A little dose of laughter courtesy of Steve Martin and his many talents on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour:
And yes, a reminder that he didn't always have that plume of white hair. Martin is one of those cases of how, when you're young, time seems to be somewhat telescoped. His mega hit album A Wild and Crazy Guy came out in 1978 when I was in elementary school. A year after Star Wars, and the height of Star Wars Mania (yes, that came a full year after its release), Martin seemed to be everywhere. His novelty song King Tut caught the King Tut wave that was all the rage back then, with the Treasures of Tutankhamun museum exhibit tour in the late 70s. A year later he would star in his own vehicle movie The Jerk, and only solidify that feeling for me and my peers that he had been everywhere forever.
Looking back, I realize how brief his time in the national spotlight was. Oh, he would go on and make a zillion movies of varying quality and redefine himself and become, nowadays, that elderly gentlemen of entertainment. But Martin as center of attention in the world of pop culture was only a couple years. But to youngsters at the time like me, where time seems to go at a different pace, it felt in the late 70s as though he had always been the biggest thing since the dawn of time.
My dad and I will still quote the Jerk at random to this day.
ReplyDeleteI certainly feel like that on some things in my life. Seems like some bit of culture was eternal and then you go look it up and it was only popular for maybe 2 years.
It's also just a sign of how unified the culture was back then. Nowadays? Well heck, probably the most recent "big thing" is Kpop Demon Hunters. Who here (besides me) has seen or heard of it?
The Jerk is one of my mother's favorites!
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