In 1976, Steve Martin was delighted with his big break, until his own father wrote a scathing review

Steve Martin’s breakthrough came when he appeared on *Saturday Night Live* in 1976, after years of performing in theme parks and clubs. His father responded with a scathing review in a local real-estate newsletter, underscoring the strained relationship and lack of support Martin had experienced at home.

Martin later described working hard to please people, a drive he linked to his relationship with his father, who had once wanted to act but became a real-estate agent. The article says the two barely spoke for much of Martin’s childhood after his father hit him once; despite Martin’s growing success and influence on alternative comedy, his father’s review claimed the SNL performance did nothing to advance his career.