1297
01:24:24,900 --> 01:24:27,694
...and seeing people look at him,
people could not believe.
1298
01:24:27,694 --> 01:24:30,530
"Holy shit, it's Steve Martin."
1299
01:24:32,157 --> 01:24:34,451
{\an8}Yeah, you're outdrawing Fleetwood Mac.
1300
01:24:35,327 --> 01:24:37,746
{\an8}You know, I mean, in the same venues.
1301
01:24:39,456 --> 01:24:41,124
{\an8}Because we tend to forget
that in the '70s,
1302
01:24:41,124 --> 01:24:45,629
{\an8}Steve was not a successful comedian,
he was like a rock star.
1303
01:24:45,629 --> 01:24:48,548
He was the first comedian
who could play stadiums.
1304
01:24:48,548 --> 01:24:51,176
It was very odd and strange.
1305
01:24:53,053 --> 01:24:56,014
It's like it was...
It's a panicky emotion.
1306
01:24:56,014 --> 01:24:58,725
Because he was alone for much of his life.
1307
01:24:59,684 --> 01:25:04,397
At its biggest, we did three days
at the Nassau Coliseum.
1308
01:25:04,397 --> 01:25:06,274
Forty-five thousand.
1309
01:25:08,109 --> 01:25:10,237
I mean, your whole life is number one.
1310
01:25:10,237 --> 01:25:13,949
Well, only way to go now is down.
1311
01:25:19,913 --> 01:25:21,081
Steve!
1312
01:25:21,081 --> 01:25:23,124
Okay, calm
down, don't anybody get hurt.
1313
01:25:23,667 --> 01:25:25,418
Could you sign my cigarette?
1314
01:25:29,464 --> 01:25:31,716
The size of the audience
was never a problem.
1315
01:25:31,716 --> 01:25:33,426
It was the mania.
1316
01:25:33,426 --> 01:25:37,097
Well, I'm a little disappointed that...
more photographers didn't show up.
1317
01:25:39,474 --> 01:25:40,433
There you go.
1318
01:25:40,433 --> 01:25:43,144
I thought I was still doing comedy.
1319
01:25:43,853 --> 01:25:46,565
But really, I was a party host.
1320
01:25:47,482 --> 01:25:51,152
Okay, good. Now let's repeat
the non-conformist oath.
1321
01:25:51,152 --> 01:25:56,032
I promise to be different.
1322
01:25:56,032 --> 01:26:00,161
I promise to be unique.
1323
01:26:00,161 --> 01:26:03,248
I promise not to repeat things
other people say.
1324
01:26:06,209 --> 01:26:07,210
Good! Okay.
1325
01:26:08,545 --> 01:26:11,756
{\an8}There's this moment, like around '75, '76,
1326
01:26:11,756 --> 01:26:14,759
where I think I'm really funny.
1327
01:26:15,844 --> 01:26:19,848
But by '80, it's not new.
1328
01:26:22,267 --> 01:26:24,936
{\an8}You'll call a disc jockey up
and you'll go,
1329
01:26:24,936 --> 01:26:26,479
"Hello." And they'll go...
1330
01:26:28,523 --> 01:26:30,609
You know, every time
I go anywhere on an airplane,
1331
01:26:30,609 --> 01:26:34,195
stewardesses are always doing you,
I mean, so to speak.
1332
01:26:37,032 --> 01:26:39,784
You know what I mean?
They always say wild and crazy guy,
1333
01:26:39,784 --> 01:26:41,912
and then they always go, "Excuse me."
1334
01:26:41,912 --> 01:26:44,039
Isn't it funny when they do that?
1335
01:26:47,876 --> 01:26:50,503
Will the real Steve Martin step forward?
1336
01:26:50,503 --> 01:26:52,464
{\an8}Well, he wasn't anywhere in sight,
1337
01:26:52,464 --> 01:26:55,800
{\an8}but more than 100
aspiring Steve Martins were.
1338
01:26:55,800 --> 01:26:59,763
But that's okay for me
'cause I am a wild and crazy guy.
1339
01:27:00,889 --> 01:27:04,059
There. Okay.
Having some fun now, hey, kids?
1340
01:27:05,268 --> 01:27:07,646
Well, excuse me!
1341
01:27:07,646 --> 01:27:12,317
Excuse me!
1342
01:27:12,317 --> 01:27:14,611
- Excuse moi!
- Excuse...
1343
01:27:14,611 --> 01:27:17,113
Excuse me!
1344
01:27:17,113 --> 01:27:18,990
I'm gonna rip his face off,
I swear to God!
1345
01:27:22,535 --> 01:27:24,704
- Let me ask you a serious question now.
- Okay.
1346
01:27:25,622 --> 01:27:27,499
- You've got your serious attitude, now.
- Yeah.
1347
01:27:27,499 --> 01:27:29,334
You made a lot of money.
Are you any happier now
1348
01:27:29,334 --> 01:27:31,378
with the money you've made than you were,
say, five years ago
1349
01:27:31,378 --> 01:27:33,088
when you were scrambling around?
1350
01:27:34,172 --> 01:27:36,716
- Generally, relatively.
- Money does not buy happiness.
1351
01:27:41,429 --> 01:27:44,891
I know what you're saying.
You don't even want to say it seriously.
1352
01:27:44,891 --> 01:27:46,309
No, I mean that seriously.
1353
01:27:46,309 --> 01:27:48,520
- I meant that it doesn't buy happiness.
- Yeah.
