Steve Martin: A Look at the Veteran Actor’s Net Worth, Filmography and More Things to Know

Veteran Hollywood actor and comedian Steve Martin recently regained popularity when he landed the role of washed-up TV actor Charles-Haden Savage in Hulu’s comedy crime drama Only Murders in the Building. However, in reality, Steve Martin’s accomplishments shine bright as the star he is, evident from his substantial net worth, broad filmography, and remarkable milestones and movies.

The new documentary STEVE! (Martin) A Documentary in 2 Pieces provides an inside look at the 78-year-old comedian’s glorious career. The two-part film, directed and produced by Academy Award winner Morgan Neville, delves deep into Martin’s decades-long journey, containing never-before-seen footage, new interviews, and insights into his stand-up and artistic ventures. With Season 4 of Only Murders In the Building in the works, Martin’s co-stars Martin Short and Selena Gomez also make appearances in the documentary, with the latter even attending the premiere to show support for her beloved friend and colleague, even sharing a tribute to both of her co-stars on social media.

Martin’s career has been marked by variety and innovation, beginning with his success as a stand-up comedian in the 1970s and progressing to acting, writing, and banjo playing. Despite nearly six decades in the spotlight and a sizable net worth, Martin shows no signs of slowing down, reinforcing his unwavering dedication to his creative career. Join us as we go through the Hollywood icon Steve Martin’s legendary career, discovering his most memorable movies, TV shows, net worth and fascinating aspects of his life along the way.

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All about Steve Martin: Net worth, best movies and TV shows, plus other things to know

He started his career as a comedian and a television writer

Back in the 60s, when a young Steve Martin was a student at Long Beach State College in California, he had a side gig as a musician-magician at Disneyland. Reportedly, he also used to sell guidebooks at the amusement park and performed his comedy-and-banjo act in the local nightclub circuit. In 1967, recognising his great potential, Steve’s then-girlfriend Nina Goldblatt shared his work with Mason Williams, who was the esteemed head writer of The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Impressed by Martin’s humour and creativity, Williams welcomed Steve as a writer and their efforts soon saw results, with the writing team bagging an Emmy for Outstanding Writing Achievement in Comedy, Variety, or Music in 1969. He also made an appearance on the show in 1968.

With a successful foray into television writing, Martin started writing and performing for The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour from 1971 to 1973. His charisma and sharp wit earned him recurring roles in successful TV shows like The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, The Gong Show, The Muppet Show, and Saturday Night Live.

Martin’s deeper delve into stand-up comedy secured his reputation as a comedy icon. His critically acclaimed albums Let’s Get Small (1977) and A Wild and Crazy Guy (1978) won over listeners all over the world. These albums not only went platinum but also earned Martin two major Grammy Awards. One of the highlight tracks from A Wild and Crazy Guy was the infectious hit King Tut, which peaked at no. 17 on the Billboard Hot 100 list and became a cultural phenomenon, selling over a million copies. Martin continued to extend the limits of comedy with successive album releases, such as Comedy Isn’t Pretty in 1979 and The Steve Martin Brothers in 1981.

Steve has an illustrative writing career

Beyond writing scripts for television and movies, Steve Martin has also written several plays and musicals, proving his proficiency in the craft. He has a total of 16 published books and plays in his repertoire including Picasso at the Lapin Agile and Other Plays (1996), Pure Drivel (1998), Shopgirl (2000), and Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life (2007).

His talent for screenplay was further polished with The Jerk, Three Amigos, Roxanne, Bowfinger, and more. He went on to write the script and music for Bright Star, a collaborative project with Edie Brickell, which successfully ran on Broadway for five months in 2016 and set out on a national tour the next year. The play was awarded with a Drama Desk Award and 2 Outer Critics Circle Awards. His next playwright on Broadway Meteor Shower starred Hollywood heavyweights like Amy Schumer, Keegan-Michael Key, and Laura Benanti.

In 2022, Steve released his memoir Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions, where he explored his cinematic legacy, his artistic endeavours and working on artworks with New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss. Last year, his audiobook, which was co-written with Adam Gopnik, So Many Steves: Afternoons with Steve Martin was published, highlighting his focus on storytelling and pushing boundaries.

Martin is also a skilled musician

Undoubtedly, Steve Martin is a multitalented artist. Along with being an exceptionally talented actor and writer, the veteran artist is also a very proficient banjo player. He taught himself how to play the instrument when he was 17, as a side act with his stand-up show. But it became far more than just another hobby for him. Martin collaborated with Earl Scruggs’ Foggy Mountain Breakdown back in 2001 and earned a Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance.

