NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� Steve Martin has this funny theory spelled out with comic timing.
鈥淵ou kind of can always tell if someone hits a wall by their haircut," he says.
Pause.
鈥淎nd I'll explain what I mean.鈥�
Pause.
鈥淟ike if someone was doing really, really well in the 鈥�70s, they keep their 鈥�70s haircut. If they did well in the 鈥�80s, if they keep their 鈥�80s haircut. If they're moving along, their haircut changes."
Pause.
鈥淣ow, I've had the same haircut forever.鈥�
And there goes the theory.
If Martin's parted white hair 鈥� its evolution more a matter of age than of style 鈥� reflected his creative choices, it would have been an ongoing fashion show. Few have succeeded in so many art forms: standup comedy, movie acting, television acting, playwriting, novel writing, with time made throughout for banjo playing.
His passions now include cartoon captions, honed through a collaboration with the New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss, brought together at the recommendation of mutual friend and New Yorker art editor Fran莽oise Mouly.
鈥淪he calls me and says that she was having dinner with Steve Martin and he had some cartoon ideas and was I interested in drawing a couple of them up,鈥� Bliss said. 鈥淲e started emailing back and forth and he sent me a couple of ideas 鈥� one I remember was about a dog panhandling. And we both kind of laughed. There was that initial spark. It was fun.鈥�
Martin and Bliss spoke recently during an afternoon interview in midtown Manhattan, across the street from the New York Public Library's main branch. Friendly for the past few years 鈥� 鈥渇ive years ago" was Martin's favorite response when asked for any kind of timeline 鈥� they have formed a professional kinship built upon Martin's words, Bliss' images and a shared love for the satire and well-populated illustrations of Mad magazine.
They first worked together on the bestselling "A Wealth of Pigeons," published in 2020, and now have completed
The title is the premise for the kind of Hollywood joke Martin has mastered. The words refer to a given actor's status on set (at least some sets): 鈥淣umber one is walking,鈥� an assistant director might say to let others know of the lead actor's whereabouts. Martin was 鈥漀umber One" in 鈥淭he Jerk,鈥� 鈥淏owfinger," 鈥淏ringing Down the House鈥� and others, only to be knocked back when he co-starred and Alec Baldwin in 鈥淚t's Complicated.鈥�
鈥淣umber three is walking,鈥� he heard.
Bliss says his greatest challenge for the book was to 鈥減ut the fan away, and just listen to Steve tell the story.鈥� The first half of 鈥淣umber One Is Walking鈥� is a meta-movie scrapbook, with Bliss' sketches accompanying Martin's memories of his film career and illustrating the making of the book.
A strip might begin with Bliss asking Martin about a specific project, such as 鈥淩oxanne,鈥� or make light of which of the two is more famous.
鈥淪o, Harry, how did you get started cartooning?鈥� Martin is seen asking on one panel, looking out dispassionately from a loveseat, with Bliss in a wicker chair at his side.
鈥淲ell, I ...鈥� says Bliss, rising eagerly from his seat.
鈥淭hat reminds me,鈥� Martin interrupts, "of when I did the movie 鈥楧irty Rotten Scoundrels."鈥�
Martin shares memories of such late friends as , and He offers a vivid account of meeting the original director for 鈥淭he Jerk鈥� (Reiner ended up with the job) and later his director when Martin and Williams starred in a 1988 stage production of 鈥淲aiting for Godot.鈥� Nichols, Martin explained during the interview, was always the wittiest man in any gathering, 鈥渢he Mike Nichols in the room, the number one wit.鈥�
鈥淚 was very nervous to meet Mike Nichols,鈥� he recalled. 鈥淎nd we're going to walk to dinner. And it's summer. And it's New York, so we're outside and it's warm and I have no idea what to say to him.鈥�
鈥淪o I say, 鈥榃ow, this weather is great.鈥� And he said, 鈥榊es, isn鈥檛 it ironic,'鈥� Martin continued.
The book's second half continues the kind of riffs Martin and Bliss created for 鈥淎 Wealth of Pigeons." A given cartoon might begin with Martin emailing a funny caption 鈥� sometimes in the middle of the night 鈥� and Bliss devising the image to go with it.
For Bliss, the blessing and occasional burden of Martin's captions is that they originate from the mind of, well, Steve Martin: 鈥淲hy Euclid had no friends,鈥� or 鈥淰arious entrances to the gates of hell," or 鈥淭he Evolved Bee.鈥�
鈥淭here was a time when I actually thought, 鈥榃hy can鈥檛 Steve do a simple (caption)?'鈥� Bliss said.
"You didn't like when I sent you an idea for 10,000 penguins coming down the Arctic slope," Martin said, adding that even as he felt guilty for some of his ideas, he believed that suggesting the seeming impossible brought out 鈥淗arry at his best.鈥�
鈥淭hat's when you kill,鈥� Martin said.
The pair may well work together again, although neither is ready to announce future plans. Bliss very much has a day job at The New Yorker and is otherwise happy to remain a cartoonist, and only a cartoonist.
鈥淚 am not that ambitious,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 really have no desire to do much else.鈥�
鈥淚 read a book in college called 鈥楾he Psychoanalytics of Art,鈥欌�� Martin observed. 鈥淚t talked Picasso, who was constantly changing, constantly developing a new thing, and Chagall, who painted essentially the same things his whole life. It's just a different style.鈥�
鈥淚 don't have this restless thing, (where I'm thinking) 鈥業鈥檝e got to keep changing,鈥欌�� he added. 鈥淚 don't plan ahead. it just sort of happens.鈥�
Hillel Italie, The Associated Press
