A biography for Steve Martinhasn’t been written yet.
“I'm for the Wall Street Occupiers. But will they accept me when they find out I sell packaged mortgage default instruments to children?”
“I really enjoy finding the right word, creating a good, flowing sentence. I enjoy the rhythm of the words.”
“When I was in college, I was debating to try my hand at show business, or to become a professor. I just thought of the risk of not going into show business and always wondering if I would've had a chance. Because that's where my real heart was.”
“When your hobbies get in the way of your work - that's OK; but when your hobbies get in the way of themselves... well.”
“I have thought about some kind of musical involving my music. That would be kind of interesting. I have thought of it in that way, as a creator of something, not so much a performer. So that's in my head.”
“What is a movie star? A movie star is many things. They can be tall, short, thin, or skinny. They can be Democrats... or skinny.”
“Hosting the Oscars is much like making love to a woman. It's something I only get to do when Billy Crystal is out of town.”
“I think there are people out there writing original bluegrass songs, but it's hard to get them out on the air.”
“I believe Ronald Reagan can make this country what it once was... a large Arctic region covered with ice.”
“Dinosaurs did not walk with humans. The evolutionary record says different. They gambled.”
“An apology? Bah! Disgusting! Cowardly! Beneath the dignity of any gentleman, however wrong he might be.”
“There is one thing I would break up over, and that is if she caught me with another woman. I won't stand for that.”
“I've got to keep breathing. It'll be my worst business mistake if I don't.”
“I did stand-up comedy for 18 years. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four years were spent in wild success. I was seeking comic originality, and fame fell on me as a byproduct. The course was more plodding than heroic.”
“When I finally retire, I just want to go away so no one has to listen to me.”
“I like all kinds of music. I listen to Abigail Washburn, the Punch Brothers, and Marc Johnson, the great clawhammer player. I also listen a lot to Sirius Radio, there's a lot of bluegrass there.”
“What is comedy? Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke.”
“Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way.”
“I just wanted to be in show business. I didn't care if I was going to be an actor or a magician or what. Comedy was a point of the least resistance, really. And on the simplest level, I loved comedy.”
“The thing about the banjo is, when you first hear it, it strikes many people as 'What's that?' There's something very compelling about it to certain people; that's the way I was; that's the way a lot of banjo players and people who love the banjo are.”