Biography

The son of a steel-executive father and concert violinist mother, Ontario native Martin Short attended McMasters University, where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in social work. If you haven't spotted Short at your local youth center or settlement house, it's because he decided to pursue a performing career, encouraged by his fellow McMasters classmates Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas. Making his professional debut in a 1973 Toronto production of Godspell, Short joined Levy and Thomas at the Second City improv troupe in Edmonton, Alberta in 1977. Two years later, Short made his first film, Lost and Found, and also co-starred on the critically lauded but little-seen American sitcom The Associates. It was while appearing on SCTV Network 90 from 1982 through 1983 and Saturday Night Live from 1984 through 1985 that Short attained stardom with such distinctive comic characterizations as supercilious showbiz promoter Jackie Rogers Jr. and pointy-headed nerd Ed Grimley (this last-named character was spun off into an amusing Saturday morning cartoon series in 1989). He also scored big yocks with his devastating, dead-on impressions of such icons as Jerry Lewis and Katharine Hepburn (a lifelong Jerry Lewis fan, Short was invited to join Lewis as co-host of a cable-TV Martin and Lewis retrospective in 1993; he has yet to share the spotlight with the real Ms. Hepburn). Though an extremely likeable screen presence, the puckish Short has, like many of his Second City brethren, frequently been cast in films far beneath his talents, hitting bottom with 1994's Clifford. Happily, he has been extremely well-served in such films as Three Amigos (1986), Innerspace (1989), and the 1992 remake of Father of the Bride, in which he had an unbearably funny cameo as epicene wedding planner Franck Eggelhoffer. In 1993, Short made his Broadway debut, assuming the old Richard Dreyfuss role in a musical adaptation of the 1977 film The Goodbye Girl. The following year, Martin Short had another go at television, headlining the weekly (but not for long) Seinfeld rip-off The Martin Short Show. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Filmography

101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003) (V) (voice) .... Lars
Cinemagique (2002) .... George
Treasure Planet (2002) (voice) .... B.E.N.
NBC 75th Anniversary Special (2002) (TV) .... Himself
... aka NBC 75th Anniversary Celebration (2002) (TV) (USA)
Making of 'Jimmy Neutron', The (2001) (TV) .... Himself
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) (voice) .... Ooblar
Prince Charming (2001) (TV) .... Rodney
"Primetime Glick" (2001) TV Series .... Jiminy Glick/Various
Get Over It (2001) .... Dr. Desmod Forrest Oates
... aka Get Over It! (2001) (USA: promotional title)
Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001) .... Himself
AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV) .... Himself
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary (1999) (TV) .... Himself
"Martin Short Show, The" (1999) TV Series .... Host
Mumford (1999) .... Lionel Dillard
Alice in Wonderland (1999) (TV) .... Mad Hatter
Akbar's Adventure Tours (1998) .... Akbar
... aka Akbar's Adventure Ride (1998)
Saturday Night Live: Game Show Parodies (1998) (V) .... Jackie Rogers jr.
