I Have A Special Purpose!

Big day today. Steve Martin was in my office. He poked his head over my cubicle wall and nodded "hello" to me. I didn't actually speak to him, I was trying to be professional, but oh man how I wanted to gush. I could have gone totally fanboy on him. Thankfully, I showed some self restraint.

I'm not the kind to get excited over celebrities, as a general rule. I mean, it's cool to see people you recognize from film and television, but I just don't get that excited- they're just people. Steve Martin, though. Man. That guy is an idol to me. I grew up on Steve Martin comedy. I've seen The Jerk and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels more times than I can count. LA Story and Roxanne are wonderful films. Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid, Pennies From Heaven? Good stuff. Recently I've loved his books; his recent memoir is very beautifully written.

His comedy albums are as much of an influence on my comedic style as anything else. I remember having a copy of Let's Get Small on tape that my parents made for me. It was my first real experience with adult humor. Of course, many years later, I listened to the album straight from the vinyl and realized that my parents had edited out a lot of it. They left in most of the drug references, but took out most of the talk of farting. Censorship in America is a funny thing.

Steve came into our office in a gray suit and matching fedora. Very dapper. At one point, he asked for the restroom key, and having watched Dirty Rotten Scoundrels just this past weekend, all I could think of was Ruprect:

RUPRECHT- Excuse me. May I go to the bathroom first?
LAWRENCE- Of course you may.
(A long pause as Ruprecht looks off into the distance contentedly, not leaving the table)
RUPRECHT (with relief)- Thank you.

I hope he comes back and I get the chance to actually speak with him. The man's a genius.

Cheers,
Eli