The Jerk

He was born a poor, black child ...

Thanks to basketball coach/ESPN.com writer/chat artist/movie quote machine David Thorpe for bringing up this gem today in his web chat.

And seriously -- please ... forget ... what ... Steve Martin ... has done ... lately.

Because the guy invented a genre. Or helped invent it. I mean, I'm no licensed historian or anything. But I'm certainly not the only one to notice the clear similarities between Navin R. Johnson ...

... and Ricky Bobby ...

... and hey, even "Mike Honcho" (probably not quite SFW) ...

Yep, The Jerk helped blaze that trail. Now, 30 years after its release, Steve Martin's legendary entry in the Stupid Comedy genre is still just as funny as when it first came out*.

*I wasn't born yet, but that's what some guy on a bus told me.

No joke -- Martin even earned the No. 99 spot on Premiere's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (released last December). So ... When The Film Official reveals its Stupid Comedy Hall of Fame soon, this one's gonna be a first-ballot inductee.