13 Things We Learned About Martin Short That Made Us Say, 'Give Me A Break!'
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12,528 VOTESAfter His Wife Passed, He Endured A Heart-Wrenching Interview About His Marriage
Short's wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, succumbed to ovarian cancer in 2010. Two years later, Short appeared on The Today Show, where co-host Kathie Lee Gifford credited him and Dolman for their lengthy marriage:
You and Nancy have got one of the greatest marriages of anybody in show business... How many years for you guys?
Short told her 36 years and, when asked why they were still so "madly in love," he responded that he's "cute." He never corrected Gifford that his wife had passed.
Gifford later apologized for the gaffe, crediting Short for his "enormous grace and kindness." He accepted the apology, stating, "On live television, people make mistakes. There’s no ill will intended."
He added that Gifford wasn't actually wrong: "Nan and I did have one of the greatest marriages in show business."
- 2525 VOTES
He Gave Up His Plane Seat So Chance the Rapper's Daughter Could Sit Next To Her Dad
In February 2023, Chance the Rapper tweeted a story about a “kind older gentleman” who offered the musician his seat on a plane so the Grammy-winning artist could sit next to his young daughter, Kensi. He wrote:
So I just got on this plane with my daughter, and found out our seats weren’t next to each other. I really ain’t wanna inconvenience anyone by asking them to swap seats, but before I could say anything this kind older gentleman offered his seat to Kensli so we could sit together. We both said thank you and as he stands up, I realize it’s THE Martin Short!! So cool and Kensli freaked out cause she’s obsessed with The Santa Clause 3. What an awesome person! SHOUTOUT TO JACK FROST
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- Father Of The Bride
- Buena Vista Pictures Distribution
31,339 VOTESHe's Considered One Of The Nicest People In The Entertainment Business
If you ask David Letterman, he's "never heard a bad word about [Short]. That's a hard thing for a comedian to pull off."
Numerous friends of Short agree, including Steve Martin, who attributed it to an innate ability to be funny rather than to being "competitive or needy or desperate."
To top it off, Tom Hanks's wife Rita Wilson pointed out that Short isn't "the best person at something... [he's] just 'the best person.' Period."
For his part, Short attributes it to being Canadian:
Nice is not a common label for comedians but it is for Canadians. I like it.
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- 4944 VOTES
Short was born in Hamilton, Ontario in 1950. While he has dual citizenship in Canada and the US, he remains proud of his origins. He's received numerous honors in Canada, indicating the country is just as proud of him.
In 2017, Short received the Governor General's award for lifetime achievement in broadcasting alongside fellow Canadian Michael J. Fox.
Unlike Fox, however, Short has another honor - a coin that "embodies Canada's natural beauty," from his perspective. In 2013, Canada issued the coin that Short himself helped design. Its denomination is $3 and only 15,000 were ever made.
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- Solters and Roskin
- Wikimedia Commons
- Public domain
51,001 VOTESShort met Gilda Radner during his first acting job, a role in Godspell in 1972. The Toronto production also featured Victor Garber and Eugene Levy, with musical contributions by Paul Shaffer. It was Radner who really got Short's attention, however. He described her "hilarious and charming" nature, marveling at "a woman so comfortable in her strangeness."
By September 1972, according to Short:
Gilda and I were more or less living together full-time at her place... and I was madly in love. First time living outside of Hamilton, first job, first love - “heady” is a clichéd word, but it accurately describes the whirlwind of [the] early months... Gilda and I were a couple, on and off, for almost two years.
In the end, their relationship didn't last, but Short found love again amid the cast of Godspell. Nancy Dolman, whom Short went on to marry, was Radner's understudy for the show.
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- 6863 VOTES
His Dad Was A Stowaway From Ireland Who Initially Got Deported
When Short's father Charles arrived in North America from his native Ireland, it was as a stowaway. He arrived in Texas, was deported, and only then settled in Canada.
Charles went on to work at a steel company in Hamilton, Ontario, where he lived with his wife Olive (a child prodigy) and their five children.
According to Short, the family was unique in that they didn't mind being around each other all of the time because they were "very sarcastic" and fun. Put another way: "There was tremendous humour in the house growing up. A lot of laughing."
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When Short made the move from SCTV to SNL in 1984, it was meant to be a one-year deal. He, Billy Crystal, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer all signed up for producer Dick Ebersol's last year in that role.
The transition from SCTV to SNL was challenging, with the latter having much shorter writing, editing, and filming schedules. In 1985, after Lorne Michaels returned as producer to SNL, Short was offered a contract extension. He recalled the conversation he had with Michaels:
I went to Lorne’s apartment - the season is finished - and he was going to give me the script to Three Amigos. And he kept talking about what I was thinking about him going back. And we talked about that: “Now, if we went back together...” And I kept saying, “No, I don’t want to go back. I mean, how can I go back if I make this movie?” And he’s like, “Well, things can be worked out.”
