Most parents would be very proud of a child that scored a spot hosting Saturday Night Live. However, for Steve Martin, his dad’s approval was a little harder to come by. Did you know the comedian’s father actually gave his son’s appearance on SNL an unfavorable review?
Martin’s Dad Calls Show ‘The Most Horrible Thing On Television’
Martin frequently appeared on the late-night comedy sketch show, and his hosting gigs were some of the most anticipated episodes of SNL. The comedian actually holds the record for most time on the show, hosting SNL 15 times and making an additional 10 appearances. Not everyone was a fan, though. After one of his appearances on the show, Martin’s dad, Glen, decided to write a review of the episode in his company newsletter.
Glen wrote that his son’s SNL episode “did nothing to further his career.” It might not have been a personal slam against Martin, though. His father went on to write, “I think Saturday Night Live is the most horrible thing on television.” It sounds like he would have hated the episode, no matter who was hosting.
His Complicated Relationship With His Father
While this story is funny, it demonstrates the difficulties Martin and his father had relating to each other over the years. The comedian has often talked about how different the two were, and how that made their relationship hard. According to Martin, his father was very serious and a harsh disciplinarian. Meanwhile, Martin was all about making people laugh, and didn’t take things too seriously.
While appearing on The Howard Stern Show, Martin opened up about his childhood and relationship with his father. “First of all, my view of my childhood always was that I was very happy,” Martin explained. “And then I realized later that I was happy internally as a kid with friends and school, but maybe not so happy at home. I didn’t understand that there was an alternative lifestyle that other people were raised in very happy homes. By the way, it wasn’t awful at all, it was just that I had a complicated relationship with my father.”
Even though Martin’s dad wasn’t always a fan, he and his son reconciled later in life. “He became a fan, he would answer fan mail for me and he was an enthusiast,” Martin said. It looks like Martin’s father soon came around to what the whole world was saying: Steve Martin is undeniably funny and beloved to the masses.
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