The Story Behind Steve Martin Going From Working At Disneyland (As A Kid) To Launching His Career At A Different Theme Park

I feel confident stating Steve Martin is one of the greatest performers to ever live. From filling stadiums while creating incredible stand-up work to Steve Martin's numerous great films, and his more recent work on the recently renewed Only Murders in the Building, he has wowed audiences for decades. He’s even an accomplished playwright and musician! There’s little the man hasn’t been great at, but it all had to start somewhere, and for Martin, it all began at two Southern California theme parks, Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm.

When Martin was a child, his family moved from San Diego to Orange County, California, and this one simple decision may have changed the young boy’s life. When he was 10 years old, Walt Disney opened Disneyland. The place would change the lives of many, but none in quite the same way as it would Steve Martin.

Steve Martin’s First Job Was At Disneyland

Child labor laws weren’t really a thing in 1955, which is why at age 10, Martin was able to ride his bike over to Disneyland and ask for a job. There also wasn’t much of an interview process. In his autobiography Born Standing Up: A Comic’s Life, he explained how he walked up to the front gate and asked for a job, finding himself selling guidebooks for 25 cents each (and keeping two cents for himself from each sale) mere minutes later.

Martin would continue to work at Disneyland through his teenage years. From selling guidebooks, he moved on to assisting in selling trick ropes, then working in the warehouse of Tiki’s Tropical Imports. However, one of the places Martin really wanted to work was at Merlin’s Magic Shop, and at 15, he got the chance:

As a young man, Steve Martin wanted to be a magician most of all, and his time in the magic shop allowed him to learn some tricks, giving him the chance to do some small professional gigs, like performing for local Cub Scouts.

However, his time at Disneyland also exposed him to comedy. The young boy spent a lot of time at Disneyland’s Golden Horseshoe (mostly because it was free, unlike the other Disneyland attractions at the time), where he met the great Wally Boag, the original star of Disneyland’s Golden Horseshoe revue, and, for Martin, “the first comedian I ever saw in person.”

Martin’s Stage Career Began At Knott’s Berry Farm

There’s something of an urban legend that Steve Martin’s first opportunity to tell jokes for an audience came at Disneyland as a Jungle Cruise skipper. This story isn’t actually true. Martin never worked the Jungle Cruise, and the original attraction wasn’t the pun-filled experience it is today. Instead, a different theme park was where Steve Martin honed his standup routine.

At 18 years old, Steve Martin made the jump from Disneyland to Knott’s Berry Farm. He performed in classic melodramas and put together his own performances, combining magic, banjo playing, and old jokes. Martin says his time at the Bird Cage helped him form his act and lose the nerves that came with performing. He explained…

I was about 25 years too late to see Steve Martin perform at Knott's Berry Farm, but the park was still performing classic melodramas at the Bird Cage when I first visited the park. At the time, I had no idea who else had once performed there!

The Main Street Magic Shop (called Merlin’s Magic Shop in Martin’s time) and the Bird Cage theater still exist today, though the Bird Cage is usually only open during special events these days. They are historic locations in their own right, having stood for decades, but they also played their part in launching a career just as historic.

Many celebrities got their start at Disney. Martin's own OMitB co-star Selena Gomez is one. But Steve Martin may arguably be the first, even if he achieved that stardom in a very different way.