{"id":10090,"date":"2016-02-03T12:39:48","date_gmt":"2016-02-03T17:39:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hardwoodandhollywood.com\/pop-culture-spin\/?p=10090"},"modified":"2016-02-03T12:39:48","modified_gmt":"2016-02-03T17:39:48","slug":"top-50-stand-up-comedians-no-9-steve-martin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hardwoodandhollywood.com\/pop-culture-spin\/2016\/02\/03\/top-50-stand-up-comedians-no-9-steve-martin\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 50 Stand-Up Comedians: No. 9 – Steve Martin"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Steve Martin is the Elvis Presley of comedy. There is\u00a0a great deal of\u00a0legacy to consider and yet it can be difficult because both men at times became caricatures of themselves. So much has been taken from their influence that in hindsight some of it looks or feels derivative or campy but make no mistake, just like Elvis, Steve Martin was blazing the trail for numerous imitators who would follow.<\/span><\/p>\n

Yes, he was great on SNL and in films like “The Jerk.” Martin\u2019s film and television career has been well documented but the star has decreased his stand-up output over the years, admitting at times that the stage shows became difficult once his fame rose to certain heights. He couldn\u2019t be as experimental as he used to be, much like a musician that gets tired of only playing the songs from years ago that people remember fondly. But what Martin produced in his prime stands up with the greatest specials and bits of all time.<\/span><\/p>\n

This is going back a few spots on this list, but I couldn\u2019t help but notice the genius of this segment of Martin comedy after getting some pushback about my placement of Bo Burnham – the critique being that music and props are hacky – but check this out:<\/span><\/p>\n