45 Trivia Tidbits About ‘The Jerk’ on the 45th Anniversary of the Steve Martin Classic
On December 14, 1979, a character like no other arrived in theaters. Navin R. Johnson was a lovable idiot that made The Jerk a hit and Steve Martin a household name. Forty-five years later, even with some scenes and jokes that may not age perfectly, The Jerk is still a beloved comedy with dozens of laugh-out-loud moments.
It’s a classic in every sense of the word. And so, to pay our respects to Martin’s first starring vehicle, here are 45 trivia tidbits about The Jerk…
A Jerk Is Born
The Jerk was created from a single line from Martin’s stand-up act that always got a laugh: “It wasn’t always easy for me; I was born a poor Black child.” From that grew a story about an idiot working odd jobs.
Discovering Steve Martin
According to AFI, “Around 1975, Martin’s manager and business partner, William E. McEuen, invited producer David V. Picker, then president of Paramount, to see Martin’s comedy performance at San Francisco’s Boarding House comedy club. Impressed, Picker signed Martin to a three-film development contract with Paramount.” The first of which was supposed to be The Jerk.
‘A Laugh on Every Page’
Martin wrote the film with Carl Gottlieb originally, then with Michael Elias for the rewrite. Martin has said that their goal was to have “a laugh on every page.”
They Started with Nothing
“When we started, all we had was a greenlight for a script,” explained Gottlieb in an interview with the Television Academy. The project was intended purely as a vehicle for Martin.
Money Talks
After some time of not knowing what the movie was going to be, Martin told Gottlieb, “My manager says it should be about money because everyone’s interested in money,” which got the ball rolling.
One Less Jerk at Paramount
After the script was complete, The Jerk fell victim to a regime change at Paramount. Thanks to a lack of interest in Martin from the new studio heads, the plug was pulled on the film and the project moved over to Universal.
The Original Title
According to an interview with Martin and director Carl Reiner, The Jerk was originally called Easy Money, but Martin wanted something like Dostoyevsky’s The Idiot, which he’d recently read. Other potential titles were Money to Burn and The Jerk: A Wild and Crazy Movie
Before Carl Reiner
Early on, there was some talk about Gottlieb serving as director, as he’d already directed Martin in the short The Absent-Minded Waiter. However, Martin also knew Reiner, who was coming off the successful film Oh God! And so, Reiner was chosen instead.
Gottlieb’s Cameo
Despite not directing or doing the rewrite, Gottlieb did return to The Jerk during production to do a cameo as Iron Balls McGinty.
A Jerk Divided
In an oral history of the film, Gottlieb described who wrote what by saying, “The whole first half of the movie, where he leaves from his home life in the shack in Mississippi Delta from there to hitting the road to working at the carnival and developing the Opti-Grab device, that’s pretty much me and Steve. And a lot of the stuff with Bernadette (Peters) and a lot of the stuff with life and a lot of money that was pretty much Michael and Steve and Carl Reiner.”
The Jerk Hits the Slopes
In an interview, Elias described the rewrite process like so: “Steve invited me to Aspen, where he was living then. And Universal rented a little house for me, not far from Steve’s house, and it was a month of skiing and writing. We would meet and have breakfast, we’d ski for a while, we’d come back, we’d write, have dinner, and write some more, and play chess. And we just did that for a month every day.”
The Heart of ‘The Jerk’
Martin credits Reiner with giving the film “heart” and “shape.” He joked that Reiner “was like a father to me, although I wouldn’t let him bathe me like he wanted to.”
To Be a Fly on the Windshield…
Thanks to the gas crisis at the time, while working on The Jerk, Reiner picked up Martin every day and they drove to the set together in Reiner’s Honda. Reiner has said that about 20 to 30 percent of the film was rewritten in those car rides.
Carl Reiner, Joke Writer Extraordinaire
Describing the relationship of Martin and Reiner, Gottlieb said, “That collaboration produced a lot of great jokes. There was the water cooler that has crystal glasses instead of paper cups. That was a Carl Reiner joke”
Royal Family
Blues legends Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee were part of Navin’s poor Black family in the beginning of the film. Actress and singer Mabel King played Navin’s mother.
Where ‘Navin’ Came From
In an interview for a screening for The Jerk, Reiner said the name “Navin” was suggested by Mel Brooks. Being that the Johnson family was illiterate in the film, Brooks suggested that could be their take on “Nathan.”
‘The Jerk’ in 2024 (Part One)
In a 2019 interview, Gottlieb remarked that the opening of the film “is kind of racist when you think about it.” When asked if there were any concerns about the film’s racial overtones, Gottlieb said, “In 1976, 1977, no. Not too much.”
In another interview, Gottlieb added, “There are a lot of very innocent, but racist clichés there, yes. It was a more innocent time. And if you watch it today, there’s a lot of uncomfortable racism in it. But it was never ill-intentioned, and it was never designed to denigrate the race. And we had wonderful Black actors playing the family. So yeah, it’s a little uncomfortable to watch the film with today’s sensibility, but Amos ‘n’ Andy was still on the air back in those days.”
‘The Jerk’ in 2024 (Part Two)
When The Hollywood Reporter asked Martin a similar question in 2015, he said, “I haven’t looked at The Jerk in a long time. But looking back, everyone was treated with such respect, and we had that fabulous opening with Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee singing on the porch, two very well-known blues artists. You might get a kind of knee-jerk reaction, but it would be hard to get a verdict in court against it.”
