MARTIN SHORT

'Martin Hayter Short, CM' (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian/American comedian, actor, writer, and producer. He is best known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs ''SCTV'' and ''Saturday Night Live''. He has been nominated for an Emmy Award.

Contents

Early life

Career

Sketch comedy

Characters

Other roles

''Fame Becomes Me''

Awards and other recognition

Personal life

Extended family

Filmography

Writer - Filmography

Producer - Filmography

Director - Filmography

Trivia

References

External links

Early life

The youngest of five children, Short was born in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada to Charles and Olive Short. His father, an executive with Stelco,^[1] a Canadian steel company, came to North America in 1921 as a stowaway Roman Catholic refugee from Belfast, Northern Ireland during the ''Irish War of Independence''. His mother, who was the concertmaster of the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra, encouraged his early creative endeavours.^[2]
Short attended Westdale Secondary School^[3] and graduated in 1972 from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in social work.
Short lost several members of his family at an early age. His eldest brother, David, was killed in a car accident in 1962, when Short was 12. His mother died of cancer when he was 17; two years later, his father died of complications from a stroke in 1970.^[4]

Career

When Short graduated from McMaster University, he intended to pursue a career in social work; but he became interested in acting once he was cast in a Toronto production of ''Godspell'' in 1972 (among the other members of that production's cast: Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas and Andrea Martin, with Paul Shaffer as musical director.) He was subsequently cast in several television shows and plays, including an intense topical drama, "Fortune and Men's Eyes". (He worked solely in Canada from 1972 through 1979.)

Sketch comedy

Short was encouraged to pursue comedy by McMasters classmates Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas, both notable comedians in their own right. He joined Levy and Thomas at improv troupe The Second City in 1977. Short came to public notice when the troupe produced a show for television, called SCTV (Second City Television), which ran for several years in Canada and the United States. Short was a cast member and performed several recurring characters. He was a member of the troupe for several years, and also performed on Saturday Night Live for the 1984-1985 season. [1]

Characters

Among Short's recurring characters:

★ Talk show host Jiminy Glick

★ Aged songwriter Irving Cohen

★ Spurious entertainer Jackie Rogers Jr.

★ Current-events commentator Troy Soren

★ Industrialist and art patron Bradley P. Allen

★ Defensive attorney Nathan Thurm

★ Oddball man-child Ed Grimley.
The Grimley character became perhaps Short's best known original character. He also was recognized for his impersonations of celebrities, notably Jerry Lewis and Katharine Hepburn. (See "Trivia" below for a list of other impersonations.)

Other roles

After doing sketch comedy for several years, Short focused on film roles, appearing in several films, including ''Three Amigos'', ''Innerspace'', and the 1991 remake of ''Father of the Bride''. He also resumed work in the theater, taking a role in the 1993 musical version of the Neil Simon work ''The Goodbye Girl''. He had the lead role in the 1999 revival of the musical ''Little Me'', which earned him a Tony Award.

''Fame Becomes Me''

Short performed in a satirical one-man show (with a full cast of six), ''Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me'', at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway. The show toured several cities in the spring of 2006, began previews on July 29, 2006, opened on August 17 and closed on January 7, 2007. In it, he performed his aforementioned classic characters Grimley, Cohen, and Glick. As Glick, Short brought a member of the audience (usually a celebrity) on stage and interviews him or her. Jerry Seinfeld was the guest on opening night and the subjects have included Kristin Chenoweth, Regis Philbin, Neil Simon, Diane Keaton, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Kind, David Schwimmer, David Hasselhoff and many more. The show also featured parodies of many celebrities including Celine Dion, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Tommy Tune, Joan Rivers, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Renée Zellweger, Jodie Foster and Short's wife, actress Nancy Dolman.
The cast album was released on Tuesday, April 10th, 2007 and is available off of Ghostlight Records (www.sh-k-boom.com).

