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Working
as a Disneyland concessionaire in his teens, comedian Steve
Martin picked up skills in "a little of this, a little
of that:" juggling, tap-dancing, sleight of hand, balloon
sculpting. He then attended UCLA, where he majored in philosophy
and theatre, moving on to staff-writer stints for such TV
performers as Glen Campbell, The Smothers Brothers, Dick
Van Dyke, John Denver, and Sonny and Cher.
Occasionally
allowed to perform as well as write, Martin didn't go into
standup comedy full time until the late 1960s, when he moved
to Canada and appeared as a semi-regular on the syndicated
TV variety series Half the George Kirby Comedy Hour. As
the opening act for rock stars in the early 1970s, Martin
emulated the fashion of the era with a full beard, shaggy
hair, colorful costumes and drug jokes. Comedians of this
ilk were common in this market, however, so Martin carefully
developed a brand-new persona: the well groomed, immaculately
dressed young man who goes against his appearance by behaving
like a lunatic. By 1975, he was the Comic of the Hour, convulsing
audiences with his feigned enthusiasm over the weakest of
jokes and the most obvious of comedy props (rabbit ears,
head arrows). His entire act a devastating parody of second-rate
comedians who rely on preconditioning to get laughs, Martin
became internationally famous for such catchphrases as "Excu-u-use
me!," "Happy feet!," and "I am...one
wild and crazy guy!" It was fun for a while to hear
audiences shout out those catchphrases before he'd uttered
them, but before long Martin was tired of live standup and
anxious to get into films
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