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What Working at Disneyland Did For Steve Martin
How observing the pros can help you figure out success.
Living two miles away from Disneyland?
That was actor and comedian Steve Martin’s lucky location growing up in southern California.
He could ride his bike there.
Steve’s experience was the exact opposite of mine — raised on the other side of the country in Atlanta, GA. As a cartoon-loving, comic book-drawing creative youngster growing up in the Deep South with big dreams of working for Disney, I would have loved to be that close to the world of Mickey Mouse.
You discover a ton as a cast member at the “happiest place on earth” that can serve you well in a creative career. Steve only wanted to make a little money, but the opportunity helped shape his comedy and performance life.
Disneyland trained him to entertain
I’m finally reading Steve Martin’s memoir Born Standing Up and kicking myself for not getting it sooner. At the beginning of the book, he talks about his entertainment influences growing up. Many were from Disneyland, his favorite place to work as a kid.
When the park opened in 1955, he heard kids could get jobs selling park maps there, so he took his then ten-year-old self and rode a bike over to apply. A whole new career and introduction to the performing arts began.
He sold maps for several years and was drawn to a magic shop on Main Street, U.S.A., where he helped sell magic sets and learned from the magicians who worked behind the counter.
He not only studied the tricks, he also listened to and memorized the jokes magicians threw out to customers to get their attention as they strolled in and out of the store. Steve learned about showmanship from the other performers at the park, from rodeo cowboy tricks to stage presence from the singers, musicians, and actors. As a teenager, he built up his small magic act by performing at parties and events around town.
Magic proved to be a lot of fun, but times were changing.
“I was priced out of the market by the impossible cost of advanced stage illusions: Sawing a Lady in Half, two hundred dollars…
