Steve Martin Gets in on Big Bash at CSULB

The band played Caribbean-style music, dignitaries in academic robes strolled among tables laden with everything from birthday cake to burritos and actor Steve Martin wore his trademark arrow-through-the-head prop.

It was a day of transitions Friday on the campus of California State University Long Beach--Martin finally received a college degree, Curtis L. McCray was inaugurated as president and the university threw a bash for its 40th birthday.

About 3,300 people attended, including Gov. George Deukmejian, state Sen. Ralph Dills, Congressman Dana Rohrbacher and CSU Chancellor W. Ann Reynolds.

But the most enthusiastic response by far went to Martin, a former CSULB student back on campus to receive an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. This was the first such degree offered by the Long Beach campus, though the practice of bestowing degrees upon celebrities is not uncommon for Southern California universities.

Wearing sunglasses, an academic cap and gown, Martin, who never graduated from college, said, “When you’re a success in comedy you always end up wearing silly hats.”

University officials said they had decided to honor Martin with the degree, in part, because of his contributions to the university and popular culture.

“He’s one of ours,” McCray said in an interview before the ceremony. “He grew up (nearby), aspired, came to CSULB, learned a lot and now he’s a remarkable person. We’re not a bumptious institution. We’re not sauce; we’re here to help our students get into the world.”

Raised in Inglewood and Garden Grove, Martin, 44, attended CSULB from 1964 to 1967 as a philosophy major, transferring to UCLA in his senior year to study theater.

Besides the inauguration of McCray, who assumed the presidency last August, the event marked the 40th anniversary of the 33,000-student university’s founding.

At a press conference after the inauguration, Martin, the star of such hit films as “Roxanne” and “Parenthood,” said, “My father always urged me to get a degree, so I’m getting one today.”

And what did he plan to do with it?

“Just lord it over everyone, I guess. Especially the other comedians.”