“Comedy may be big business but it isn’t pretty.”
Steve Martin
There’s times in our lives when we remember every little detail of a day. That day for me was September 29th 1979.
A gentleman client of the company I worked for was smitten with me. He knew I was married, but after several attempts by this man to take me to lunch, he just wouldn’t take no for an answer, so I went to lunch with him on September 29th.
While at lunch he mentioned that his father was a CEO at Universal Studios. I remember him asking me who my favorite entertainer was? That was easy, Steve Martin was my favorite. Martin recently appeared on SNL and had sung his famous King Tut song. I can remember us mostly talking about Steve Martin at lunch and how much I enjoyed his type of humor.
Later that afternoon, my gentleman friend called to tell me he had left me two tickets that evening at will call at the Universal Amphitheatre. I was shocked and overjoyed and couldn’t thank him enough. He told me that he was happy to get me the tickets and wanted my husband and me to have a good time.
When we arrived at Universal that evening and picked up the tickets, I never realized where the seats were located until we walked into the Amphitheatre and walked from the top of the stadium down to the bottom. We were seated front and center, one row from the stage.
We also didn’t realize that The Blues Brothers were opening for Steve Martin that evening, so we got a double treat. Seated directly in front of us was Steve Martin’s personal photographer. Throughout Martin’s performance I was laughing quite loud and he kept turning around smiling at me knowing how much I was enjoying the show.
At the end of Steve’s balloon animal routine, Steve Martin handed the photographer the balloons from his routine. Without hesitation, the man turned around to me and asked if I wanted the balloons? Sure, I said. I couldn’t stop screaming with joy and hugged and thanked him.
I kept those balloon animals for years, until they were just shriveled up rubber stuck together and deflated. I’ll never forget that evening and how I laughed and smiled until my jaw and cheeks hurt by the time I got home.
Recently, I found a YouTube video from that warm September night with the memorable comedy of Steve Martin.
Shine On
He is one of my all time favorites ~ great musician, actor and of course comedian. Must have been amazing to see him live.
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Best live comedy show I’ve ever seen except for his recent banjo tours with his entertaining music and lyrics. Steve Martin is the Leonardo da Vinci of the New Millennium. Thanks for reading my blog.
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He’s really an amazing artist. Aside from his unique observations that make his comedy so funny, he’s also an accomplished musician and painter. I think that in a lot of ways, his film career is similar to that of Woody Allen. His early movies laden with slapstick and funny jokes, to his later ones, with humor intertwined with social commentary. Great post, JR! BTW, did you keep the deflated balloons?
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Thanks Rob. Glad to read that you agree with me about him. No, unfortunately about 20+ years ago the balloons and I parted ways. But, my admiration for Steve Martin has never waned. I attend his banjo concerts when he is in LA and recently attended a Hammer Museum exhibit that he curated.
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That is amazing, JR. I love Steve Martin! So happy for you that you could see him live!
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Erika, it was an amazing evening seeing both the Blues Brothers and Steve Martin. Thanks.
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That is right, you saw both. Like winning the lottery!
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You are so right. We hit the entertainment of a lifetime Jackpot !
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Fantastic 😃
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