Watched the Steve Martin doc on AppleTV. I hadn't noticed before (this is my observation, not the film's) how much Andy Kaufman honed characters that seem at least inspired by Martin's early work. Both did "bombing comedian" characters; Martin's was a clueless blowhard, while Kaufman's was a clueless innocent.
The other thing I found interesting was how much Martin's "wild and crazy guy" persona built on Henny Youngman's pace and rhythm. Youngman threw out one-liner after one-liner until the audience finally surrenders and laughs. Martin removed the "indicator"/punch line, and just bombarded the audience with rapid-fire silliness until they found their own moments to break down and laugh.
An interesting double feature with the Martin doc would be Deceptive Practice, about Ricky Jay. Many parallels; both solitary geniuses who only let others in later in life. (Also, Martin and Jay were friends).
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