Martin Short

Martin Hayter Short OC (born March 26, 1950^[1]) is a Canadian-American comedian, actor, and writer.^[2] Short is known as an energetic comedian who gained prominence for his roles in sketch comedy. He has also acted in numerous films and television shows. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, two SAG Awards, and a Tony Award. Short was made an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2019.

He is known for his work on the television programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live from 1984 to 1985 with only one season (Season 10). Short created the characters Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley. He also acted in the sitcom Mulaney (2014–2015), the variety series Maya & Marty (2016), and the drama series The Morning Show (2019). He has also had an active career on stage, starring in Broadway productions including Neil Simon's musicals The Goodbye Girl (1993) and Little Me (1998–1999). The latter earned him a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical and the former a nomination in the same category.

On SNL, Short helped revive the show with his many characters for the show's tenth season (the last one produced by Dick Ebersol), which was in danger of falling in quality, thanks to the departures of Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo, so Ebersol decided to fill his cast with experienced actors and comedy performers in order to keep the show alive (Lorne Michaels would attempt the same thing in season 11, with disastrous results). Short's SNL characters included manic man-child and Wheel of Fortune fan Ed Grimley, which he borrowed from his SCTV days. The Grimley character became more popular on SNL than it did on SCTV. He also was recognized for his impressions of such celebrities as Jerry Lewis and Katharine Hepburn. SNL proved to be Short's springboard to a long career in film and TV.

He has acted in comedy films such as Three Amigos (1986), Innerspace (1987), Three Fugitives (1989), Father of the Bride (1991), Captain Ron (1992), Clifford (1994), Father of the Bride Part II (1995), Mars Attacks! (1996), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), Mumford (1999) and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006). Short also provided voicework for films such as The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003), Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper (2004), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted, Frankenweenie (both in 2012), The Wind Rises (2013), The Willoughbys (2020), and Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom (2023). He also voiced The Cat in the Hat in the PBS Kids series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (2010-2013).

In 2015, Short started touring nationally with fellow comedian and his longtime friend Steve Martin. In 2018, they released their Netflix special An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life for which they received four Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Since 2021, he has co-starred in the Hulu mystery comedy-drama series Only Murders in the Building alongside Steve Martin and Selena Gomez. For his performance he has earned nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award and a Critics' Choice Television Award.

He returned to Saturday Night Live to host the first time, hosting the sixth episode of SNL's 12th season on December 6, 1986, alongside co-hosts (and his co-stars in the 1986 hit Western comedy film ¡Three Amigos!) Steve Martin and Chevy Chase. This episode was Chase's fifth time as host and musical guest Randy Newman's fifth time as musical guest.

On December 7, 1996, Short returned to Saturday Night Live to hosted for the second time, hosting the eighth episode of SNL's 22nd season, with musical guests No Doubt, a rock band.

On December 15, 2012, Short returned to Saturday Night Live again to hosted for the third time and (making his first appearance in 10 years and 1 day), hosting the tenth episode and the Christmas show of Saturday Night Live's 38th season, which it's also the final episode of 2012, with musical guest Paul McCartney, the former Beatle and English music legend.

He returned to Saturday Night Live again to host for the fourth time, sharing his co-hosting duties for the second time with his longtime friend, fellow comedian and Only Murders in the Building co-star Steve Martin when he also returned to host SNL for the 16th time (the first time in 13 years), on December 10, 2022, the eighth and Holidays-themed episode of Saturday Night Live's 48th season, with musical guest Brandi Carlile.

Short and Martin's Only Murders in the Building co-star Selena Gomez make a surprise cameo appearance at the end of their opening monologue.

He returned to Saturday Night Live once again to host for the fifth time on December 21, 2024, the tenth episode and Christmas show, of Saturday Night Live's 50th anniversary season, which it's also the final SNL episode of 2024, with musical guest Hozier. He becomes the sixth former cast member enter the Five-Timers Club, after Chevy Chase, Bill Murray, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell and Kristen Wiig when he does host.

Short is formally inducted into Saturday Night Live's Five-Timers Club by his fellow members (Tom Hanks, Paul Rudd, Tina Fey, Alec Baldwin, Scarlett Johansson, Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Emma Stone and John Mulaney) and Jimmy Fallon presented Short in his very own five-timers jacket in the cold opening.

With this episode, Short becomes the first Canadian-American and the first former Dick Ebersol-era cast member to join the Five-Timers Club.

On July 23, 2025, Martin Short began hosting the game show, Match Game on ABC.