Steve Martin

In the late 1970s, few were aware as the nation watched the skyrocketing success of a “wild and crazy�? young comic named Steve Martin that many elements of his unforgettable, inspired, and iconic comic repertoire had their beginnings inside the berm of Walt Disney’s Magic Kingdom.

“The arrow-through-the-head was a thing we used to sell at Disneyland,�? Martin says, “It was just so silly. It was like anti-comedy.�?

Steve was born in 1945, in Waco, Texas. When he was 5, his family moved to Inglewood, California. Five years later, they moved again, to Anaheim. “We moved into a tract house two miles from Disneyland,�? Martin says.

From the age of 10 to 18, Steve worked at the Park after school, on weekends and during the summer. First he sold guidebooks at the gate, then souvenir spinning lassos in Frontierland. “The ropes were hard to sell,�? he recalls. “I had to wear a Western costume, cowboy shirt, hat. I did a little bit of that in Three Amigos!�?

Then Steve spent three years at the old Merlin’s Magic Shop in Fantasyland. There, he sold and demonstrated the packaged magic tricks and practical joke items on sale. He learned all the tricks, and collected all the jokes, writing down every gag. “I knew every nook and cranny of the shop,�? he recalls.

He learned to juggle from the Park’s Court Jester, Christopher Fair; and Wally Boag, the Golden Horseshoe headliner, was another Steve Martin influence. “I watched Wally’s show many, many times—he was the first live performer I ever saw. I mostly remember Wally’s performing style,�? Steve says. “It was fresh, sassy, and very clean. Watching his comic timing was a very big influence on my own career.�?

Steve also worked with a woman from the South whose favorite phrase of exasperation was “Well, excuse me for living.�? “I abbreviated it to, ‘Well, excuuuuuuse me.’ The phrase caught on with people and became independent of the bit that went before.�?

Steve’s career since his Cast Member experience—in live performance, recordings, film, television, stage, and as an author and playwright—are fairly well-known. He has returned to Disney for several film projects, including Father of the Bride and its sequel, Fantasia/2000, and Bringing Down the House. Steve co-stars with Donald Duck in the special film made for golden anniversary of the Park, Disneyland: The First 50 Magical Years. This year will see the Touchstone release of Shopgirl, starring Steve, and based on his novella. And once in a while he still goes to Disneyland.

“Recently I went back in a disguise. I dyed my hair brown and wore a brown mustache. It’s not that people mob me on the streets; but Disneyland can be very tough, and I don’t like being stared at or yelled at.�?

After Wally Boag finished his introduction, Steve Martin bounded up to the stage as applause filled the theater. The silver haired comedian gave his mentor a quizzical look, then said, “You can leave now.�? There was some good natured jostling, as Martin took the microphone.

“First of all, let’s turn up the heat and take a bathroom break!�? These words brought a burst of laughter and applause. He went on, “We are going into the Oscar time zone.�? Martin was on a roll, and the audience was appreciative. “When I came in here, and I saw this big crowd, I didn’t realize that everyone was getting one. And to the few people in the audience that didn’t get one… I am so, so sorry. It must be a big blow.�?

Martin then turned to memories of his years at Disneyland. “I started selling the Disneyland News here when I was ten years old in 1955. I heard they were hiring young boys so I came down and got a job.�? He glanced over to the Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, standing at the side of the stage, and observed, “And with deference to Mr. Sklar, they sold like cold cakes.�? There was renewed laughter, led by Marty Sklar himself. “Then I became a guidebook salesman,�? Martin continued. “And that was fantastic. It was fifteen cents for the Disneyland News and twenty five cents for a guidebook and we got two cents apiece. And we were rich!�?

After assuring the crowd he would keep it short, Martin then read two paragraphs from an unpublished memoir. He told of his time at Disneyland, and two places that captivated him: Merlin’s Magic Shop, and the Golden Horseshoe Review. There, he related, he watched Wally Boag, “the first comedian I ever saw live.�?

“I memorized Wally’s timing,�? recalled Martin, “thinking his next line in my head, and took the audience response as though it were my own.�? Martin voice caught as he said, “Wally exuded happiness in his performances.�? There was a pause, and Martin mumbled an apology and continued. “In my early days, I tried to emulate his devil-may-care precision. My fantasy, of course, is that one day Wally would be sick with the flu, and a desperate stage hand would step out and ask if there was a fourteen year old boy in the audience who could possibly fill in.�?

As the laughter subsided, Martin closed simply, saying, “It’s a great honor for me to be here as a Disney Legend. Thank you very much.�?

As Martin made his way off stage, the plaintive voice of Wally Boag could be heard saying, “I didn ‘t get my picture!�?

To end the ceremony, a singing group performed the song “Legendary You.�?

Outside, the handprint ceremony had been hastily relocated from the front of Sleeping Beauty Castle to under the covered porch of the Opera House. First Steve Martin and Art Linkletter (who had another appointment that day) placed their signatures and handprints in the wet cement. Shortly after, the other living honorees also placed their signatures and prints. The plaques will eventually be cast in bronze, and placed in the Legends Plaza at the Disney Studios in Burbank.