Prince of Egypt, The (1998) (voice) .... Huy
Junket Whore (1998) .... Himself
"Hollywood Squares" (1998) TV Series .... Himself/Guest Panelist
... aka "H²" (2002) (USA: promotional abbreviation)
... aka "H2: Hollywood Squares" (2002) (USA: fifth season title)
Merlin (1998/II) (TV) .... Frik
Gilda Radner: The E! True Hollywood Story (1997) (TV) .... Himself
Simple Wish, A (1997) .... Murray
Three Stooges Greatest Hits, The (1997) (TV) .... Emcee
Jungle 2 Jungle (1997) .... Richard Kempster
... aka Un Indien à New York (1998) (France)
Creature Crunch (1996) (VG) (voice)
Mars Attacks! (1996) .... Press Secretary Jerry Ross
Father of the Bride Part II (1995) .... Franck Eggelhoffer
What Makes You Laugh? (1995) (TV) .... Himself
Pebble and the Penguin, The (1995) (voice) .... Hubie
"Martin Short Show, The" (1994) TV Series .... Marty Short
All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (1994) (TV) .... Himself
... aka Sesame Street's All-Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! (1994) (TV) (USA: complete title)
Clifford (1994) .... Clifford
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993) (voice) .... Stubbs the Clown
Money for Nothing (1993/II) (TV) .... Harrison Kilray
... aka Hot Millions (1994) (TV) (USA)
Oscar's Greatest Moments: 1971 to 1991 (1992) (V) .... Himself
Spinal Tap Reunion: The 25th Anniversary London Sell-Out, A (1992) (TV) .... Himself
... aka Return of Spinal Tap, The (1992) (TV) (video title)
Captain Ron (1992) .... Martin Harvey
Father of the Bride (1991) .... Franck Eggelhoffer, the Designing Coordinator
Pure Luck (1991) .... Eugene Proctor
63rd Annual Academy Awards, The (1991) (TV) (uncredited) .... Himself
Earth Day Special (1990) (TV) .... Himself
Andrea Martin... Together Again (1989) (TV) .... Dr. August Allwoman
I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood (1989) (TV) .... Laurence Orbach/Brad Allen/Ed Grimley/Jackie Rodgers, Jr./Dale O'Day/'Baby' Estelle O'Day/Troy Soren/Jerry Lewis/Himself
Making of Me, The (1989)
Big Picture, The (1989) (uncredited) .... Neil Sussman, Nick's Agent
Three Fugitives (1989) .... Perry
"Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, The" (1988) TV Series (voice) .... Ed Grimley/Additional Voices
Cross My Heart (1987) .... David
Innerspace (1987) .... Jack Putter
Really Weird Tales (1987) (TV) .... Shucky ('All's Well that Ends Strange')
¡Three Amigos! (1986) .... Ned Nederlander
Canadian Conspiracy, The (1985) (TV) .... Himself
Martin Short Concert for the North Americas (1985) (TV) .... Himself/Montgomery Clift/Doug Henning/Jackie Rodgers, Jr./Pierre Trudeau/Jerry Lewis/Billy Fenton/Nathan Thurm/Irving Cohen/Martina Navritilova/Ed Grimley
"Saturday Night Live" (1975) TV Series .... Himself (1984-1985)
... aka "NBC's Saturday Night" (1975) (USA)
... aka "SNL 25" (2000) (USA: new title)
... aka "SNL" (1975)
... aka "Saturday Night Live 80" (1980) (USA: new title)
... aka "Saturday Night" (1975)
"SCTV Channel" (1983) TV Series .... Ed Grimley/Jackie Rogers, Jr/Brock Linahan/Irving Cohen/Mike the Bartender/Cheeplaffs Johnson/Various Others
Sunset Limousine (1983) (TV) .... Bradley Z. Coleman
"SCTV Network 90" (1981) TV Series .... Ed Grimley/Jackie Rogers, Jr./Brock Linahan/Irving Cohen/Jerry Lewis/Cheaplaffs Johnson/Various (1982-1983)
... aka "SCTV Comedy Network" (1981) (USA: new title)
... aka "SCTV Network" (1982) (USA: new title)
"Miss Peach of the Kelly School" (1982) TV Series (voice)
"I'm a Big Girl Now" (1980) TV Series .... Neal Stryker
Family Man, The (1979) (TV) .... Louie
"Associates, The" (1979) TV Series .... Tucker Kerwin
Lost and Found (1979) .... Engel
Cementhead (1978) (TV) .... Weepy
"Second City TV" (1976) TV Series .... Ed Grimley/Jackie Rogers, Jr./others
... aka "SCTV" (1976) (Canada: new title English title) (USA)
"Right On" (1972) TV Series .... Regular
"David Steinberg Show, The" (1972) TV Series .... Johnny Del Bravo