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page 2 ad lib thursday, may 4, 1978 Steve Martin wild and craaazy' in Bananaland By Casey McCabe

The Steve Martin phenomenon hit Lincoln Saturday night, and 7,500 people filled Pershing Auditorium to prove that they too were '.'wild and craaazy guys". The man outside the auditorium was doing brisk busi- ness selling fake noses, and arrows-through-the-hea- Balloon heads and umbrella heads, other Martin inspired trademarks, were fairly visible as well. The atmosphere in the crowd was slightly under lunacy. It seems that Steve Martin has almost single-handedl- y made being an idiot socially acceptable. It is a phenomenon in that 7,500 people paid the un- usually high price of $7.50 and $8.50 to see a comedian, who a year ago was limited mostly to appearances on The Tonight Show. Today he has the biggest selling of all time, and more offers than he can count, all for one simple reason; he's outrageously funny. But the ld Martin put 10 years in the comedy business before achieving his recent success. He quit fensive." Except it's all done in the name of while the listener is on the edge of his seat waiting for UCLA after landing a job as a comedy writer for the comedy. the inevitably twisted result. One is his famous meeting original Comedy Hour. Through that, As the leader of this new cult, Martin has created a with Jackie Onassis in a Tuscon Arizona laundromat. he later went on to write for , Ray Stevens, fanatic following. As mentioned earlier, the Lincoln fans, Another is the sad story of his girlfriend which he tells Pat Paulsen, and Sonny and Cher. like all over the country, dress accordingly to fit the de- with tragic self-pit- y: Martin soon learned that the best person to do his mented atmosphere. When the spotlight hits Martin as he "We were together for three years, we went every place material was himself. So he soon quit writing and became comes out on stage, bedlam erupts. The crowd goes wild together and- -l shouldn't even talk about this, but. . . a performer, opening for shows anywhere he could. Fre- with enthusiastic cheering, .and he hasn't even said any- well, she's not living anymore, and. . .and I guess I blame quently he led off for The , and it thing yet. myself for her death. We were at a party one night, and was through one of the band members, John McEuen, Let's assume you have been living in a cave. What we were arguing. And she started drinking quite heavily. that Steve first learned to play the . The banjo has makes Steve Martin funny? It's rather hard to describe un- Finally we had this big screaming argument, and she went since become a regular feature of Martin's act. less you can picture a basically handsome, gray-haire- d out to the car; and she asked me to drive her home, and While he had been experiencing moments of success, friend of John Denver, who admittedly will do anything I refused. I dirin t realize how much she'd been drinking. Steve Martin was ready to abandon show business in for a laugh. For instance, a casual Martin announces to She asked me again, she said 'Please, drive me home. I 1975. He'd had several appearances on the Tonight Show, the audience; "Here's something you don't see every didn't want to. . .so I shot her." but not much was coming out of them. He bombed a day". . (proceeds to leap up and down several times, It's almost easy to see how people's first reaction to couple of shows when the audience, almost understand- stretch out his mouth with both hands and scream Steve Martin is often, "hey, what is this?" But it grows on ably, didn't have the vaguest idea what he was talking "Aaaarrgh!" then quickly returns to a state of you, and the secret is in Martin's reckless abandon about. He returned to his home in Aspen, Colo., and con- composure). approach to comedy. From deadpan delivery of hilarious templated his career. Other times the comedy might be based on something materia', to total loss of control with a case of "happy In the meantime, his material began to move to the as innocent as a card or magic trick. It isn't especially feet", Martin always seems able to hit on the irrelevant slightly more bizzare. He began insulting the audience, funny making a dime disappear, but when he dedicates it chord of his crowd. And that crowd is getting bigger, and removing any dignity that might have been found in to the people way up in the cheap seats, it's a different and Martin is becoming one of the most popular come- his art before. At one university he led 300 members of story. Another one is the infamous, drawn out King of dians to ever come out of Bananaland. the audience to the local McDonald's and ordered one Hearts routine. Perhaps the heart of Steve Martin can be found in the french-frie- s. order of Another time he led the crowd to He fans out a deck of cards and picks a volunteer from following little song he sings to a one-chor- d banjo accom- an empty swimming pool, had them climb in, and