Variety reports that actor and playwright Steve Martin will make his first legit stage appearance since 1988's Waiting For Godot (at NY's Lincoln Center) at a one-night-only benefit that pays tribute to blacklisted author Dalton Trumbo at the Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills.

Penned by Trumbo's son, Christopher Trumbo, Additional Dialogue: An Evening With Dalton Trumbo will benefit the First Amendment Blacklist Project. The epistolary play is based on the elder Trumbo's letters to friends and colleagues -- written under an assumed name during the Joseph McCarthy, anti-Communist witch-hunt years.

Said Trumbo the younger of Martin's participation, "The family has known Steve going back about 30 years, and he knew [Dalton] Trumbo quite well."

Joining Martin will be Ed Asner (Born Yesterday, TV's "Lou Grant") as narrator, alongside Jeff Corey and Jennifer Salt (TV's "Soap").

Martin began his career as a stand-up comedian and has been a noted film actor (Pennies From Heaven, Planes, Trains & Automobiles) for two decades. Of late, he's turned to playwriting, penning the Off-Broadway hit, Picasso At The Lapin Agile, currently on national tour. Trumbo's most famous work is the anti-war novel, Johnny Got His Gun, but he also wrote, pseudonymously, the screenplays for Roman Holiday and The Brave One. According to Variety, his name reappeared on Spartacus and Exodus, signalling the end of McCarthy's threat to the entertainment industry.

For reservations ($50 or $100 sponsorship) and information on the Nov. 24 event, call (310) 226-6115.

-- By David Lefkowitz