RED, WHITE & YOU #11 (July 14, 2026)

Nobody on the planet is funnier than Steve Martin. The first time I saw him decades ago, I fell over laughing. He was completely absurd with his deadpan ridiculous presentation of life. He killed me! And when he came to Hulman Center in November 1978, I fell over laughing!

His comedy was unlike anything anybody had ever done and it was so very hip and cool!

Fast forward to late November 1979, I was working as the assistant to Mayor Bill Brighton late one night. We worked late most nights to get caught up from busy days. The phone rang and I answered.

“Mayor Brighton‘s office. May I help you?“

“ Hello. This is Susan Smith from the Associated Press. Would the mayor happen to be in?”

“Yes he is. May I ask the nature of your call?”

“Yes,” she said. “Comedian Steve Martin just completed a tour of the nation and he called Terre Haute, Indiana, ‘Nowhere USA’ and we are wondering if the Mayor of Terre Haute might have a comment.”

I said, “Well, if you’ll hold on just a moment, I’ll get him for you and I’m pretty sure he might have a comment.”

I dashed into Mayor Brighton’s office and told him the AP was on the phone and said Steve Martin called Terre Haute ‘Nowhere USA’ and wanted to know if the mayor had a comment.

The mayor looked up at me with a puzzled look and said,” Who the F—- is STEVE MARTIN?”

“Wrong answer!” I replied and hurriedly explained he was the hottest young comedian in the country. And I quickly told him to tell her “ if Steve Martin doesn’t like us in Terre Haute, ‘WELL EXCUSE US!”

That was a play on Martin’s Saturday Night Live routine with John Belushi. And that’s what the Mayor shot back to Steve Martin!

Next morning I called the publicist for Martin’s new movie, “The Jerk,” which was about to be released and invited him to come back to Terre Haute and see what he had missed!

Very soon, we got a phone call from Steve Martin’s publicist saying Steve loved the invitation and he was coming back!

And that’s exactly what happened. What a great and wonderful time it was!

December 7, 1979, this town cranked it up to welcome Steve!

School classes were cancelled so the kids could meet him. One of the funniest things were the advertising signs at businesses that welcomed the comedian.

Some read:
‘Welcome Dean Martin’
‘Welcome Billy Martin’
‘Welcome Purple Martin’
‘Welcome Mary Martin’, etc.

All the county school classes were dismissed so kids could show up to meet the comedian and they sure did!

When Steve Martin arrived by private jet at Hulman Field there was a giant crowd to welcome him. It was not just local media but more than 100 national members of media had chartered 4 city buses to follow Martin in a caravan.

Steve stepped off the jet and Mayor Brighton greeted him with a bouquet of pathetic wilted flowers that were at least 10 days old. Steve picked up on the gag immediately and gushed over the ‘thoughtfulness of the community!’

The throng of media was shocking but delightful to Steve and he really hammed it up.

We had organized the funniest tour of our town we could think of — and after the welcoming speech, Steve was given the option to rent for just $25 his own car, a beat up ‘57 Chevy with no windows, doors wired shut, back end jacked up, and totally rusted! He climbed in thru the driver’s window & started it — no mufflers — so loud you could have heard it to Peoria!
It was absolutely hilarious!!!! He shut it off and climbed out, saying it wouldn’t be polite to not have room for others to ride. The crowd loved him!!!

The tour of the city highlights proceeded on the tour to City Hall where a massive crowd of school kids had gathered. It was so huge it was almost dangerous. The police were concerned someone would be crushed in the press of people trying to get closer to him.

The caravan then moved to Jiffy Car Wash, then Shuffle Inn diner on Lafayette Avenue, Central Nitrogen (fertilizer plant), and Beezy-Jones Tractor Sales, and back to the airport.

It was a ‘wild & crazy day!’ Steve was met at the airport once again by a giant crowd totally crazy about him. He apologized humbly about calling Terre Haute ‘Nowhere USA’ and insisted that immediately upon returning to Hollywood he would be urging all his friends to buy property in Terre Haute and spend their summers here!

He stepped up into his jet and flew off into the wild blue. But he did not forget his friends in Terre Haute. In his future movies, he referenced our community lovingly a couple times.

Subsequent to his visit, Steve Martin has become one of the most famous and influential people in the entertainment business.

I’m gonna say he undoubtedly owes the folks in Terre Haute a debt of gratitude for helping him get his career off the ground. There is not a grain of truth in that statement. But I’m gonna say it anyway!