His bluegrass album The Crow: New Songs for the 5-String Banjo took home another Grammy for Best Bluegrass Album in 2009. Following the success of the album, Steve and the band Steep Canyon Rangers started touring and created the album Rare Bird Alert (2011). But his Grammy journey doesn’t end there. The title track for his 2013 album Love Has Come for You with Edie Brickell secured his fifth Grammy for Best American Roots Song. The two talented musicians crossed paths again to collaborate on 2015’s So Familiar and the musical Bright Star. Two years later, Martin and Steep Canyon released another collaborative album titled The Long-Awaited Album. Last year, Steve Martin featured on Kelly Clarkson’s single, I Hate Love, where he played the banjo while Kelly sang “And “The Notebook” lied/”It’s Complicated” is more like what happens/So you can keep Gosling and I’ll take Steve Martin”.

Steve Martin’s extraordinary acting career and his best movies and TV shows

Some people spend their whole lives trying to perfect the one craft they’ve dedicated their life to, but then there are people like Steve Martin who have the ‘Midas touch’ in life. Being a magician, an Emmy-winning writer, an accomplished comedian, and a Grammy-winning musician, are all just scratches on the surface of what Martin has achieved throughout his exceptional career. He started his acting career with a small appearance in The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Then he starred in The Absent-Minded Waiter, (which he also has writing credits for) and received a coveted Academy Award nomination for Best Short Film, Live Action. Then, he went on to act in comedy movies like The Jerk (1979).

Steve met his long-time friend and collaborator Martin Short during the filming of Saturday Night Live in 1984 and two years later the duo starred in a movie titled Three Amigos! The duo continue to work together today, most notably in their ongoing TV show Only Murders in The Building alongside cosmetic mogul and artist Selena Gomez. With over a five-decades-long acting career and numerous accolades to his name, Steve Martin is one of the living legends of Hollywood.

Here’s a list of movies and TV Shows Steve Martin has starred in —

Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band (1978)
The Jerk (1979)
The MupPet Movie (1979)
Pennies From Heaven (1981)
Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid (1982)
The Man With Two Brains (1983)
All of Me (1984)
The Lonely Guy (1984)
Little Shop of Horrors (1986)
Three Amigos (1986)
Roxanne (1987)
Planes, Trains & Automobiles (1987)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
Parenthood (1989)
My Blue Heaven (1990)
Grand Canyon (1991)
L.A. Story (1991)
Father of the Bride movies (1991 & 1995)
Housesitter (1992)
Leap of Faith (1992)
A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
Mixed Nuts (1994)
Sgt. Bilko (1996)
The Spanish Prisoner (1997)
Bowfinger (1999)
The Out-of-Towners (1999)
Joe Gould’s Secret (2000)
Novocaine (2001)
Looney Tunes: Back in Action (2003)
Cheaper by the Dozen movies (2003 & 2005)
Bringing Down the House (2003)
Shopgirl (2005)
The Pink Panther movies (2006 & 2009)
It’s Complicated (2009)
The Big Year (2011)
Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (2016)

Laurel Canyon (2020)
30 Rock (2006-2013)
Only Murders in The Building (2021-)

He has several accolades to his name

Numerous awards and honours underscore Steve Martin’s immense talent and versatility.

Steve Martin has received five prestigious Grammy awards for his musical prowess. He has earned two People’s Choice Awards, one Emmy, one American Comedy Award and two Writers Guild of America awards as a performer and a gifted writer. In 2013, Steve Martin received an Honorary Academy Award at the Governors Awards and gifted everyone with an 8-minute-long hilarious speech.

In 2005, Martin received the prestigious Mark Twain Prize for American Humour, an honour reserved for individuals who have made significant contributions to American comedy. Steve Martin was ranked no 6 on Comedy Central’s 2013 list of the 100 greatest stand-up comics of all time.

Personal life

Even though his profession aimed to make other people smile, his life at home was no walk in the park. He has previously said in interviews that his father Glenn Martin was a failed actor who became a real estate agent, and didn’t support his artistic endeavours. Even after his success at the box office, his father was quite neglectful about his immense talent. Watching Martin’s performance in Three Amigos! he said, “Well, he’s no Charlie Chaplin.” Even in his documentary, Steve said that his dad was probably a “little embarrassed” by him.

On the other hand, after his commercial success, his dating life began to flourish even more. He joined a reality TV show The Dating Game where he successfully got the girl, Deana Martin (Dean Martin’s daughter). In 1977, he started dating Bernadette Peters, and the couple also worked together in Pennies from Heaven; however, the couple unfortunately parted ways after four years together. Steve married actress Victoria Tennant in 1986, but got divorced in 1994, after which Steve remarried writer Anne Stringfield in 2007. In 2012, the couple welcomed a daughter and Steve became a dad at 67.