Awards and other recognition

For his work, Short has received recognition, including several prestigious awards:

★ 1972: Bachelor of Arts in social work: McMaster University

★ 1982: Emmy Award: Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program, ''SCTV Comedy Network''; award shared

★ 1982: Nelly Award: Outstanding Writing, ''SCTV Comedy Network''

★ 1993: Outer Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Actor in a Musical, ''The Goodbye Girl''

★ 1993: Theater World Award

★ 1999: Outer Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Actor in a Musical, ''Little Me''

★ 1999: Tony Award: Actor in a Musical, ''Little Me''

★ 2001: Doctor of Letters: Honorary degree from McMaster University

★ Short was also named a Member of the Order of Canada in 1994.

Personal life

Short met Canadian comic actress Nancy Dolman during the run of the 1972 production of ''Godspell''. After that production, Short dated costar Radner, then began dating Dolman (Radner's understudy) in 1974. The couple married in 1980. Dolman was most notable for her recurring role on the ABC cult sitcom "Soap", SCTV, and "Custard Pie".
Dolman retired from show business in 1985 to be a homemaker. Short and Dolman have three children: Katherine Elizabeth (born December 3, 1983), Oliver Patrick (born 1986), and Henry (born 1990). Short and his family make their home in Pacific Palisades, California, and Short has become a naturalized U.S. citizen (but also maintains his Canadian citizenship). They also have a home on Lake Muskoka^[5] in Ontario, Canada.
Short, a Roman Catholic, is often incorrectly identified as Jewish. His brother, Michael Short, is a comedy writer and a two-time Emmy Award winner.

Extended family

Dolman's brother, screenwriter/director Bob Dolman (who served as a part of SCTV's Emmy-winning writing team alongside Short), married their close friend and colleague Andrea Martin, also in 1980. Dolman and Short are aunt and uncle to the couple's two sons, Jack (born 1981) and Joe (born 1983). Bob Dolman and Andrea Martin have since divorced. [2]
Also, Short is the first cousin of Clare Short, a member of the British Parliament and a former British cabinet minister.

Filmography

★ 1972 ''Right On'' TV series

★ 1974 ''Cucumber'' TV series

★ 1976 ''David Steinberg Show'' TV series

★ 1978 ''Cementhead''

★ 1979 ''Lost and Found''

★ 1979 ''The Associates'' TV series

★ 1979 ''The Family Man''

★ 1980 ''I'm a Big Girl Now'' TV series

★ 1982-1984 ''SCTV'' TV series

★ 1982 ''Miss Peach of the Kelly School'' TV series (voice)

★ 1983 ''Sunset Limousine''

★ 1984 ''Saturday Night Live'' TV series

★ 1985 ''Martin Short Concert for the North Americas''

★ 1986 ''Three Amigos!''

★ 1987 ''Really Weird Tales''

★ 1987 ''Innerspace''

★ 1987 ''Cross My Heart''

★ 1988 ''The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley'' TV series (voice)

★ 1989 ''The Big Picture''

★ 1989 ''Three Fugitives''

★ 1989 ''The Making of Me''

★ 1989 ''I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood''

★ 1989 ''Andrea Martin... Together Again''

★ 1991 ''Pure Luck''

★ 1991 ''Father of the Bride''

★ 1992 ''Captain Ron''

★ 1993 ''Money for Nothing''

★ 1993 ''We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story'' (voice):Stubbs The clown

★ 1993 ''Friends of Gilda'' (As Himself)

★ 1994 ''Clifford''

★ 1994 ''The Martin Short Show'' TV series

★ 1995 ''The Pebble and the Penguin'' (voice):Hubie

★ 1995 ''Father of the Bride Part II''

★ 1996 ''Mars Attacks!''

★ 1997 ''Jungle 2 Jungle''

★ 1997 ''A Simple Wish''

★ 1998 ''Merlin''

★ 1998 ''The Prince of Egypt'' (voice):Huy

★ 1999 ''Alice in Wonderland''

★ 1999 ''Mumford''

★ 2001 ''Get Over It''

★ 2001 ''Primetime Glick'' TV series

★ 2001 '' (voice):Ooblar

★ 2002 ''CinéMagique'' : George

★ 2002 ''Treasure Planet'' (voice): B.E.N.

