The Time Steve Martin Performed Stand-Up For an Audience of Dogs

Back in the 1970s, Steve Martin was the king of stand-up. His comedy albums were going platinum, he was making regular appearances on late night talk shows, and his goofy jokes were a hit with people around the world. But by the mid ‘70s, there was still one group Martin hadn’t won over: dogs.

So, for a 1976 appearance on The Carol Burnett Show, Martin decided to perform a stand-up set geared toward viewers of the canine variety. With a group of dogs as his audience, Martin launched into a routine full of silly jokes and puns about poodles. It seemed to go over pretty well with his canine audience—until things got a little rowdy at the end. Check it out below: 

A version of this story ran in 2015; it has been updated for 2022.