Martin’s Favorite Gag
It’s when Navin is hitchhiking and a trucker pulls over and asks him, “St. Louis?” and Navin replies, “No, Navin Johnson.”
A First Lick
In the script, it was written that Martin would share a first kiss with Peters, but Reiner had the last-minute idea to have Martin lick her face instead. Peters wasn’t informed beforehand, so her reaction was genuine.
I Guess That Makes It Okay?
Martin and Peters were dating during the filming of The Jerk.
An No-Brainer Casting Decision
Martin told People that the part of Navin’s love interest was written with Peters in mind.
The Original Meet-Cute
In the final version of the film, Martin and Peters met at a carnival, but Elias has said they originally had something else in mind for their first scene: “She’s a waitress, and she hands him a menu and says, ‘What would you like?’ And he says, ‘I’ll have a small orange juice, a large orange juice, a small grapefruit juice, a large grapefruit juice, a small melon, a half a melon. I’ll have fried eggs. I’ll have fried eggs with bacon.’ And he reads the whole menu, and she keeps writing. And she writes and writes. And as she’s writing and he’s going through the entire menu, they’re falling in love.”
Prince Navin
The mansion Navin moves into when he becomes wealthy was owned by a Saudi prince.
Beverly Hills Buffalo Counter
One early gag Martin loved was when Navin was going to be employed as a buffalo counter in Beverly Hills. The joke consisted of him waiting, then a buffalo would run by and he’d mark “one” on his counter.
No Ghostbusters Here
Bill Murray shot a cameo for the film, but it was cut. Murray brought this up during a “Weekend Update” segment on SNL, saying, “The movie is a dog. There’s something missing. Who it is, I can’t say.”
1979’s Viral Marketing
According to AFI, “McEuen developed a ‘highly sophisticated and documented marketing strategy’ with the help of Universal. … Thirty days before the release of the film, McEuen began a radio marketing campaign that included contests, awards and free screenings to generate the same kind of excitement as a live concert. The production notes reported that, as a publicity stunt, Martin and Reiner presented the film’s two-minute trailer as if it were a feature film premiere, placing ads in trade papers and using searchlights at the event.”
Before ‘The Jerk’
While The Jerk was Martin’s debut as a lead in a movie, he’d appeared in three films in smaller roles: The Muppet Movie, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band and Another Nice Mess, a bizarre offering where impressionist Rich Little starred as Richard Nixon in a Laurel and Hardy-type film.
A Cheap Jerk
According to People, The Jerk was made for 15 percent less than the $6 million budget it was given.
What ‘The Jerk’ Did for Martin
“The film gave me a lot of confidence in what I’m doing in making comedy,” Martin said at the time.
He’s Arrived
As McEuen explained in 1980, “There was always that question, ‘Yeah, but can he act?’ Being famous has always been important to Steve. Now for the first time he feels that he’s arrived as a movie star.”
‘People Are Really Loving This’
Describing the first time he saw the movie, Elias said, “I went to a screening in San Diego, a sneak preview, and it was the first time I saw it. And the audience went crazy. They just loved it. And Steve and I drove down together and went to see it. And we thought, ‘Wow, people are really loving this.’”
2001: A Jerk Odyssey
Among the film’s admirers was Stanley Kubrick.
‘The Jerk’ Strikes It Rich
The Jerk ended up making $73 million. In fact, it was the eighth biggest movie of 1979.
Time to Get More Popcorn
When the film premiered in St. Louis, Martin says the audience got bored with the musical number “Tonight You Belong to Me” between himself and Peters. So much so that many of them got up to refill their popcorn.
(Almost) No Ukuleles Were Harmed During the Making of This Picture
During the “Tonight You Belong to Me” scene, Martin inadvertently stepped on his ukulele, crushing it.
Let’s Not Talk About It
The Jerk did so well it generated a little-known television sequel, The Jerk, Too. Mark Blankfield took over as Navin, and although Martin executive produced it, he wasn’t otherwise involved.
After ‘The Jerk’
Following The Jerk, Martin wanted to show some range with the romantic drama Pennies From Heaven. Unfortunately, it flopped.
The Reiner-Martin Connection
The Jerk was the first of four films Reiner made with Martin.
Reiner on Martin
Reiner called Martin “the most creative man I know.”
AFI on ‘The Jerk’
In 2000, The Jerk ranked among AFI’s 100 greatest comedies, at number 89.
As for Martin…
In 2006, Premiere included Martin’s performance as Navin as one of the 100 greatest film performances ever, although just barely at number 99.
‘What’s the Matter with These Cans?”
The fictional brand of motor oil on the beloved “He Hates These Cans” scene was “E-Z Serve Motor Oil.”
Its Stay Power
Reflecting on the film, Elias has said, “We didn’t know it at the time, but there was something groundbreaking about (The Jerk), and that’s because of the script. It was written by Steve and us, but it was Steve’s act in a way, which was also groundbreaking and anarchistic and bent all the rules and reflected on itself and parodied other things. But the thing that was also so charming or attractive was its lack of cynicism.
“Its innocence and naïveté about the character, especially in terms of race, made it really different. That’s because it had Steve’s imprint of who he was and what his comedy persona was, and I think Carl Reiner really respected that and he got it as a director. And I think that Carl Gottlieb did and I do, too. So I think that’s part of its success. It punched up, it never punched down.”
Martin Agrees
“I think the reason it’s lasted is because it’s so innocent,” Martin has said. “Because it’s very cheerful. Because the main character is pretty stupid and you kind of get on his side very fast.”