★ 2003 '' (voice)

★ 2005 ''''Arrested Development'''': "Uncle" Jack Dorso

★ 2005 ''Jiminy Glick in La La Wood''

★ 2005 '':Sebastian Valentine/Henry Palaver

★ 2006 ''

★ 2007 ''O Canada! (Disney) (voice)

★ 2008 ''The Spiderwick Chronicles''

Writer - Filmography

★ 1981 ''SCTV Network 90'' TV series

★ 1983 ''SCTV Channel'' TV series

★ 1984 ''Saturday Night Live''

★ 1985 ''Martin Short Concert for the North Americas''

★ 1988 ''The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley'' TV series

★ 1989 ''I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood''

★ 1994 ''The Martin Short Show'' TV series

★ 1999 ''The Martin Short Show'' TV series

★ 2001 ''Primetime Glick'' TV series

★ 2007 ''The Next Best Thing'' Reality TV--Judge

★ 2005 ''Jiminy Glick in La La Wood''

Producer - Filmography

★ 1994 ''The Martin Short Show'' TV series (Executive producer)

★ 1999 ''The Martin Short Show'' TV series (Executive producer)

★ 2001 ''Primetime Glick'' TV series (Executive producer) (Producer)

★ 2005 ''Jiminy Glick in La La Wood'' (Producer)

Director - Filmography

★ 1993 ''Friends of Gilda''

Trivia

★ Some celebrities impersonated by Short on ''SCTV'', ''Saturday Night Live'' and elsewhere include:

★
★ Katharine Hepburn

★
★ Jerry Lewis

★
★ Doug Henning

★
★ Mick Jagger

★
★ Callan Skimin (Micheals brother Fredo in The Godfather)

★
★ Lawrence Grossman

★
★ Paul Simon

★
★ Robin Williams

★
★ Hoyt Pollard (the creepy banjo-playing boy from "Deliverance")

★
★ Pierre Trudeau

★
★ Gore Vidal

★
★ Tony Bennett

★
★ Scott Baio

★
★ Liza Minnelli

★
★ Fred Rogers

★
★ Jamie Farr

★
★ Howie Mandel

★ Short joined the cast of "I'm A Big Girl Now", a sitcom vehicle for Diana Canova that also starred Danny Thomas, in 1980. Canova was offered the sitcom due to her success playing Corinne Tate Flotsky on ABC's "Soap", and she left the cast of the latter show in the fall of 1980 in order to accept the offer--shortly before Short's newlywed wife, Nancy Dolman, joined it.
★ Short has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

References

1. Olivia Stren, "Laugh Track," torontolife.com, June 2006.
2. Amy Lennard Goehner, "10 Questions For Martin Short," ''Time'', August 6, 2006.
3. Carmela Fragomeni, "Westdale grads found stardom," ''The Hamilton Spectator'', Feb. 24, 2006
4. Fame Becomes Martin Short," ''The Showbuzz (CBS News)'', Sept. 17, 2006.
5. Denny Lee, "Muskoka: The Malibu of the North," ''The New York Times'', Sept. 16, 2005.

External links

★

★

★ Broadway Guide Martin Short Fame Becomes Me

★ Stephen Colbert Interview

★ Official Site for ''Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me''

★ ''The Associated Press'' Reviews ''Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me''

★ "PLAYBILL ON OPENING NIGHT: ''Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me'': Grist for the Glick Mill", Harry Haun for Playbill.com; 08/18/06

★ BroadwayWorld.com's Photo Coverage of ''Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me's Opening Night

★ "Self-Taught", ''Time Magazine''; 09/29/03

★ Jiminy Glick/Martin Short News

★ Official ''Glick in La La Wood'' site

★ Martin Short at Godspell.ca

★ Northern Stars: Martin Short

★ Short Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos

★ Another Short Interview on The Hour with George Stroumboulopoulos