Orange County Performing Arts Center Welcomes Steve Martin 10/30/09

Steve Martin, the multi-talented and award-winning actor, comedian, musician and author, will make his debut at the Orange County Performing Arts Center on October 30 in Segerstrom Hall for a special one-night-only engagement. One of America's most beloved performers, Martin, his banjo and the Steep Canyon Rangers will give the audience an unforgettable evening filled with laughter and music from his latest release, The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo. This performance brings Martin back to Orange County where he was raised and spent his formative years.

Tickets to see Steve Martin are $43 - $68 and go on sale Sunday, August 23. They will be available at OCPAC.org, at the Center's Box Office at 600 Town Center Drive in Costa Mesa or by calling 714.556.2787. For inquiries about group ticket discounts for 15 or more, call the Group Services office at 714.755.0236. The TTY number is 714.556.2746.

Martin, a Kennedy Center honoree, is undoubtedly one of the most versatile and popular entertainers working today. His rise to stardom was quick. During college, he nabbed a job writing for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour which eventually won him an Emmy Award for writing. Martin went on to write material for hit shows Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour and Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour. When he decided to take his own comedy act on the road, he got the attention of Johnny Carson, who put him on the Tonight Show where Martin became a frequent guest. His stints on the show led to his debut on Saturday Night Live. Around this time, Martin released a series of popular comedy albums that helped launch signature phrases such as, "I am a wild and crazy guy" and "Excuse me!" Martin won Grammy® Awards for the albums Wild and Crazy Guy and Let's Get Small. 

Martin's next stop was the movies. His first big success was The Jerk. It was the first full-length film he wrote and starred in, and its success opened even more doors for Martin. Over the years, he starred in numerous hit movies including Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains, All of Me, Little Shop of Horrors, Roxanne (his adaptation earned him an award from the Writers Guild of America), Planes, Trains & Automobiles, Parenthood, LA Story, Father of the Bride, Shopgirl (which was based on his novella), Bringing Down the House, The Pink Panther and Baby Mama.

He is also a literary figure. His play, Picasso at the Lapin Agile, premiered at the prestigious Steppenwolf Theater and had successful runs in several American cities. He adapted the Carl Sternheim play The Underpants and wrote (and produced) the thriller, Traitor. In addition to Shopgirl, he also wrote the novella The Pleasure of My Company. In 2007, he published a memoir, Born Standing Up. His writings have also appeared in The New Yorker. Martin's most recent Grammy Award was for his collaboration with Earl Scruggs on Foggy Mountain Breakdown. After playing on the album with Scruggs, Martin began writing a string of new banjo songs, some with lyrics and some as instrumentals which led to The Crow: New Songs for the Five-String Banjo (Rounder Records). An album 45 years in the making, Martin wrote all the songs and it features special
vocal appearances by Mary Black, Vince Gill, Tim O'Brien, Dolly Parton and instrumental guest spots by Earl Scruggs, John McEuen, Stuart Duncan, Jerry Douglas, Pete Wernick and Tony Trischka. The Crow was recorded in Dublin, Hollywood, Nashville and New Jersey. The album is currently No. 1 on Billboard's Top Bluegrass Albums chart where it has held that position for the last 12 weeks. Recently, it was nominated for six International Bluegrass Music Association Awards.

Raised in Garden Grove, Calif., Martin attended California State University, Long Beach before
transferring to UCLA. During his teenage years, he worked at Disneyland and Knott's Berry Farm where he gathered bits for his later comedy and music routines.

For more information on Martin, including message boards, tour dates and more, please visit
stevemartin.com.

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