Perhaps you recall him as one of the famous Festrunk brothers, two Czech studs who knew how to start a party with the ladies.
Or you may know him as the second coming of Inspector Clousseau, awkwardly fighting crime in two Pink Panther films.
Then again, maybe you simply know him as The Jerk.
But whichever it is, Steve Martin is one of the most recognizable faces in comedy.
His work has spanned over four decades and his writing credits have become just as formidable as his side-splitting performances.
Not bad for a jerk, huh? Like many of our most famous comedians (Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Adam Sandler, etc.
) Martin's legacy is inextricably linked with Saturday Night Live, the weekend comedy incubator seen on NBC HD.
Though never officially a cast member, his memorable appearances in the late 1970's established his stardom.
With the surge in DVD reissues of classic series -- part of the high definition tv revolution -- you can relive Martin's legendary performances whenever you choose.
He hasn't stopped yet -- after Martin guest-hosted SNL earlier this year, it marked the fifteenth time he's had the honor.
As SNL ties run deep, he has appeared on the Tina Fey smash-hit 30 Rock, as a sleazy white-collar criminal under house arrest.
Add that to 2005's Shopgirl (based on his own novel) and the Pink Panther series, you may need a satellite TV package to get the full Steve Martin experience.
His versatility is astounding.
In the course of a single day, you could see Martin performing sketch comedy (SNL episodes on Comedy Central), in an independent film like Grand Canyon (featured on IFC), in a send-up of classic detective movies (Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid on Turner Classic) or on a variety of stations in L.
A.
Story, the terrific homage to Los Angeles, written by and starring...
you guessed it.
L.
A.
Story is in many ways the uber-Martin.
Wise yet childish, bored yet still questioning life, Martin portrays a TV weatherman trying to adapt to modernity in the City of Angels.
Though equipped with a Ph.
D.
in humanities, Martin's meteorologist is in many ways unable to handle a relationship or even a speaker-phone (mercifully, DVR had yet to be invented).
After being fired from his job for pre-taping weather reports (isn't it always 72 and sunny, anyway?), Martin has a fling with half-his-age Sarah Jessica Parker before settling down with the more mature Victoria Tennant.
In between, Martin manages to parody Shakespeare (in a Hamlet-inspired graveyard scene) and have a casual shootout on the then-notorious L.
A.
freeway.
At a remove of eighteen years, Martin's ponderous comedy is worth revisiting, especially with high definition and surround sound, two "modern-day devices" that probably would have driven his character Harris K.
Telemacher crazy.
Whether he's checking out the ladies as "one wild and cra-zy guy!" on SNL or plotting to hoodwink a rich widow in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Martin's ubiquity will force you to use some of those innumerable channels in your satellite tv package.
Don't hold it against him.
Like Harris K.
Telemacher, he's just trying to make sense of the modern world, one performance at a time.