Mark Stein (author) Mark Stein (author) Mark Stein (born 1951) is an American writer. Raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, he graduated from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1973. Stein wrote the screenplay for the Goldie Hawn and Steve Martin film "Housesitter." His stage plays were first produced at New Playwrights Theater of Washington, D.C. From there he went on to productions at Actors Theater of Louisville, Manhattan Theatre Club, South Coast Repertory, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Fountain Theater in Los Angeles, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre, and elsewhere. His non-fiction book, "How the States Got Their Shapes", became the basis for a
Steve Martin U2 in the 200th episode of "The Simpsons" titled "Trash of the Titans", providing the voice for sanitation commissioner Ray Patterson. In 1999, Martin and Hawn starred in a remake of the 1970 Neil Simon comedy, "The Out-of-Towners". By 2003, Martin ranked fourth on the box office stars list, after starring in "Bringing Down The House" and "Cheaper by the Dozen", each of which earned over $130 million at U.S. theaters. That same year, he also played the villainous Mr. Chairman in the animation/live action blend, "". In 2005, Martin wrote and starred in "Shopgirl", based on his own novella