Comedy veteran "Cowboy Bill" Martin and his wife, Michele sacrificed a down payment on their dream home so they could self-finance "Cowboy Bill Martin: Let the Laughter Roll."
The one-hour stand-up special, shot at the Rose Marine Theater in the historic Fort Worth Stockyards, debuted Nov. 21 on Country Music Television. Martin's team included Inception Media Group, Middlin" Creative, and Cowtown Drive-In Productions.
"The Rose Marine is just minutes away from where my mom worked as a waitress counting pennies, nickels and dimes and where my father climbed in and out of an 18-wheeler truck while I was growing up," Martin, a native of Saginaw, says. "The energy and synergy that night was just perfect."
John Reynolds and his team at Middlin" Creative directed and produced the special for Martin. Reynolds is known for filming the LIVE at Billy Bob's Texas series and other country videos. "John knows comedy, and he captured what it is I do on stage," Martin says. "The Inception Media Group got it to CMT, a place we wanted it to be all along."
Martin was born May 21, 1966, to Donia and David Martin, in Blue Mound north of Fort Worth. Martin credits his love for music and performing to his mother, a talented singer. He got the bug for show business at age five. Every Sunday night found him singing at the First Evangelical Methodist Church.
Martin has performed all over the world for two decades. He made his first stage appearance at the Hyenas Comedy Club in Arlington with five minutes of material in hand. Martin credits his rise in popularity to a five-year gig with Carnival Cruise Lines" Punchliner Comedy Club Presented by George Lopez. "Because of Carnival, I knew the show was ready. After all, each week I am doing two and a half hours of material in front of 2,500 people," he says. "The next logical step was to make a move to television."
CMT and Martin signed a two-year agreement.
J.D. Ryan with CBS Radio calls Martin's act, "raucous, rowdy and real. It's nothing you've come to expect with a country comedian. It's like spending time late night at the kitchen table with your cousin, laughing until you cry. You can't help but love the guy."
Martin also is an actor, screenwriter, and songwriter. He has toured with George Strait, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, George Jones and all four members of the famed Blue Collar Tour. One of his greatest joys was entertaining American soldiers stationed in the Middle East, he says.
Martin is president and CEO of the Cowboys Who Care Foundation, a nonprofit that provides support and free cowboy and cowgirl hats to children with cancer and other life-threatening illnesses. In 2010, Martin performed at a fundraising golf tournament for Ashley Miller, a young fan from Celina in North Texas. Ashley died of cancer in June 2011. Martin says he knew he wanted to help other children like her. In May 2012, he searched his computer for images of children with cancer and saw "big, beautiful smiles and bald heads." It hit him that they needed cowboy hats. The foundation has donated Resistol hats to more than 4,000 children across the country since 2012.
Martin admits making his own show was risky. "It was crazy and a long shot at best. It's not like I had a deal in place," he says. "I just figured after all these years, maybe it's our turn."
For more information, visit cowboybill.com and cowboyswhocare.org.
