Steve Martin tapped for AFI Life Achievement Award
Steve Martin will be joining an exclusive rank among Hollywood's elite, as the 43rd recipient of the American Film Institute's Life Achievement Award.
AFI board of trustees chairman Howard Stringer announced Friday that Martin will be honored with the award during a special tribute gala in Los Angles celebrating the funnyman's lengthy career.
"Steve Martin is an American original," said Stringer in a statement. "From a wild and crazy stand-up comic to one who stands tall among the great figures in this American art form, he is a multi-layered creative force bound by neither convention nor caution. His work is defined by him alone, for he is the author -- and a national treasure whose work has stuck with us like an arrow in the head."
Previous recipients of the Life Achievement honor include Meryl Streep, Tom Hanks, Steven Spielberg, Clint Eastwood, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Morgan Freeman, Martin Scorsese, Elizabeth Taylor, Alfred Hitchock and Bette Davis. Jane Fonda received the award in June.
Martin got his first big-break in show business as a TV writer, nabbing an Emmy in 1969 for his work on "The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour." He later crafted his standup act during the 1970s and attracted fame as a celebrated guest host on "Saturday Night Live" towards the end of that decade.
Martin released four comedy albums during the late '70s and early '80s, landing Grammy awards for 1977's "Let's Get Small" and 1978's "A Wild and Crazy Guy." He would go on to later share a best country instrumental performance Grammy for "Foggy Mountain Breakdown," a song which he played banjo on during a 2001 appearance on CBS' "Late Show with David Letterman."
In 2010, Martin won a best bluegrass album Grammy for "The Crow." He also scored another Grammy, shared with Eddie Brickell, earlier this year -- this time for best American roots song, for their composition "Love Has Come for You."
In 2005, Martin was honored with the Mark Twain Prize for Humor and later became a Kennedy Center Honors recipient in 2007.
In November 2013, Martin was presented with an honorary Academy Award for his achievements in cinema.
Martin's film credits include 1979's "The Jerk," 1986's "Three Amigos," 1987's "Roxanne" and "Planes, Trains and Automobiles," 1988's "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," 1989's "Parenthood," 1991's "Father of the Bride" and its 1995 sequel, 1999's "Bowfinger," and 2003's "Bringing Down the House" and "Cheaper by the Dozen."
The AFI ceremony honoring Martin will be held on June 4, 2015, and will air on TNT and TCM at some point later on in the month.
