Too much praise can turn Steve Martin into a wild and insincere guy.
The star of “The Jerk” and “Bringing Down the House” accepted the American Cinematheque career achievement honor Friday with mock cynicism.
The frequent “Saturday Night Live” guest host played aloof with friends in the audience that included Robin Williams, Jon Lovitz, Kevin Nealon, Martin Short, Dana Delany, Eugene Levy, “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid” filmmaker Carl Reiner and “Parenthood” director Ron Howard.
“There are so many familiar faces tonight, people I’ve worked with, people I haven’t seen in years and I just thought, ‘Why can’t we wear name tags? What would be so wrong?”’ Martin joked.
“But this evening is especially meaningful to me,” Martin added, “because when I was a kid my friends and I used to meet after school and get all dressed up and play ‘American Cinematheque awards show.”’
Friends cheered him and clips from his dozens of movies showcased his joking, dancing, dramatic acting and singing.
Rick Nicita, chairman of the organization’s board, said they chose to honor Martin because he was a “Renaissance man” who has excelled not only as an actor and comedian but as a playwright, novelist, art collector — and even banjo player.
A telecast of the evening was set for broadcast on the cable channel AMC on Jan. 23.
Nicole Kidman was last year’s honoree, and previous recipients include Eddie Murphy, Mel Gibson, Sean Connery and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
American Cinematheque, a nonprofit arts organization, operates the landmark Grauman’s Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood and uses proceeds from its annual awards ceremony to host screenings and other events.