Published: June 28, 2008 10:13 pm         

Terre Haute residents share stories for documentary on comedian Steve Martin’s visits

Martin drew more than 7,000 for 1978 show in Valley

TERRE HAUTE — It was lights, camera and action Saturday at the Indiana Theater as Terre Haute residents took to the stage to share their Steve Martin stories.

From 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. residents relived their memories of Steve Martin and his November 1978 Terre Haute concert or his December 1979 visit to the city, in which he toured various locations such as a fertilizer plant and car wash.

Some of their stories or comments will be used in 3Docs Production of “One Wild and Crazy City,” a documentary, produced by Gary Wood and Justin Escue, which focuses on the relationship from the late 1970s and into the ’80s between the comedian and the city.

Thirteen people turned out to talk about their role in either of Martin’s visits to Terre Haute.

Joe Petty, 93, said he’s the one that got Terre Haute noticed enough for Martin to make it a stop on his tour. About a week after Petty’s letter to the editor about discovering a horse race betting operation in a small building downtown was published, the Saturday Evening Post and many other magazines featured stories naming Terre Haute a “Sin City.”

“I don’t know how else [Martin] would be compelled to come here compared to other cities in the country,” Petty said, who was able to get within 20 feet of Martin during the 1979 visit.

Martin drew more than 7,000 people to Hulman Center to see his show in 1978. His 1979 visit was in response to the mayor’s invitation after Martin named the city “Nowhere USA” and complained about the lack of downtown shops and restaurants, his hotel-room TV and the local TV stations’ fertilizer commercials in an interview for Playboy magazine.

In turn, Terre Haute was the site of the world premiere of Martin’s first movie, “The Jerk,” and the only city destroyed by a giant cheese mold in another Martin movie, “Dead Men Don’t Wear Plaid.”

“He was one of my favorites, quite a character,” Petty said in front of the camera. “Instead of showing off our fancy places, they showed all the weird places.”

As a student reporter for Indiana State University, 54-year-old Dennis Porter was able to get a little closer to Martin than Petty did. Porter sat across a table from Martin and asked him about six questions including what he thought about the mayor and what he planned to discuss with Johnny Carson on “The Tonight Show.”

“It was one of the better things that occurred to put Terre Haute in the public eye,” Porter said about the visit for the documentary. “Steve had fun with it, the people of Terre Haute had fun with it.”

Though the comments Martin made about Terre Haute weren’t good, Porter said it led to a positive thing with his visit and now the documentary.

“I think this is great,” Porter said about the documentary. “I think this will be positive for Terre Haute.”

Should Martin decide to come back, Porter said he would be welcomed by another large crowd as he was before.

“He’ll sell more tickets than he can shake a stick at,” he said.

Brian Ginoplos, 48, echoed those sentiments. He said he would like to see Martin in Terre Haute for the documentary viewing and that he would be received positively.

“Steve Martin did a lot for publicity for Terre Haute,” Ginoplos said.

Ginoplos saw Martin when he went by the courthouse for one of his city tour stops.

While Clay Wilkinson, 58, wasn’t in town for Martin’s visit, he did think Martin had a point with some of his comments. Because of some of the chemical plants, Terre Haute did have a smell, he said.

“Being of the same generation as Steve Martin, I think he’s funny,” Wilkinson said for the camera. “… I don’t think too many people took [his comments] seriously.”

Adding something extra to his camera time, Wilkinson performed a short standup routine with jokes all at Steve Martin’s expense including: “I like Steve Martin, then again I like Cream of Wheat.”

Producer Wood expects to conduct some key interviews for the documentary next and build off the outline he’s made so far, he said.

“I think it went well,” Wood said. “I certainly would have liked a better turnout, but we’ll be back.”

Wood and Escue hope to return some time in July to collect more accounts.

“I was extremely happy,” Wood said. “I got what I was looking for content-wise.”

Above all, he said they just got “some Terre Haute individuals,” some quirkiness, intelligence and fun that added a lot of details to the overall story.

Anyone who couldn’t make it Saturday but who still has a story to tell can contact Wood at (317) 496-1044 or gwood19215@aol.com.

Crystal Garcia can be reached at (812) 231-4271 or crystal.garcia@tribstar.com.