Short remained steadfast in his decision that he didn't want more time on SNL:
I just knew in my head. I had a new baby, which I had not seen all year. I just knew. I had done three years of SCTV, so that was four years of this. I just knew that I didn’t want to do that. I thought one year was a great experience.
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- Michael Schamis
- Wikimedia Commons
- CC-BY 2.0
8696 VOTESBy The Time He Was 20, Short Had Lost A Brother And Both Of His Parents
Short is one of five children born to Olive Grace Hayter and Charles Short. When he was 12 years old (13, by one account), his brother David died in a car accident. Five years later, his mother passed from cancer and, two years after that, his father succumbed to a stroke.
Short has talked about the impact this had on him growing up:
So by the time I was 20, just turned 20, three... of the seven family members had died within seven and a half years... I think I was in a way handed a life lesson just earlier, and it empowered me to be freer, to be less concerned about judgment and not so fearful of the admiration of strangers.
When asked about how loss has or hasn't influenced his comedic stylings, Short explained:
I don't think that's why I'm funny... I think that kind of loss can fuel how you lead your whole life. It would be more why I've chosen to treat my life more like a party than something to stress about.
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9552 VOTESShort Went To College To Become A Social Worker
Before getting into acting, Short attended McMaster College in his native Hamilton, Ontario. He graduated with a degree in social work in 1972, joining the ranks as a McMaster graduate alongside funnymen Eugene Levy, John Candy, and Dave Thomas.
In 2001, McMaster presented Short with an honorary doctorate, and in 2016, he received the lifetime achievement award from his alma mater. About his time at the college, Short commented:
When I think of McMaster I think of four years of absolute new experiences, a separate existence, expressing all aspects of life and leaving on a totally new journey. If it hadn’t have been for Mac, I wouldn’t have gotten into the business.
Social work wasn't what Short had initially wanted to study. He abandoned his plan to become a doctor upon realizing "I wasn't interested in science, which seems important."
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- Three Amigos!
- Orion Pictures
Short and two of his closest friends, Steve Martin and Tom Hanks, gather at Martin's house every two years to enjoy some poker, movies, and laxatives. During what Short calls "Colonoscopy Eve," the group avoids solid foods (thanks to a nicely catered feast of Jell-O) and take turns going to the bathroom.
Short admitted the end of the party is less than fun, but not entirely why one may think. He commented on the facilities at Martin's house:
Who would think he would have one bathroom? I mean, by 10 pm, the bathroom looks like Day 14 of a Carnival cruise.
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11441 VOTESShort's Character, Ed Grimley, Is The Only 'SCTV' And 'SNL' Character To Get A Cartoon
After SCTV came to an end in 1984, Short joined SNL - and took the character of Ed Grimley with him. A clumsy, eccentric figure with greasy hair and high-waisted pants, Grimley loved Pat Sajak, played the triangle, danced with gusto, and said things like "totally decent," "completely mental," and "give me a break."
Grimley was so popular that Short played him on Sesame Street and in other appearances. The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley became a Hanna-Barbera cartoon in 1988. With Grimley's animated appearance, he became the only character from SCTV and SNL to have a stand-alone cartoon. It's also the first time any SCTV cast member ever led an animated program.
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One Of Short's Most Popular Characters Was Inspired By One Of His Least Successful Movies
Short appeared in Pure Luck in 1991, but it achieved very little at the box office or in positive reviews. Roger Ebert didn't hold back, calling it "a bad movie, all right - with leaden timing, a disorganized screenplay, and stretches where nothing much of interest seems to be happening."
What did come out of Pure Luck was the idea of creating a character who resembled Eugene Proctor, the main character who had a nasty allergic reaction to a bee sting. Short debuted Jiminy Glick, an unqualified yet arrogant interviewer, on The Martin Short Show in 1994, complete with a full body suit and makeup.
After that program was canceled, Jiminy Glick got a show of his own, Primetime Glick, that aired on Comedy Central from 2001-2003. There was also a Jiminy Glick in Lalawood in 2004.
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13395 VOTESShort's father Charles was one of 11 children. One of his brothers, Frank, is the father of Clare Short, a British politician who was once a member of Prime Minister Tony Blair's cabinet. Short didn't meet his cousin until the 1990s; they have since spent time together on occasion, and the actor noted that they share politics: "A Conservative would not do well in the Short family."
Clare left Parliament in 2010, headed the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative from 2011-2016, and continues to work to combat inequity worldwide.
