Actor, comedian, author, playwright and producer, STEVE MARTIN (Tom Baker) has written and performed in some of the most successful movies of recent film history. Now, he reprises his role as Tom Baker in the sequel to the highest grossing film of his career, “Cheaper by the Dozen.” Recently, Martin received the eighth annual Mark Twain Prize for American Humor from The Kennedy Center, honoring Martin’s extraordinary career.
Currently co-starring with Claire Danes and Jason Schwartzman in “Shopgirl,” Martin also wrote the screenplay, which is based on his best-selling novella of the same name. “Shopgirl” follows the complex relationship between a young woman who nurtures dreams of being an artist while she works at a Saks Fifth Avenue glove counter, and a wealthy older man who is still learning about the consequences of romance. Martin stars in the upcoming “The Pink Panther” playing Inspector Clouseau. The film, which reunites Martin with director Shawn Levy, costars Beyoncé Knowles and Kevin Kline.
Martin hosted the Academy Awards® in 2001 and 2003. The 75th Annual Academy Awards in 2003 was nominated for seven Emmy® Awards, including a nomination for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. In February 2003, Martin starred with Queen Latifah in the blockbuster comedy “Bringing Down the House,” directed by CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2 director Adam Shankman. Born in Waco, Texas, and raised in Southern California, Martin became a television writer in the late 1960s, winning an Emmy for his work on the hit series “The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour.” By the end of the decade he was performing his own material in clubs and on television.
Martin made frequent appearances on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” which led to hosting opportunities on the innovative “Saturday Night Live” series and to starring in and co-writing four highly rated television specials. When performing on national concert tours, he drew standing-room-only audiences in some of the largest venues in the country. He won Grammy® Awards for his two comedy albums, “Let’s Get Small” and “A Wild and Crazy Guy,” and had a gold record with his single “King Tut.” In 2003, Martin also won a Grammy for Best Country Instrumentalist, for playing banjo on Earl Scruggs’ 75th Anniversary album.
Martin’s first film project, “The Absent-Minded Waiter,” a short he wrote and starred in, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1977. In 1979, Martin moved into feature films, co-writing and starring in “The Jerk,” directed by Carl Reiner. In 1981, he starred opposite Bernadette Peters in Herbert Ross’ bittersweet musical comedy, “Pennies from Heaven.”
Martin co-wrote and starred in “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid,” a send-up of detective thrillers, and the science fiction comedy “The Man With Two Brains,” both directed by Carl Reiner. In 1984, Martin received a Best Actor award from both the New York Film Critics Association and the National Board of Review for his performance opposite Lily Tomlin in “All of Me,” his fourth collaboration with writer/director Carl Reiner.
In 1987, his motion picture hit “Roxanne,” a modern adaptation of the Cyrano de Bergerac legend, garnered Martin not only warm audience response, but also a Best Actor award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and Best Screenplay award from the Writers Guild of America. Martin was also the film’s executive producer.
In 1988, he costarred with Michael Caine in the hit comedy film “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels,” his second feature collaboration with director Frank Oz (the first being “Little Shop of Horrors”). In 1989, he starred with Mary Steenburgen and Dianne Wiest in “Parenthood,” director Ron Howard’s affectionate family comedy.
In 1991, Martin wrote, starred in and co-executive produced the critically acclaimed “L.A. Story,” a romantic comedy set in Los Angeles. That same year he made a cameo appearance in Lawrence Kasdan’s critically lauded “Grand Canyon.” He starred with Diane Keaton in the hit film “Father of the Bride,” receiving the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Actor in a Comedy Motion Picture. In 1992, Martin starred in the comedy feature “Housesitter,” opposite Goldie Hawn, winning, for the second year in a row, the People’s Choice Award for Favorite Actor in a Comedy.
In 1996, he reunited with Diane Keaton in the hit sequel to “Father of the Bride,” for which he received a Golden Globe® Award nomination. In 1997, he received universal critical acclaim for his riveting performance in director David Mamet’s thriller “The Spanish Prisoner.”
Martin wrote and starred in the hilarious 1999 feature comedy “Bowfinger,” opposite Eddie Murphy for director Frank Oz. The film was showcased at the Deauville International Film Festival.
Martin’s other films include Frank Oz’s “Little Shop of Horrors,” in which he played a demented dentist; John Hughes’ “Planes, Trains and Automobiles,” co-starring John Candy; and the comic Western send-up “The Three Amigos,” also staring Marin Short and Chevy Chase .
In the fall of 1993, Martin’s first original play, the comedy-drama “Picasso at the Lapin Agile,” was presented by Chicago’s prestigious Steppenwolf Theatre. Following an extended run in Chicago, during which it received rave reviews, the play was presented successfully in Boston and Los Angeles, and then Off-Broadway in New York at the Promenade Theatre, to nationwide critical and audience acclaim. It continues to be mounted in productions worldwide. Martin’s one act play “WASP” was first performed at the Public Theatre in NY in 1995. “The Underpants,” a dark comedy Martin adapted from the 1911 play by Carl Sterneim, premiered Off-Broadway at the Classic Stage Company in 2002.
In 1996, Martin was honored by the American Film Institute’s Third Decade Council with a retrospective of his work at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival. He was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony. In 2004 Martin was honored for his film work by the American Cinematheque.
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