Number One Is Walking: My Life in the Movies and Other Diversions

by Steve Martin, Harry Bliss (Illustrator)

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

Steve Martin is back with The New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss to follow 2020's A Wealth of Pigeons. This duo is as charming as Martin's other famous duo (he and Martin Short) but for fans of the written and illustrated word. It's Steve Martin's world; we only live in it. And what a joyful world it is.

** New York Times Bestseller **

Number One Is Walking is Steve Martin’s cinematic legacy—an illustrated memoir of his legendary acting career, with stories from his most popular films and artwork by New Yorker cartoonist Harry Bliss.

Steve Martin has never written about his career in the movies before. In Number One Is Walking, he shares anecdotes from the sets of his beloved films—Father of the Bride, Roxanne, The Jerk, Three Amigos, and many more—bringing readers directly into his world. He shares charming tales of antics, moments of inspiration, and exploits with the likes of Paul McCartney, Diane Keaton, Robin Williams, and Chevy Chase. Martin details his forty years in the movie biz, as well as his stand-up comedy, banjo playing, writing, and cartooning, all with his unparalleled wit.

With gorgeously illustrated cartoons and single-panel “diversions” in Steve and Harry’s signature style, Number One Is Walking is full of the everyday moments that make up a movie star’s life, capturing Steve Martin’s singular humor and acclaimed career in film. The perfect gift from the team who brought you the #1 New York Times bestseller A Wealth of Pigeons.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250815293
Publisher:	Celadon Books
Publication date:	11/15/2022
Pages:	256
Sales rank:	1,918
Product dimensions:	7.30(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Steve Martin is one of the most well-known talents in entertainment. His work has earned him an Academy Award, five Grammy Awards, an Emmy, the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, and the Kennedy Center Honors. As an author, Martin’s work includes the novel An Object of Beauty, the play Picasso at the Lapin Agile, the collection of comic pieces Pure Drivel, the bestselling novella Shopgirl, the cartoon collection A Wealth of Pigeons with Harry Bliss, and the memoir Born Standing Up. Martin’s films include The Jerk; Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Roxanne; Parenthood; L.A. Story; Father of the Bride; and Bowfinger.

Harry Bliss is a cartoonist and cover artist for The New Yorker. His syndicated single-panel comic Bliss appears in newspapers internationally. He has written and illustrated more than twenty books for children, as well as the cartoon collection A Wealth of Pigeons with Steve Martin. He is the founder of the Center for Cartoon Studies’ Fellowship for Graphic Novelists in Cornish, New Hampshire.

Hometown:

Beverly Hills, California

Date of Birth:

August 14, 1945

Place of Birth:

Waco, Texas

Education:

Long Beach State College; University of California, Los Angeles

Website:

http://www.stevemartin.com

Editorial Reviews

★ 09/26/2022

Martin—comedian, writer, musician, and “one of the few actors to play a sadistic dentist twice”—teams up again with New Yorker cartoonist Bliss in this irresistibly charming ramble through Martin’s career in film (following A Wealth of Pigeons). In a series of short comics, Martin reminisces about life on the set of such films as The Jerk; Three Amigos; Planes, Trains and Automobiles; Dirty Rotten Scoundrels; and Bowfinger. In Hollywood, Martin learns how to act natural in front of a camera, discovers that the secret to writing a screenplay adaptation is to follow “the course of a failed marriage,” and finds friends in fellow comedians such as John Candy, Diane Keaton, Carl Reiner, and Robin Williams. In Bliss’s whimsical drawings, meticulously caricatured celebrities rub shoulders with comic-strip characters and Martin periodically wanders away from the narrative to talk to Bliss’s dog. The softly shaded pencil art moves smoothly between photorealistic portraits and loose, gestural cartoons as the material demands. Martin maintains his famous comedic persona of guileless arrogance, the jerk he’s played on and off since his early stand-up days. But his memories reveal a thoughtful, regularly starstruck performer who anxiously counts the laughs at a screening of All of Me and drives home from a viewing of Parenthood lamenting that “everyone in this movie is great except me.” Film buffs, comedy fans, and legion admirers of both the actor and artist will find themselves smiling from cover to cover. Agents: (for Martin) Esther Newberg, ICM Partners; (for Bliss) Holly McGhee, Pippin. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

