September 27, 2024 | Jesse Singer

Funny Steve Martin Quotes That Still Ring True


Steve Martin's Mind

Few people are as funny and insightful as the great Steve Martin.These quotes from the iconic comedian will make you laugh, think, then laugh again.

Steve Martin Twice

Another Man's Shoes

"Before you criticize a man, walk a mile in his shoes. That way, when you do criticize him, you'll be a mile away and have his shoes."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin at THE PINK PANTHER PremiereEverett Collection, Shutterstock

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Parlez-Vous Francais?

"Boy, those French! They have a different word for everything."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in black outfit with his eyes closedcelebrityabc, Flickr

Crouching Funny Hidden Laughter

"I saw the movie, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon' and was surprised because I didn't see any tigers or dragons. And then I realized why: they're crouching and hidden."

Grayscale Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in Sweden promoting Towpilot, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Writing Vs. Acting

"The real joy is in constructing a sentence. But I see myself as an actor first because writing is what you do when you are ready and acting is what you do when someone else is ready."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin, performing in Concord, CADavidwbaker, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

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A Way With Words

"Some people have a way with words, and other people...oh, uh, not have way."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin, 120th Anniversary Of Carnegie HallJoella Marano, CC BY-SA 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Impossible To Ignore

"Be so good they can't ignore you."

Steve Martin at the premiere of Baby Mama in New York CityDavid Shankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

Talking Music

"Talking about music is like dancing about architecture."

Grayscale Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in white suitJim Summaria, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons

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What He Looks For In A Woman

"I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks."

Steve Martin at the Peace Over Violence 35th Annual Humanitarian Awardss_bukley, Shutterstock

Love's Promise

"Love is a promise delivered already broken."

Steve Martin at the Peace Over Violence 35th Annual Humanitarian Awardss_bukley, Shutterstock

Script Changes

"I handed in a script last year and the studio didn't change one word. The word they didn't change was on page 87."

Portrait Photo of Actor Steve Martin at the world premiere of What Women Want.Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

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Punny

"I got a flue shot and now my chimney works perfectly."

Grayscale Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in white suitwhittlz, Flickr

He Persisted

"Thankfully, persistence is a great substitute for talent."

Actor Steve Martin at the Los Angeles premiere of his new movie Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Idiot Art

"I believe entertainment can aspire to be art, and can become art, but if you set out to make art you're an idiot."

Steve Martin at the press conference for SHOPGIRL Toronto Film Festival World PremiereEverett Collection, Shutterstock

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Oh Doctor

"First the doctor told me the good news: I was going to have a disease named after me."

Steve Martin at the 66th Annual ACE Eddie AwardsTinseltown, Shutterstock

More Doctors

"Somewhere in the world is...The world's worst doctor, and he could be yours."

Steve Martin at the Highline Ballroom.Jens Schott Knudsen, Flickr

Money Math

"If you've got a dollar and you spend 29 cents on a loaf of bread, you've got 71 cents left. But if you've got 17 grand and you spend 29 cents on a loaf of bread, you've still got 17 grand. There's a math lesson for you."

Steve Martin, Claire Danes at the press conference for SHOPGIRL Toronto Film Festival World PremiereEverett Collection, Shutterstock

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His Mother

"She was never moved by what I was doing (in an interview she said, "He writes his own material, I’m always telling him he needs a new writer")…"

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in a dark suit at Academy AwardsEverett Collection, Shutterstock

Breakups

"One day I was particularly gloomy, and Jim asked me what the matter was. I told him my high school girlfriend (for all of two weeks) had broken up with me. He said, 'Oh, that’ll happen a lot.' The knowledge that this horrid grief was simply a part of life’s routine cheered me up almost instantly."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin at SHOPGIRL Screening in New YorkEverett Collection, Shutterstock

Stand-Up

"Doing comedy alone onstage is the ego's last stand."

Actor Steve Martin at the 14th Annual American Comedy AwardsFeatureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

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Moving Out

"When I moved out of the house at 18, I rarely called home to check up on my parents or tell them how I was doing. Why? The answer shocks me as I write it: I didn’t know I was supposed to."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in blue suit and banjoCraig Piersma, Flickr

Equity For All

"I believe in equality. Equality for everybody. No matter how stupid they are or how superior I am to them."

Steve Martin at the Backstage At The Geffen Gala at Geffen PlayhouseKathy Hutchins, Shutterstock

Cat Bath

"I gave my cat a bath the other day...they love it. He sat there, he enjoyed it, it was fun for me. The fur would stick to my tongue, but other than that..."

Steve Martin attends Eric Fischl's 'Bad Boy' Book Launch Celebrationlev radin, Shutterstock

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Take A Breath

"I've got to keep breathing. It'll be my worst business mistake if I don't."

Steve Martin at the Giorgio Armani Prive Show to celebrate the Oscarss_bukley, Shutterstock

Staying Creative

"Moving on and not looking back, not living in the past, was a way to trick myself into further creativity."

Steve Martin at the 'American Idol' Grand Finale 2009s_bukley, Shutterstock

What To Believe

"It's so hard to believe in anything anymore. I mean, it's like, religion, you really can't take it seriously, because it seems so mythological, it seems so arbitrary...but, on the other hand, science is just pure empiricism, and by virtue of its method, it excludes metaphysics. I guess I wouldn't believe in anything anymore if it weren't for my lucky astrology mood watch."

Steve Martin at the Hollywood premiere of his new movie Bringing Down The House.Featureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

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Ain't No Sunshine

"A day without sunshine is like, you know, night."

Steve Martin at The Late Show with David Letterman, The Ed Sullivan TheaterEverett Collection, Shutterstock

What Is Comedy?

"Comedy is the art of making people laugh without making them puke."

Portrait Photo of Steve Martin in blue-gray outfit performing on stagezuko1312, Flickr

Syncing

"A watched iPhone never syncs."

Steve Martin attend the opening night of the play lev radin, Shutterstock

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Celebrity

"A celebrity is any well-known TV or movie star who looks like he spends more than two hours working on his hair."

Portrait Photo of the Actor Steve Martin in white shirtDerrick Lee, Flickr

Raise Your Hand

"How many people have never raised their hand before?"

Actor Steve Martin at the 19th Annual American Cinematheque Award GalaFeatureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

Twitter

"Being on Twitter is like having a fern."

Steve Martin at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Sunset TowerPhil Stafford, Shutterstock

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Not Tonight

"I opened the show with this line: 'I have decided to give the greatest performance of my life! Oh, wait, sorry, that's tomorrow night.'"

Actor Steve Martin and attend THE PINK PANTHER start of production press conferenceEverett Collection, Shutterstock

Getting Older

"As we get older we either become our worst selves or our best selves."

Actor Steve Martin at the world premiere of Looney Tunes Back in ActionFeatureflash Photo Agency, Shutterstock

First Day/Last Day

"I thought yesterday was the first day of the rest of my life but it turns out today is."

Portrait Photo of the Actor Steve Martin in brown suitmtkr, Flickr

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And Of Course...

"Well, excuuuuuse me!"

Steve Martin & the Steep Canyon Rangers at Segerstrom HallHarmony Gerber, Shutterstock