Martin Short Biography

A diminutive and exuberant Canadian comic performer of stage and screen since the 1970s, Martin Short started acting while studying to become a social worker. He worked in musical theater and cabaret before joining Toronto's Second City troupe, where he perfected his lovably grotesque comic creations and inspired impressions. Short joined the formidable comedy ensemble of the "SCTV Comedy Network" in 1982 during its fifth season. He enhanced his fame during a superior season of "Saturday Night Live" (NBC, 1984-85) before moving decisively into Hollywood features.

In his film debut "Three Amigos!" (1986), Short ably shared the screen with heavyweights Chevy Chase and Steve Martin and he was a comic delight as the hero in "Innerspace" (1987), which could have been his breakout picture but wasn't. His most memorable film performances came with his uncredited cameo as the smarmy agent in "The Big Picture" (1989) and in the scene-stealing turn as Franck Eggelhoffer, the gonzo European wedding coordinator in the remake of "Father of the Bride" (1991) and its 1995 sequel, "Father of the Bride Part II" (this time as a decorator). As a lead, however, his films (like "Three Fugitives" 1989, "Pure Luck" 1991, "Clifford" 1994, "Jungle To Jungle" and "A Simple Wish" both 1997, and "Mumford" 1999) have repeatedly missed the mark.

Short has excelled in the creation of comic characters, managing in his sincerity to soften their very sharp edges and find a measure of dignity and humanity in the most flawed personalities. He gave his signature oddball Ed Grimley a pompadour so stylized it looked like a dorsal fin, made him prone to extreme enthusiasms and bouts of spastic but joyous dancing (Ed could go "completely mental" in contemplation of game show guru Pat Sajak) and yet Short never stopped believing in Ed's reality. His equally dead-on imitations of Katharine Hepburn, all feisty and aquiver, and the smugly virtuous Jerry Lewis of the infamous telethons were cutting without being unduly cruel.

In trying to find a starring screen persona, Short often submerged his brilliance, playing relatively asexual, fey, and neurotic foils to more traditionally masculine co-stars (e.g., Dennis Quaid in "Innerspace", Nick Nolte in "Three Fugitives", Danny Glover in "Pure Luck", Kurt Russell in "Captain Ron" 1992). After that approach consistently failed, he let his outrageousness off the leash to play the devilish 10-year-old "Clifford" and the truly repellent Murray of "A Simple Wish", only to find such characterizations grated over the course of a movie.

Short impressed theatergoers in the 90s with his accomplished musical comedy work in Neil Simon's "The Goodbye Girl", first in Chicago and later on the Broadway stage. He returned to TV in 1994 to star in his own sitcom, "The Martin Short Show" (NBC). Playing a TV star named Marty seemed a natural and he assembled an excellent cast (including "SNL"'s Jan Hooks and "SCTV" alumna Andrea Martin) to perform wacky parodies of Hollywood entertainment for its show-within-a-show format. Audiences, however, were unenthusiastic, and the show disappeared after a brief run. Short's appearances as the magical imp Frik in the NBC miniseries "Merlin"(1998)--for which he earned an Emmy nomination as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie--and the zany Mad Hatter in the CBS mini "Alice in Wonderland" (1999) were potent comedic shots in the arm for both all-star productions. In 1998 Short played a multitude of characters in the Broadway revival of "Little Me," musical by Neil Simon, Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh and he subsequently won the Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical).

As an always-charming and lively guest on the talk show circuit, Short seemed a natural to host his own chat-fest when he was tapped to headline the daytime talker "The Martin Short Show," but though both the show and Short were nominated for Daytime Emmys, his manic shtick and penchant for sketch comedy was an ill fit for daytime audiences used to Oprah Winfrey and Rosie O'Donnell and lasted a single season. However, the show did result in the creation of Short's next memorable character: Jiminy Glick, an overweight, obtuse and obsequious entertainment journalist created with shades of Merv Griffin, which allowed the heavily made-up comedian sit down for wildly improvised "interviews" with various celebrities. Glick proved so ripe with potential that the character earned his own Comedy Central series "Primetime Glick" (2001-2003), an uneven but often hilarious (and Emmy-nominated) mix of interview segments and sketches. The character was later the star of his own 2005 film, "Jiminy Glick in La La Wood," co-written and produced by short that made Glick a small-town junketeer who becomes embroiled in a murder mystery at the Toronto Film Festival--although the predominently improvised film was hit-and-miss, the chubby character did not wear as thin in feature form as one-note "SNL" sketches made into movies, the story's David Lynch allusions gave it a unique cachet and Short surrounded himself with top-shelf comedic talent, including Jan Hooks and John Michael Higgins.

The actor returned to the satge to play the nebbishy Leo Bloom to Jason Alexander's Max Bialystock in the 2003 Los Angeles production of the hit Broadway musical "The Producers" (derived from the Mel Brooks film of the same name) at the Pantages theater. Though less acclaimed than the original Matthew Broderick-Nathan Lane Broadway run, both actors received favorable reviews. In 2005 Short returned to television with a memorable serious dramatic turn on the crime series "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and as the elderly, parapalegic millionaire Uncle Jack on the Fox cult favorite sitcom " Arrested Development."

Short also has a long resume of credits as a voice actor on several animated projects, including "The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley" (NBC, 1988-1989), "We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story" (1993), "The Pebble and the Penguin" (1995), "The Prince of Egypt" (1998), "Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius" (2001), "Treasure Planet" (2002) and "101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure" (2003).