Editing Steve Martin (section)

==== Late night ====
In 1967, his former girlfriend Nina Goldblatt, a dancer on ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'', helped Martin land a writing job with the show by submitting his work to head writer [[Mason Williams]].{{sfnp|Martin|2007|p=76}} Williams initially paid Martin out of his own pocket. Along with the other writers for the show, Martin won an [[Emmy Award]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.emmys.com/celebrities/steve-martin|title=Steve Martin|work=Television Academy}}</ref> in 1969 at the age of twenty-three.<ref name="Mild"/> He wrote for ''[[The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour]]'' and ''[[The Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour]].'' Martin's first national television appearance was on ''[[The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour]]'' in 1968. He says: {{cquote|[I] appeared on ''The [[Virginia Graham]] Show,'' circa 1970. I looked grotesque. I had a hairdo like a helmet, which I blow-dried to a puffy bouffant, for reasons I no longer understand. I wore a frock coat and a silk shirt, and my delivery was mannered, slow and self-aware. I had absolutely no authority. After reviewing the show, I was depressed for a week.<ref name="Smithsonian" />}} During these years his roommates included [[Gary Mule Deer]] and [[Michael Johnson (singer)|Michael Johnson]].{{sfnp|Martin|2007|p=77}} Gary Mule Deer supplied the first joke Martin submitted to Tommy Smothers for use on the ''Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour'' show.<ref>Freeman, Marc – [https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/smothers-brothers-comedy-hour-oral-history-1060153/ 'The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour' at 50: The Rise and Fall of a Groundbreaking Variety Show]. Hollywood Reporter. November 25, 2017 ("It has been shown that more people watch TV than any other appliance.")</ref> Martin opened for groups such as [[The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band]] (who returned the favor by appearing in his 1980 television special ''All Commercials''), [[The Carpenters]], and [[Toto (band)|Toto]]. He appeared at [[The Boarding House (nightclub)|The Boarding House]], among other venues. He continued to write, earning an Emmy nomination for his work on ''[[Van Dyke and Company]]'' in 1976.
In the mid-1970s, Martin made frequent appearances as a stand-up comedian on ''[[The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson]]'',<ref name="Smithsonian" /> and on ''[[The Gong Show]]'', [[HBO]]'s ''[[On Location (TV series)|On Location]]'', ''[[The Muppet Show]]'',<ref>{{cite book |last1=Garlen |first1=Jennifer C. |last2=Graham |first2=Anissa M.  |title=Kermit Culture: Critical Perspectives on Jim Henson's Muppets |year=2009 |publisher=[[McFarland & Company]] |isbn=978-0786442591|page=[https://books.google.com/books?id=Rac9xis0BIgC&q=%22Steve%20Martin%22 16]|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rac9xis0BIgC&q=%22Steve%20Martin%22}}</ref> and [[NBC]]'s ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'' (''SNL''). ''SNL''{{'s}} audience jumped by a million viewers when he made guest appearances, and he was one of the show's most successful hosts.<ref name="Mild"/> Martin has appeared on twenty-seven ''Saturday Night Live'' shows and guest-hosted sixteen times, second only to [[Alec Baldwin]], who has hosted seventeen times {{as of|2017|February|lc=y}}. On the show, Martin popularized the [[air quotes]] gesture.<ref name="Frum">{{cite book |title=How We Got Here: The '70s |last=Frum |first=David |author-link=David Frum |year=2000 |publisher=Basic Books |location=New York City |isbn=0-465-04195-7 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/36 36–37] |url=https://archive.org/details/howwegothere70sd00frum/page/36 |url-access=registration }}</ref> While on the show, Martin grew close to several cast members, including [[Gilda Radner]]. On the night she died of [[ovarian cancer]], a tearful Martin hosted ''SNL'' and featured footage of himself and Radner together in a 1978 sketch.