Here's How Steve Martin Made His $140 Million Fortune
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While his ability to wear many hats may be little-known to his fans and the public, Steve Martin is mostly recognized for his contributions to stand-up comedy and a long-standing acting career that has produced some of the most hilarious films in Hollywood history. Born Stephen Glenn Martin on August 14, 1945, he has been doing stand-comedy comedy professionally since 1966, making him one of the many kings if comedy, alongside Steve Harvey, Cedric The Entertainer, and the late legend Bernie Mac. With most of the world's attention on his acting career, he has co-starred with the likes of Coming To America's Eddie Murphy, Heather Graham, Michael Caine, Diane Keaton, rapper/actress Queen Latifah, and fellow comedian Eugene Levy. Let's find out how Steve Martin leveraged his talents as an actor, comedian, author, and musician to amass his $140 million net worth.
Early Gags And Gigs
Born in Waco, Texas to his mother Mary Lee and his father Glenn Vernon Martin, who was a real estate salesman and an aspiring actor, which is possibly where Steve inherited his desire to be an actor. Although much of the feelings toward his father during his teenage years can be summed as disdain due to his often stern and critical nature, Steve was still inspired to pursue acting.
His first job while still in high school was at Disneyland while on summer break. Ironically, this is also where he made his first film appearance in the background of a the home movie film Disneyland Dream.
After graduating high-school, he attended Santa Ana College where took classes in English poetry and drama until he dropped out of college at twenty-one after appearing in an episode of The Dating Game opposite Elaine Joyce and pop rock star Michael Bolton. His first real gig that gained him some attention was as a writer and performer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour from 1968 to 1969. His talent spoke for itself when Martin won an Emmy Award as a writer for the show in 1969 at only age twenty-three.
According to Celebrity Net Worth, he also wrote for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour from 1971 to 1973 before making frequent appearances on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson, The Gong Show, the HBO series On Location which featured comedy performers such as Robin Williams and Bill Crystal, The Muppet Show, and Saturday Night Live (SNL). Then, in 1977 he released his first comedy album titled Let's Get Small which went platinum and peaked at No. 10 on the Billboard Pop Album Charts followed by his next album, Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) which sold over 1 million copies and peaked at No. 2 on the US sales chart. Martin's song King Tut from the album also took on a fan craze of its own and he even performed it live on SNL in 1978.
From Stand-up Comedy To Acting Comedy
Before social media platforms like Instagram and YouTube existed, the only way to measure how "followers" you had was when you appeared on tour to sold-out arenas with thousands of fans anticipating your arrival - something Steve Martin did with in stand-up comedy. But, admittedly, success as a stand-up comedian was happenstance for Martin. His real passion was film acting, and he went on to dominate in that sphere also.
His first film was in 1977 comedy short, The Absent Minded Waiter, alongside Buck Henry and Teri Garr. Following that was the 1979 comedy The Jerk, for which Steve Martin was the c0-writer and the main actor alongside Bernadette Peters, grossing over $100 million at the box office. Starring in his second film directed by Carl Reiner was the 1982 neo-noir mystery comedy, Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid which grossed $18 million against a $9 million budget. He struck gold again in 1983 with The Man With Two Brains and All of Me in 1984, both grossing $10 million and $36.4 million respectively.
By this time, Martin was calling for $3 million per film, with his next film being the 1986 Western comedy Three Amigos, alongside fellow SNL stand-up comedians Chevy Chase and Martin Short to a box office number of $39.2 million. Following that in the same year, he teamed up with comedian Rick Moranis for the Little Shop of Horrors musical, followed by Planes, Trains, and Automobiles in 1987 with John Candy which grossed $49.5 million, and the romantic comedy Roxanne in the same year which grossed over $40 million in the U.S alone. He finished the 1980s with Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) alongside Michael Caine, and Parenthood (1989) co-starring again with Rick Moranis and grossing $126 million worldwide.
In the coming years, starting in the 1990s, Martin would star in some of his best films, such as L.A. Story (1991) starring Marilu Henner which grossed $28.9 million, Grand Canyon (1991) which raked in over $40 million, Father of the Bride (1991) which grossed $129 million, Housesitter (1992) starring Goldie Hawn and Dana Delany, and Bowfinger co-starring Eddie Murphy and grossing $98.6 million.
His film highlights from the 2000s and onwards include Bringing Down the House (2003) starring Queen Latifah, Cheaper By The Dozen (2003) starring Bonnie Hunt - both films grossing over $160 million; The Pink Panther (2006), The Pink Panther 2 (2009), and It's Complicated opposite the esteemed celebrities Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin, earning $224.6 million at the box office, and a 2015 Dreamworks animation film titled Home (2015), where he lent his voice beside singer/entrepreneur Rihanna and saw a gross of $386 million globally.
A Successful Writing And Music Career
Besides stand-up comedy, writing is what helped Martin get his foot into the door of success, and he wrote his first full-length play titled Picasso at the Lapin Agile. The 2008 spy thriller Traitor, starring Don Cheadle, also based on a story written by Steve Martin. He then wrote the novellas Shop Girl (2000) and The Pleasure of My Company (2003), the former being turned into a film starring Claire Danes and himself. Martin then released a memoir in 2007 titled Born Standing Up that received a ranking of No. 6 on Time' Top 10 Nonfiction books of 2007. He then wrote another novel called An Object of Beauty in 2010.
But the eclectic Steve Martin wasn't done unraveling layers of himself just yet. Martin would learn to play the banjo rom the age of 17 from John McEuen, who now plays for the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. On a few of his comedy albums, he also devoted entire sections to instrumental jams and live performances of Steve playing the banjo. In 2009, the comedian would release an all-music album titled The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo featuring musicians like Dolly Parton, and won a Grammy Awards for Best Bluegrass Album. That would then be followed by a collaboration with Edie Brickell and The Steep Canyon Rangers in 2013.
Undoubtedly, Steve Martin will be known for using every ounce of talent he was born with. Not only did he amass an impressive net worth of $140 million, but he left behind a legacy of written and recorded literature in the form of plays, books, and films that will live on forever.
Sources: Renowned for Sound, Roger Ebert, Celebrity Net Worth
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