swam the crowd. Taking the King of Heats and placing it visibly paniment; across their bodies, it was something comedy had never in the deck, he tells the volunteer; "When the vibes are We're having some fun. seen before, but the people loved it. right, I want you to yell out "King of Hearts, Come Down We've got music and laughter and wonderful times. One of the major catalysts to Martin's career was host- and Dancel' Now everyone has to concentrate on the We're having some fun. ing (he has since become one of the King of Hearts." That's so important in today's world, oh yeah. show's most prolific hosts). Together with more frequent After a few seconds of silent suspense from the crowd, It's so hard to laugh. spots on The Tonight Show, now as a host), people began the volunteer yells "King of Hearts, Come down and It seems that short of tripping a nun nothing is funny to remember his name. Since then, he's struck paydirt dance!". At which Martin plucks the King from the deck anymore. with his first album Lets Get Small which went platinum, and with his hands makes the card do an idiotic little But you know, and a comedy The Absent Minded Watier which dance down the mike stand and on the floor, all the while I see people going to college for fourteen years. earned an academy award nomination. singing "doo di doodle, di doo doo woe, woe. . ." Studying to be doctors and lawyers, If you haven't heard of Steve Martin by now, it can He's sort of into humiliating himself and the audience And I see people going to work at the drugstore at be assumed you've been living in a cave. like that. He constantly ribs them about what they paid 7j30 every morning Devotion to the Martin style of humor is cropping up to get in; $8.50 to get in here? I mean for that I ought to To sell Flair Pens, everywhere. More and more people are finding them- just come "out here and do this, (flips off the crowd), But the most amazing thing to me is selves inadvertently slipping into his deep-throate- d "Okay, once more for the photographers." I getpaid "hi! I'm a neat guy" voice, or taking his advice from Some of the best parts of Martin's routine are his emo- For doing 'The Grandma Song" and "being tasteless, rude, and of-- tionally involved stories where he puts on a serious front. This. ALL MY CHILDREN O HIGH HOPES 8 MAY MAGAZINE (THUR.) H PROGRAMMING Pass The Buck (EXC.THUR.) (Until 3:30) PHIL fl DONAHUE SHOW AFTERNOON O NEW ZOO REVUE CD MAY MAGAZINE (THUR.) Romper Room (EXC.THUR.) 930 OO HOLLYWOOD SQUARES 12:00 OOOCDNEWS O CD PRICE IS RIGHT NOON SHOW 8 ALL MY CHILDREN BEWITCHED O JIM NABORS SHOW 8 O HIGH ROLLERS SESAME STREET HAPPY DAYS 12:15 fl FARM ACTION CD PRICE IS RIGHT 12:30 SHOW THURS THRU WED (THUR.) fl V ((daytime)) HAPPY DAYS (EXC.FRI.) OO DAYS OF OUR LIVES Martha's Kitchen (FRI.) O CROSS WITS NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY fl CD AS THE WORLD TURNS MORNING 7:00 ARCHIES 8 PROGRAMMING 1:00 II JCYSHOW B O TODAY (Until 3JO) OOONEUFETOUVE CJ GOOD MORNING 10:30 RELIGIOUS PROGRAMMING O MOVIE Andy Hardy's Double kMERICAQ f) WHEEL OF FORTUNE Lile' (THUR ). 'Our Very Own' BOZO IS O t:00 FAMILY FEUD (FRI ), 'Anna Christie' (MON ). fl1 1 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY CBS NEWS OO 1 LOVE OF LIFE Personal Property' (TUE). 'As PTL PROGRAM 8 DREAM Of JEANNIE OGD FATHER KNOWS BEST You Desire Me' (WED.) VARIOUS PROGRAMMING MORNING SHOW O f 1 SESAME STREET 11:00 NOT FOR WOMEN ONLY CB PROGRAMMING FARM REPORT (FRI.) Answer 8 f ) U FUNTSTONES SANFORDANDSON (Until 3:30) Is Love (WED.) HO MCHALE'S NAVY 120.000 PYRAMID 1:30 O BEVERLY HILLBILLIES O DOCTORS 8:00 POPEYE Q9 YOUNG AND THE OO 1 fl CO GUIDING ft CBS NEWS I) CD CAPTAIN KANGAROO RESTLESS IJ LIGHT O 11 2:00 :05 FARM AND RANCH REPORT FUNTSTONES O 820,000 PYRAMID U PLEASE DON'T EAT THE 10 f NEWS PROGRAMMING R.F.D. DAISIES 'V if g 8MAYBERRY ANOTHER WORLD ' 1:15 UNO SCENE (WED.) (Until 3:30) Park (THUR ). 11:30 SHOW OO r 1 fl Hyde GENERAL J'?'" JO ROMPER ROOM Nova (FRI.) CONVERSATIONS O HOSPITAL fl O 230 tiGOMERPYLE COUNTRY DAY 830 UTTLE RASCALS RYAN'S HOPE fj fl SUNRISE SEMESTER fl CARTOONS 81I GONG SHOW OCD ALL IN THE FAMILY CI O DENVER NOW VARIOUS PROGRAMMING 0:00 1 700 CLUB CD SEARCH FOR f f 3:00 fj MICKEY BUNKY'S FUN CLUB O CARD SHARKS TOMORROW fl MOUSE CLUB fj fj O FOR RICHER, FOR QPOOHfcH OO EDGE OF NIGHT O 9 MATCH GAME FUNTSTONES 3JO fl TOM AND JERRY fl - fl GILUGAN'S ISLAND i i : . 1 PASS THE BUCK j If PHIL DONAHUE SHOW I CI LOVE LUCY 'A GRIFFIN ilMERV ISLAND O KALAMITY KATE'S CAR- - TOONS 09 ELECTRIC COMPANY 4:00 fl GILUGAN'S ISLAND it O MY THREE SONS f1 TARZAN O DINAH O MY FAVORITE MARTIAN O MIKE DOUGLAS Entertainment Editor: Pete Mason. Cover Design. Liz Beard. Layout: m MISTER ROGERS 4:30 LEAVE IT TO BEAVER h Kitty Policky. 9 is f 1 BEWITCHED Ad lib an entertainment supplement published by the Daily Nebras- BIG VALLEY kan. Editor in Chief: Ron Wurde-ma-n. fl FAMILY Ruggless. 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