Martin Short: Difference between revisions
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*[[2008]] ''[[The Spiderwick Chronicles (film)|The Spiderwick Chronicles]]'' |
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===As Writer=== |
===As Writer=== |
Revision as of 00:01, 2 October 2007
Martin Short | |
---|---|
Born | Martin Hayter Short |
Spouse | Nancy Dolman (1980-present) |
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.
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.[citation needed] 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]
Early 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.)
In 1979, Short starred in the ill-fated TV sitcom "The Associates" about a group of young novice lawyers working at a Wall Street law firm. The show was cancelled after only 9 of the 13 episodes where aired, but received 2 Golden Globe nominations after its cancellation.
Short then 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.
SCTV
Short was encouraged to pursue comedy by McMaster 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 before moving on to Saturday Night Live for the 1984-1985 season.[1] At SCTV, Short developed many characters which he later used at SNL, including:
- 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.
Saturday Night Live
At "SNL", Short helped revive the show after Eddie Murphy left with his many characters, including the Wheel of Fortune fan Ed Grimley he borrowed from his SCTV days. 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. SNL proved to be the springboard to a long career in film & TV.
Film
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.
Theatre & other live performances
Short 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.
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 April 10th, 2007 and is available off of Ghostlight Records, an imprint of Sh-K-Boom 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.[citation needed] 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).[citation needed] They also have a home on Lake Muskoka[5] in Ontario, Canada.
Short has a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. A Roman Catholic, is often incorrectly identified as Jewish.[2] 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
Acting credits
- 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 Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (voice):Ooblar
- 2002 CinéMagique : George
- 2002 Treasure Planet (voice): B.E.N.
- 2003 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (voice)
- 2005 Arrested Development: "Uncle" Jack Dorso
- 2005 Jiminy Glick in La La Wood
- 2005 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit:Sebastian Valentine/Henry Palaver
- 2005 Red Eye
- 2006 Final destination 3
- 2006 The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause
- 2007 O Canada! (Disney) (voice)
- 2008 The Spiderwick Chronicles
- 2008 Scary Movie 5
As Writer
- 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
As Producer
- 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)
As Director
- 1993 Friends of Gilda
'In Character' Quotes
- As Irving Cohen: "What hell kind of name is Roy!?"
- As Irving Cohen: "Give me a C, a bouncy C."
- As Irving Cohen (as his standard conclusion to an improvised song, of which he's sung a few bars, accompanied by replacing his cigar in his mouth): "...a dot dot dot, dee dee dee, and whatever the hell else you want to put in there."
- As Ed Grimley (indrawn breath): "I must say...".
- As Ed Grimley (clutching his burning fingers after removing a batch of cookies from the oven without using an oven mitt): "That's a pain that will tend to linger."
- As Bradley Allen: "You can't tell me that a woman who plays the tuba doesn't have a boyfriend somewhere... I mean who's going to carry the damn thing?"
- As Bradley Allen (drinking Scotch and declining tissues after a productive cough): "No, I got it."
- As Franck Eggelhoffer..."Everybody has party with a pooper, that's why we invited you, party pooper, GEORGE BANKS! That's who!"
- As Jack Frost (talking to a little girl who told him to chill) : "I invented chill!"
References
- ^ Olivia Stren, "Laugh Track," torontolife.com, June 2006.
- ^ a b Amy Lennard Goehner, "10 Questions For Martin Short," Time, August 6, 2006.
- ^ Carmela Fragomeni, "Westdale grads found stardom," The Hamilton Spectator, Feb. 24, 2006
- ^ Fame Becomes Martin Short," The Showbuzz (CBS News), Sept. 17, 2006.
- ^ Denny Lee, "Muskoka: The Malibu of the North," The New York Times, Sept. 16, 2005.
External links & sources
- Martin Short at IMDb
- Martin Short at the Internet Broadway Database
- 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
- 1950 births
- American comedians
- American film actors
- American character actors
- American musical theatre actors
- American Roman Catholics
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- American television personalities
- American television talk show hosts
- Canada's Walk of Fame
- Canadian-born entertainers in the United States
- Canadian film actors
- Canadian immigrants to the United States
- Canadian musical theatre actors
- Canadian Roman Catholics
- Canadian stage actors
- Canadian character actors
- Canadian television comedians
- Impressionists (entertainers)
- Irish-Americans
- Canadians of Irish descent
- Living people
- McMaster University alumni
- Members of the Order of Canada
- Naturalized citizens of the United States
- Canadian actors
- People from Hamilton, Ontario
- Second City alumni
- Tony Award winners