Yep, Steve Martin Had Dark Hair Once — See the Iconic Funnyman Before He Went Gray

Steve Martin has long been known for his gloriously absurd stand-up comedy and hilarious onscreen presence, but he's nearly as recognized for his gray hair as he is for his humor. When he first rose to fame in the '70s, he cut a distinct figure with his gray hair and white suit, and you'd be forgiven for thinking he was born gray — in fact, many of his fans have never seen him with dark hair!

While people often get self-conscious about going prematurely gray, Martin, who got his first gray hair at just 15 , fully embraced his silver strands. He said that having gray hair at a young age actually helped his career, and he never dyed it.

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In the recent documentary Steve! (Martin): A Documentary in 2 Pieces , Martin explained that having gray hair helped balance out the more childish aspects of his stand-up routine.

As he described, "When I worked with [comedian and fellow writer on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour ] Bob Einstein , he said, ‘You know what’s gonna help you? Age.’ And he was right. Because the act looked juvenile. That’s why it helped when my hair turned gray a little bit. You always have to think that a grown man is doing this.”

Because Martin looked older than he was, he was ironically able to get away with being extra silly. Read on for a look back at those long-ago days when he still had dark hair.

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Starting out with the Smothers Brothers

Before he became one of the most successful stand-up comedians of all time, Steve Martin started out as a writer for The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour . He made his first-ever TV appearance on the show in 1968.

In an oral history of the show in The Hollywood Reporter , Martin recalled making just $300 a week when he started writing for it in his early 20s, and said, " I was extremely inexperienced and a little insecure about what I was supposed to do."

He learned quickly, and was a rising stand-up star and popular TV guest by the '70s.

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Steve Martin young: Early stand-up days

In addition to being a comedian, Martin is also a gifted musician, and often incorporated music into his stand-up. Early on, he'd perform at the famed Hollywood club the Troubadour, and was frequently photographed by Henry Diltz , who was known for his shots of all the bohemian musicians of the day.

Martin is also known for his banjo playing, and he's been at it for a long time, as you can see in this 1969 photo by Diltz, who was his neighbor.

Diltz also captured Martin hard at work writing hilarious bits on his typewriter.

Looking back on his early years as a not-yet-famous, dark-haired stand-up, Martin said, "I became a semi-professional, meaning I was working the local folk-music clubs , going around either working for free or for a week. And I quickly decided that... whatever it was, I was going to pretend like it was fantastic. And how great am I? How great is what you're seeing? And I think that's what, really, the audience tuned into because they couldn't believe that someone actually was that confident."

Martin's onstage bravado paid off, and he showed off his humor in early photo shoots, like this one, where he pretended to iron a cat while keeping a perfectly deadpan expression on his face.

Don't worry though, Martin actually loved cats, as evidenced by the picture below.

Just as surprising as the fact that Steve Martin once had dark hair is the fact that he also briefly rocked a beard.

In an interview with NPR, Martin recalled his short-lived hippie days and said, "Charles Manson came on the scene and besmirched everyone with long hair. And so I decided, OK. I'm putting on a suit, I'm putting on a tie, and I'm cutting my hair... rather than being at the tail end of an era, I was at the beginning of a new one ."

We're forever grateful for the new era of comedy he helped start, and seeing Steve Martin young with his dark hair is truly a treat.