Inductee Profile
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At a glance
Born: March 26, 1950Where: Hamilton, ON Big Break:
In 1982, his big break came when he was appearing on SCTV: Network 90. This was the American version of the Canadian comedy series SCTV.
Interesting Note:Filmography
Actor
1972 Cucumber
Right On
1975 Peep Show
1976 The David Steinberg Show
1978 For The Record
1979 Lost & Found
The Associates
The Family Man
1980 The Love Boat
I'm A Big Girl Now
1981 Second City TV
Taxi
1982 Miss Peach of the Kelly School
1982–83 SCTV Network 90
1983 Sunset Limousine
1983–84 SCTV Channel
1986 Tall Tales and Legends
Three Amigos!
1987 Really Weird Tales
Innerspace
Cross My Heart
1988 The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
1989 The Making of Me
Dink, the Little Dinosaur
Andrea Martin... Together Again
I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood
Three Fugitives
The Big Picture
1989–90 The Tracey Ullman Show
1990 The Dave Thomas Comedy Show
1991 Pure Luck
Maniac Mansion
Father of the Bride
1992 Captain Ron
1992 The Real Story of Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star
1993 Money For Nothing
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story
1994 Clifford
The Martin Short Show
1995 The Pebble and the Penguin
Father of the Bride Part II
1996 Creature Crunch
Mars Attacks!
1997 Jungle 2 Jungle
The Three Stooges Greatest Hits
A Simple Wish
1998 Akbar's Adventure Tours
Merlin
The Prince of Egypt
1999 Alice in Wonderland
Mumford
2001 Get Over It
Prince Charming
Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius
2002 CinéMagique
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Treasure Planet
2003 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure
2001–03 Primetime Glick
2004 Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper
2005 Arrested Development
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1984–05 Saturday Night Live
2006 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
2007 O Canada!
2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles
2010 Hoodwinked 2: Hood vs. Evil
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!
Damages
2011 Catdog Movie
2012 Frankenweenie
Writer
1981 Second City TV
1982-83 SCTV Network 90
1983–84 SCTV Channel
1985 Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas
1984–85 Saturday Night Live
1988 The Best of SCTV
The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley
1989 The 1989 Gemini Awards
I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood
1994 The Martin Short Show
1995 The Show Formerly Known as the Martin Short Show
1999 The Martin Short Show
2001 Primetime Glick
2003 Martin Short Shorts
2004 Jiminy Glick in Lalawood
2011 Catdog Movie
Producer
1994 The Martin Short Show
1999 The Martin Short Show
2001 Primetime Glick
2003 Martin Short Shorts
2004 Jimmy Glick in Lalawood
Director
1993 Friends of Gilda
Awards and honors
* 1972: Bachelor of Arts in social work: McMaster University
* 1982: Emmy Award for 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
* 1994: Member of the Order of Canada
* 1995: Earl Grey Life Time Achievement Award
* 1999: Outer Critics Circle Award: Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Little Me
* 1999: Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, Little Me
* 2000: Canada Walk of Fame
* 2001: Doctor of Letters honoris causa: McMaster University
* 2002: Queen Elizabeth II's Golden Jubilee Medal
* 2010: Emmy Awards Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Damages(TV Series)
* 2010: Satellite Awards Nominated for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Damages(TV Series
MARTIN SHORT
2000 INDUCTEE
View all inductees from 2000 »Take the frenetic zaniness of Jerry Lewis, add the masterful mimicry of Rich Little, blend in Dick Van Dyke's slapstick sophistication and you come close to understanding the genius of Martin Short. Close, but no exploding cigar. Truth is, he's that rare breed of clown who defies categorization. From the manic, obsequiousness of SCTV's Ed Grimley to the fussy fastidiousness of Franck, the accent-addled wedding planner in Father Of The Bride, Short's comic range knows no bounds. There is nothing he can't, or won't, do for a laugh.
Born March 26, 1950, in Hamilton, Short originally aspired to a much different career, earning a degree in social work from McMaster University. Soon, however, the smell of the greasepaint lured him to Toronto, where he was cast alongside such fellow future stars as Gilda Radner, John Belushi, and Victor Garber in a now-legendary production of Godspell.
Hollywood beckoned, and Short languished for nearly a decade in such uninspired TV fare as The David Steinberg Show, The Associates, and I'm A Big Girl Now before returning to Toronto to replace Dave Thomas and Rick Moranis on SCTV. Earning both an Emmy and a Nelly for his SCTV antics, Short next transferred his talents, along with his widening troupe of characters, to Saturday Night Live, providing a much-needed comic boost to the flagging late-night staple.
Following a single SNL season, Short returned to Hollywood to co-star with pal Steve Martin in the hugely popular Three Amigos! He has since added more than two dozen film and TV credits to his remarkably diverse résumé, including such audience favourites as Father Of The Bride, Jungle 2 Jungle, A Simple Wish, Merlin, and Alice In Wonderland.
Perhaps the greatest testament to Short's incomparable dexterity came two years ago when Neil Simon decided to remount his classic 1962 musical Little Me. The biggest challenge was to find a lead actor with both the energy and ability to juggle, night after night, eight vastly different roles. For Simon, there was only one solution: get Martin Short. The Broadway cognoscenti heartily approved, naming Short the best lead actor in a musical at the 1999 Tony Awards.
Throughout three decades of escalating success, there has been a method to Martin Short's madness. He learned long ago that size doesn't matter. As content with a well-crafted cameo as he is with a starring role, Short knows that character actors are the ones with staying power. As he explained to US magazine in 1997, "What's great about being a character actor is you know that you can survive forever. It's not about the gloss of your eyebrows' One of my greatest influences was Don Knotts as Barney Fife."
RELATED NEWS
Actor and comedian Martin Short got a lot of laughs last night at the “Umforgettable Evening” EIF dinner at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel–the annual event raises money for EIF’s Women’s Cancer Researchas- as he accepted the Courage award for his late wife Nancy. She died in August at age 58 after a three year battle with breast cancer. The couple had been together 36 years, Short said; Nancy was incredibly vibrant and popular. Martin Short is a talented man who became a household name thanks to his hilarious characters on Saturday Night Live."It's a thrill to be here, actually it's more than a thrill it's an obligation," Short says as he walks on stage at the Touhill in St.Louis.
Each character is more unique than the next and usually starts with someone he knows.
