Conversations with Steve Martin

Steve Martin's works have passed through my life from my earliest days.  My family was always big into comedies.  I'm not going to say that my one uncle videotaped off of HBO practically every movie that they showed in the 80s.  Plenty of Martin movies were part of that unsubstantiated archive.  But it wasn't until the cusp of my adult when I understood, or rather realized that I did not yet fully understand, the work of Steve Martin.  Late one night A Simple Twist of Fate came on.  The credits said Steve Martin, so I settled in for solid entertainment.  What I got was a character study of a complex man.  My eyes were opened to a whole new world - that a comedian could be so much more.

            What we have on the pages of this book is a look into what this man has done with his public and professional life.  It is a book about a private man.  And he will tell you that when you need to hear it.  Early in his career, it was written that "a secret of Steve Martin's success is making a huge point out of never leaving well enough alone."  He will also offer you a look behind the curtain when he thinks you need, or when you don't need it, or if it is funny.  Here we have the portrait of a renaissance man who refuses to sit for the portrait, but challenges you to paint it as he sprints through your studio. 

            Often we ask questions.  As interviewers, questions are often asked with an expected answer.  We have seen this with the banality of late night talk shows who love everyone and everything is great.  With Steve Martin, the conductors of these interviews are always masterfully guided to ask a better question, a question that will indeed exceed the readers' expectations.  He guides the interviews to the depths of his soul, while maintaining his privacy and dignity.  He taught one interviewer that "talking about personal parts of your life cheapens them, I think.  I collect art, but I'd rather not talk about that."  He will tell you of the heartbreaks of his early career and the joys of some of his greatest cinematic achievements.  He will tell you that John Candy was the best kisser he has ever had on screen, and that he was scared when he wrote Roxanne.  He will tell you that he has compassion for the disadvantaged, and that he finds fraternity with the other great men of his craft.  In none of this does he resort to platitudes and Hollywoodspeak.  In these pages is a genuine man that will challenge you to be genuine in your own right.  Through his erudition, struggle and limitless desire to be funny and growing, we as the readers are challenged to look at ourselves, to look at our motivations and prejudices and become a better person.  Through this, we become artists with all of the world as a canvas that challenges all to achieve their highest potential in many different areas of life. 

            Sorry to spoil it, but Steve Martin can make you a better person through his words.  He can show you how to look at life and ring out every bit of nectar through perseverance and desire to be really good at something - or many things.