Martin is an avid art collector

Few in Hollywood share a passion for art as deep as Steve Martin’s. As a serious art collector who developed the penchant for collecting early in life, Martin rarely misses an opportunity to visit galleries and art fairs. Steve Martin’s first purchased painting is a topic of some debate. Some sources suggest that it may have been a painting by the renowned Los Angeles-based artist Ed Ruscha, whereas others claim that it was by the 19th-century American artist James Gale Tyler. Whatever the truth may be, there is no denying that he understands art and its intricacy.

When Martin started collecting bigger paychecks, the results were reflected in his art purchases. He paid USD 2.3 million for Edward Hopper’s painting Captain Upton’s House. In 1999, he spent USD 10 million on Edward Hopper’s Hotel Window. The actor owns artworks by contemporary American artists such as Eric Fischl, Cindy Sherman, and Roy Lichtenstein. And that’s not all; his collection is also enriched with post-war and modern American paintings by Edward Hopper, and a drawing by Willem de Kooning. His refined collection also includes artworks by European artists like Pablo Picasso and Georges Seurat, along with Francis Bacon and Lucien Freud.

His wife Anne Stringfield also shares his passion for art. The couple have purchased several artworks by artists like Bill Whiskey Tjapaltjarri, Timo Hogan, Carlene West, Warlimpirrnga Tjapaltjarri, and Doreen Reid Nakamarra, to name a few. Martin’s spectacular collection has been loaned out for display in non-selling shows at Gagosian locations in New York and Beverly Hills, California, as well as for an exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York. According to Celebrity Net Worth, Steve Martin’s entire art collection is currently worth more than USD 100 Million.

But, even the sharpest eye can be deceived. In 2004, he purchased Landschaft mit Pferden, or Landscape With Horses, reported to be a 1915 piece by Heinrich Campendonk, from the Cazeau-Béraudière gallery in Paris; it later turned out to be a forgery.

The houses he calls home

Steve Martin’s real estate purchases showcase his love for luxurious properties in prime neighbourhoods. Shelling out USD 3.175 million in 1995, Steve purchased a 7,000-sq ft luxury property in Beverly Hills. The abode came with a large lawn area, a swimming pool, and an outdoor entertaining area. Two years later, Martin also bought a 1.1-acre sprawling 4-bedroom property next door for USD 995,000. He sold the later mansion in 2019 for USD 2.2 million, turning a huge profit.

Villa Au Soleil St. Barts

Impressed by St. Barts’ stunning view of the Caribbean and the privacy it proffers, Martin purchased a home on the island, which soon became a haven for celebrities fleeing the paparazzi. The home features four bedrooms, an open living room, and a classic dining room. Other amenities include an infinity pool, a sun deck, and a private garden. The comedian sold the property in 2015 for an undisclosed amount.

Martin also owns a house in Los Angeles, decorated by interior designer Kathryn Ireland.

Steve Martin’s net worth

Steve Martin’s name is synonymous with success and versatility across a multitude of artistic disciplines. His unmatched brilliance and originality have been exhibited throughout his successful career as a comedian, actor, screenwriter, playwright, musician, author, and film and television producer, starting from his earliest days in stand-up comedy. His astounding achievements have not only gained him critical acclaim and admiration from admirers all around the world, but have also resulted in significant financial success.

According to Celebrity Net Worth, the multitalented artist has an astounding net worth of USD 200 million. Alternative reports by The Richest, however, place his net worth at around USD 110 million. Whichever figures are true, Martin’s fortune nonetheless reflects his multifaceted career, which spans six decades and includes a diverse spectrum of creative endeavours.

Martin’s ability to flourish in numerous sectors has landed him at the top of both the entertainment and business worlds, earning him a reputation of a true Renaissance man. In addition to his professional accomplishments, Steve Martin’s net worth is credited to his wise investments, which include a significant art collection and valuable real estate holdings. According to Variety, Martin receives a salary of around USD 600,000 per episode for his role in OMITB. With the massive success of Only Murders in the Building, his fortune is only certain to grow.

(Main and featured image: IMDb)

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

– Was Steve Martin in the Military?

Steve Martin joined the Marine Corps in May 1961 and was released from active duty in May 1965. Due to two years of Inactive Reserves, he received his Honourable Discharge in 1967.

– How much money is Steve Martin worth?

According to Celebrity Net Worth, Steve Martin’s net worth is around USD 200 million.

– What was Steve Martin’s first show?

Steve Martin first appeared on the show The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour, he was also a writer for the show.

– Where can I watch Steve Martin movies?

Different streaming platforms like Disney + Hotstar and Apple TV have many Steve Martin movies available to stream.