"In the second book by the comedian Steve Martin and the cartoonist Harry Bliss, the actor wittily details his film career alongside his frequent collaborator’s humorous illustrations."
—The New Yorker, "The Best Books of 2022"

"One of the coolest things about Steve Martin is just how many different creative forms he’s tried out. His cartoon work with Harry Bliss is particularly gratifying because they have a natural affinity for each other. For someone who became famous as a solo performer, it speaks to Martin’s curiosity and eagerness to play. This graphic memoir about Martin’s 40-year career in the movies is unassuming and tidy—it goes down easy."
—Esquire, "The Best Celebrity Memoirs of All Time"

“Martin’s warm reminiscences, complemented by Bliss’ engaging artwork, succeed in creating a book that offers chuckles and insights in equal measure.”
—THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

“[A] clever and original way to approach a memoir, and it’s delightfully executed. A Hollywood memoir unlike any other.”
—BOOKLIST, STARRED REVIEW

"Warm, funny, and smart."
—THE AV CLUB, November Books Roundup

"Irresistibly charming...Film buffs, comedy fans, and legion admirers of both the actor and artist will find themselves smiling from cover to cover."
—PUBLISHERS WEEKLY, STARRED REVIEW

"A diverting interlude with two exceptionally clever souls."
—KIRKUS

From the Publisher

11/01/2022

This breezy, funny, informative illustrated book is a fun second collaboration between actor/novelist Martin (An Object of Beauty) and New Yorker cartoonist Bliss, after 2020's A Wealth of Pigeons: A Cartoon Collection. The volume's first half, where the antic Martin zips through multi-panel, illustrated experiences and on-set acquaintances encountered during his 40 years of movie roles, is a follow-up to his 2008 memoir Born Standing Up. Readers will learn Martin's perceptions of famous coworkers, such as Carl Reiner, John Candy, Robin Williams, Mike Nichols, Diane Keaton, Bernadette Peters, Goldie Hawn, Lily Tomlin, and Martin Short. He also discusses his decision to stop making films. The title echoes an assistant director's comment about the actor's hierarchy in various films. The book's second half consists of largely one-panel observational cartoons that frequently feature anthropomorphic cats and dogs, where Martin provides the punchline and Bliss the illustration. VERDICT Martin is a hilarious physical and multiple-voiced comic whose genius arguably doesn't convey as well in the more subtle print medium. Readers who enjoyed A Wealth of Pigeons should enjoy Martin and Bliss's newest collaboration as well.—Frederick J. Augustyn Jr.

Library Journal

2022-09-10
Martin and Bliss breeze down a yellow brick road of memories.

In this lighthearted follow-up to their charming 2020 collaboration, A Wealth of Pigeons, Martin and Bliss offer an illustrated look at the former’s career, the latter’s musings, and their shared muse, Bliss’ dog, Penny. The narrative is both disarming and brief. Through his cartoon persona, Martin recounts his progression from stand-up comedy to a celebrated movie career, reminiscing to anyone who will listen, bystanders as well as Bliss and Penny. Penny, a one-canine Greek chorus, adds asides and clarification (though not always on the films). Martin recalls the hit he made with his first starring vehicle, The Jerk, and his four-film partnership with Carl Reiner that produced a certified gem, All of Me, which, along with Martin’s Cyrano de Bergerac adaptation, Roxanne, would be among his most adventurous outings. Martin is amiably self-deprecating throughout, though he sees fit to praise the two critically panned Cheaper by the Dozen films, which found success at the box office. If, because of all of his years performing in front of live audiences, he thought he’d segue easily into film acting, his first movie disabused him of that notion. On his discomfort at watching his own performances, he notes, “If you think I’m being too sensitive, try watching a film of yourself for two hours in close-up and come out unscathed.” Martin remembers encounters and/or co-starring gigs with a bevy of famous performers and wryly suggests why his film career ran out of gas: “I lost interest in movies at exactly the same time the movies lost interest in me.” For his part, Bliss gets to ad lib in the section “And Other Diversions,” a collection of New Yorker–style cartoons that are characteristically witty but don’t connect to the rest of the text.

A diverting interlude with two exceptionally clever souls.

Kirkus Reviews