March 5, 2009

Review: Steve Martin - The Magic Years by Morris Walker



The author, Morris Walker, is a long time friend of Steve Martin and in this book he shares their history growing up as young pranksters in Southern California. From terrorizing neighbors with a fake hand, to conning a group of remote control air plane enthusiasts with a wood and paper plane the stories range from hilarious to ho-hum.

I’ve always loved Steve Martin because he reminds me of my Dad. They are both slim, tall and wacky so I picked up the book thinking it would be a lot of fun. I did learn some fascinating things about Martin such as the fact that he was born in Waco, TX (I lived there for a year so it’s interesting to me LOL) and he worked at Disneyland for a time at when he was young but was hoping for much more from the book.

The author seems a bit of a hanger-on building on the glory days in junior and high school than a true life long friend. The book reads a little like he’s somewhat bitter that Martin made it and he didn’t since he’s in the entertainment industry also. Another thing that bothered me is that a lot of their shared stories as young boys/men are recounted and then compared to movies that Martin made or comedy routines that developed yet in each and every instance he claims to not be implying that he should get any credit for Martin’s work. Well than why bother mentioning or comparing it?

Overall I enjoyed what I learned about Martin and would recommend this as a library read if you’re a Martin fan.

4 comments :

bermudaonion said...

I loved Steve Martin back in his SNL days. I think I'd rather read about his life from his own perspective.

Ladytink_534 said...

I hate it when an author taints a biography like that. You should read Martin's memoir Born Standing Up instead. I never did get around to reading it but one of my online groups did and they all liked it.

MonieG said...

It's going on my wish list. Thanks Tink!!

Meljprincess said...

I saw Steve Martin perform in Lubbock, Texas back in the late 70's early 80's.
Then I saw him driving a car in Orlando. He was on his way to the shoot. They were shooting the movie "Parenthood".

Mel K.