"At last, I have a way of answering the bothersome questions that I have too often been asked: "What is Steve Martin really like and how did he get that way?" Read Morris Walker's compelling and humorous biography on Steve Martin and I'm off the hook".

~Carl Reiner


Twenty years in the making, this unbelievably delightful book chronicles the truly wild and crazy years the author spent growing up with the superstar of comedy, Steve Martin. No one could better document Steve's enchanted life than his oldest friend, Morris Walker. You will relive a time that Steve himself refers to as "The best years of my life!" as well travel as well as all of his monumental accomplishments since those memorable days.

The adventure begins with two young boys who were dedicated to comedy as a way of life since the day they met in sixth grade. With absentee fathers, the bonds became stronger than glue for Steve and Morris, better known to all as the "Gopher boys" or just simply Martin and Walker. No one could better document Steve Martin's enchanted life than his oldest friend, Morris Walker. The reader will experience vicariously a time in Martin's life that he himself refers to as "The best years of my life!" and will learn the secrets behind the monumental success of this deeply private superstar.

From the earliest days as the class clowns, Steve and Morris were as inseparable as brothers and naturally became best friends. The author details the on-the-road struggles and phenomenal success Steve attains as a standup comic, movie star and producer. From first sexual to sometimes celibacy, from penniless to Pennies From Heaven, the book leads the reader onward and upward as Steve's career moves into major motion pictures and best selling books.

Each chapter is thoroughly wild and crazy and absolutely true, filled with pranks and antics wrapped in laughter, warmth, and a world of humor. Steve Martin fans will love this book because it is not only "a beautiful walk down memory lane," as Steve Martin calls it, but because it is the only firsthand account of Steve Martin's life. It is written in a hilarious style honed by the author through years of writing and performing on stage and television. It is testimony to a true generosity of spirit rarely attributed to Hollywood superstar personalities.

Readers are guaranteed to admire and love Steve Martin even more as they follow his early days, from hawking guide books with his best friend in Disneyland to obtaining his first job as a comedy writer on the Smother's Brothers Show. After winning an Emmy Award at the unbelievable age of twenty-one, Steve soon became the highest paid standup comedian in the country. And that was just the beginning as he embarked on a film career that has brought him world acclaim time and time again. It's all in The Magic Years from day one to the present . . . . . a story about an enchanting guy and a true-life rags-to-riches tale, a page-turner from the first chapter.

This biography is written in a style as unique and humorous as the superstar himself. Steve Martin loved this book. It is truly a rare show business story, genuine, uplifting and magical. Ultimately, the reader will feel as if he knows Steve Martin personally from a long time ago, and love him all the more . . . but now as a personal friend.

As biographies go... it doesn't get any better than STEVE MARTIN, THE MAGIC YEARS.