1354
01:27:48,520 --> 01:27:52,357
You still have to have
your personal problems.
1355
01:27:52,357 --> 01:27:54,943
- Right. Do you have--
- You can't buy your way out of...
1356
01:27:54,943 --> 01:27:58,572
Do you have personal problems?
Find anything... we can talk about?
1357
01:27:58,572 --> 01:28:01,950
I... since we started this spot,
I have wet my pants.
1358
01:28:01,950 --> 01:28:03,159
Right here?
1359
01:28:05,412 --> 01:28:06,621
That's all right, we'll...
1360
01:28:08,707 --> 01:28:12,210
{\an8}I was in the dressing room once
and his father was up there.
1361
01:28:13,044 --> 01:28:17,382
{\an8}Steve walks in after a perfect
hour and five minutes,
1362
01:28:17,382 --> 01:28:20,802
and his father goes,
"You know what was wrong with that show?"
1363
01:28:22,429 --> 01:28:24,222
Anyway, I sneaked out.
1364
01:28:24,848 --> 01:28:27,350
'Cause there was nothing wrong
with the show.
1365
01:28:28,518 --> 01:28:30,437
Say I want to do something
kind of special.
1366
01:28:30,437 --> 01:28:34,524
My parents are in the audience tonight
and... I'd like to introduce them.
1367
01:28:34,524 --> 01:28:37,652
They've been my parents
all my life. And...
1368
01:28:41,323 --> 01:28:45,535
Well, the family was not a...
a goal for me.
1369
01:28:45,535 --> 01:28:50,498
I wasn't shown...
that it was something fantastic.
1370
01:28:51,583 --> 01:28:53,919
And...
1371
01:28:54,586 --> 01:28:58,632
Not sure if I'm phrasing it correctly,
because it's such a...
1372
01:28:59,674 --> 01:29:03,011
a common thing for most people,
and it just wasn't for me.
1373
01:29:10,268 --> 01:29:12,395
I can't hold this smile much longer.
1374
01:29:33,041 --> 01:29:37,754
It's-- On one hand, you feel
this exceeding love coming at you.
1375
01:29:40,173 --> 01:29:43,009
But it's not what you expected it
to feel like.
1376
01:29:44,052 --> 01:29:46,096
Creates anxiety.
1377
01:29:47,389 --> 01:29:51,101
{\an8}I said to Steve once, "Don't you
get a high when the show's over?"
1378
01:29:52,060 --> 01:29:55,188
And he kind of looked at me like,
"Not really, no."
1379
01:29:55,188 --> 01:29:58,483
I thought, "Wow, that is so unusual
for a performer."
1380
01:30:02,320 --> 01:30:05,365
I was very, very isolated and very lonely.
1381
01:30:06,575 --> 01:30:09,744
You... literally can't go outside.
1382
01:30:11,413 --> 01:30:15,208
It's very hard to find alone time,
except when you're deeply alone.
1383
01:30:15,208 --> 01:30:17,377
You know.
1384
01:30:17,377 --> 01:30:20,213
Your own silence is not there for you.
1385
01:30:22,841 --> 01:30:24,926
You want people to like you.
1386
01:30:25,468 --> 01:30:27,846
But it's something that
leaves you kind of cold.
1387
01:30:29,848 --> 01:30:34,227
It's easy to come to the conclusion
you're doing it for all the wrong reasons.
1388
01:30:43,403 --> 01:30:47,198
You know, in Vegas you could see
the back booths are lit.
1389
01:30:48,283 --> 01:30:49,534
And I saw an empty one.
1390
01:30:50,493 --> 01:30:53,413
Now, later, a comedian friend said,
1391
01:30:53,413 --> 01:30:55,707
"Maybe somebody just didn't show up."
1392
01:30:56,917 --> 01:31:02,214
But it played into a sadness
I was going under.
1393
01:31:04,591 --> 01:31:07,594
And I just didn't want to see that it.
I didn't want to go downhill.
1394
01:31:08,929 --> 01:31:12,182
And I don't need any of this!
I don't need this stuff!
1395
01:31:13,183 --> 01:31:15,894
I don't need you. I don't need anything.
1396
01:31:16,645 --> 01:31:19,856
The act, essentially, was conceptual,
1397
01:31:19,856 --> 01:31:22,692
and once the concept was understood,
1398
01:31:22,692 --> 01:31:24,778
there was nothing more to develop.
1399
01:31:25,779 --> 01:31:28,281
I sort of created my own dead end.
1400
01:31:30,617 --> 01:31:33,995
I felt that I was on a speeding train
called stand-up comedy.
1401
01:31:33,995 --> 01:31:37,332
Coming in the other direction
was a speeding train called movies.
1402
01:31:38,208 --> 01:31:43,505
My job was to get off the stand-up train
and throw myself onto the movie train.
1403
01:31:44,422 --> 01:31:46,967
And I thought, "I get to start over.
1404
01:31:47,968 --> 01:31:50,262
I can be an actual new person."
1405
01:32:29,718 --> 01:32:31,011
An act is built.
1406
01:32:31,011 --> 01:32:36,725
I mean, I did my act
for literally 15 years before it clicked.
1407
01:32:38,768 --> 01:32:40,437
Why didn't you quit before that?
1408
01:32:41,938 --> 01:32:43,481
Too stupid.
1409
01:32:52,490 --> 01:32:54,117
Well, no.
1410
01:32:54,117 --> 01:32:56,286
Unfortunately, the story goes on.