1972–1976: Early theatrical and Canadian television work Just as Short was about to graduate from
McMaster University, he moved to
Toronto with the intention of temporarily giving acting a shot rather than immediately pursuing a career in social work. Right away, in March 1972, he landed his first piece of paid work as an actor, playing a plastic
credit card inside a woman's purse in a
Chargex television commercial. Among other members of that production's cast were
Victor Garber,
Gilda Radner,
Eugene Levy,
Dave Thomas,
Andrea Martin,
Jayne Eastwood, and Gerry Salsberg.
Paul Shaffer was the
musical director. As stated by Short in his 2014
memoir, as well as in the 2018 documentary
Love, Gilda, he and
Gilda Radner dated each other on and off during that time. Short subsequently found work in several Canadian television shows and theatrical productions. These included being cast for the role of a tough and predatory prison inmate in the 1972 staging of
John Herbert's drama ''
Fortune and Men's Eyes''. Appearing in this role involved the 21-year-old actor commuting to and from his hometown of Hamilton. Short's increased stage profile led to a guest spot on
Right On, a
teen-focused live program airing weekly in the
after-school timeslot on the
government-funded
CBC TV. He also played the role of Smokey the Hare on the
TVOntario daytime kids' program
Cucumber. In June 1973, with
Godspell winding down and Chicago's Second City improv comedy theatre starting up a sister company in Toronto, many of Short's
Godspell peers, including Radner, Levy, Eastwood, Salsberg,
Valri Bromfield and
Dan Aykroyd, successfully joined the
new troupe's first cast. In 1979, after working solely in Canada for the previous seven years, Short landed a starring role in the American sitcom
The Associates about a group of young novice lawyers working at a
Wall Street law firm. In 1980, he joined the cast of ''
I'm a Big Girl Now'', a sitcom starring
Diana Canova and
Danny Thomas. Canova was offered the sitcom because of her success playing Corinne Tate Flotsky on
ABC's Soap and left
Soap shortly before Short's newlywed wife
Nancy Dolman joined it. '
SCTV
' Short achieved wider public notice when the Toronto Second City group produced a show for television,
Second City Television (
SCTV), which ran for several years in Canada and then later in the United States. Appearing on
SCTV in 1982–83, • Albino Vegas singer, Jackie Rogers Jr. and his father, Jackie Rogers Sr., the latter of which was mauled to death by a mountain lion during a comeback special that took place in the woods. • Oddball man-child
Ed Grimley, This was Short's first live concert, interspersed with studio sketches and a wraparound featuring Jackie Rogers Jr. Co-produced by the CBC, this aired as
The Martin Short Comedy Special in Canada in March 1986. In 1989, Short headlined another one-hour comedy special for HBO called
I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood, a classic send-up of all things Hollywood. It featured many of his characters including Ed Grimley and Jackie Rogers Jr. In 1994, Short hosted the television show
The Martin Short Show and a sketch comedy show in 1995,
The Show Formerly Known as the Martin Short Show. In 1998, he played the character Frik in the TV mini series
Merlin. In 1999, he appeared as Lionel Dillard in
Lawrence Kasdan's comedy-drama
Mumford. The syndicated version of
The Martin Short Show ran from 1999 to 2000. Short began starring in films such as
Three Amigos (1986),
Innerspace (1987),
The Big Picture (1989),
Three Fugitives (1989; directed by
Francis Veber and starring
Nick Nolte and
James Earl Jones),
Pure Luck (1991; directed by
Nadia Tass, starring
Danny Glover and
Sheila Kelley.
), Captain Ron (1992) and
Clifford (1994). Short was also the memorable scene-stealing character "Franck" in the 1991 remake of
Father of the Bride and
its sequel in 1995. In 1996, he appeared in
Tim Burton's sci-fi comedy
Mars Attacks! Short continued to work in the theatre, playing a lead role on
Broadway in the 1993 musical version of the
Neil Simon film
The Goodbye Girl, receiving a
Tony Award nomination and an
Outer Critics Circle Award. He had the lead role in the 1999 Broadway revival of the musical
Little Me, for which he received a
Tony Award and another Outer Critics Circle Award.
2000–2007: Primetime Glick '', 2006 Short starred as
Jiminy Glick on
Comedy Central's
Primetime Glick (2001–2003), where he interviewed performers and celebrities as the character Jiminy Glick.
The New York Times in 2002 referred to the character as "the most unpredictable and hilariously uninhibited comic creation to hit TV since
Bart Simpson was in diapers." In 2004, he wrote and starred in
Jiminy Glick in Lalawood with
Jan Hooks as his wife, Dixie Glick. In 2003, Short took to the stage once again in the critically acclaimed Los Angeles run of
The Producers. Short played the role of the accountant, Leo Bloom, opposite
Jason Alexander's Max Bialystock. Although the role of Leo Bloom was originated on Broadway by
Matthew Broderick,
Mel Brooks first approached Short about doing the part opposite
Nathan Lane. On the subject, Short has stated in numerous interviews that, while he was thrilled by the opportunity, the idea of having to move his family from their Los Angeles home to New York for a year was less than ideal and ultimately proved a deal-breaker. In 2006, he starred in another film with Tim Allen,
The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause. In addition to his own series, Short has guest starred on several shows including
Arrested Development (episode titled "
Ready, Aim, Marry Me!", 2005),
Muppets Tonight (1996),
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and
Weeds. He joined the FX drama
Damages as lawyer Leonard Winstone in 2010. Short also provided the voices of several animated film characters, such as Stubbs in ''
We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story (1993), Hubie in The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), Huy in The Prince of Egypt (1998), Ooblar in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), B.E.N. in Treasure Planet (2002), Preminger in Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper (2004), Thimbletack the Brownie in The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Mr. Frankenstein/Mr. Bergermesiter/Nassor in Frankenweenie (2012), Stefano the sea lion in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted'' (2012), Kurokawa in the English dub of
Hayao Miyazaki's
The Wind Rises (2013), and The
Jester in ''
Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return'' (2013). Short was the host of the now defunct
Walt Disney World attraction
O Canada!, a
Circle-Vision 360° film in the Canada pavilion of Disney's
Epcot theme park. He also hosted a 15-minute film about how pregnancy occurs in "
The Making of Me" at Epcot's
Wonders of Life pavilion. Short performed in his satirical one-man show (with a cast of six), titled
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, at the
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on Broadway. The show toured several cities in the spring of 2006 prior to opening on Broadway in August of that year, closing in January 2007. In it, he performed his classic characters Grimley, Cohen, and
Glick. As Glick, Short brought a member of the audience (usually a celebrity) on stage and interviewed him or her.
Jerry Seinfeld was the guest on opening night. The show also featured parodies of many celebrities including
Celine Dion,
Katharine Hepburn,
Elizabeth Taylor,
Richard Burton,
Tommy Tune,
Joan Rivers,
Britney Spears,
Ellen DeGeneres,
Renée Zellweger,
Jodie Foster,
Rachael Ray and Short's wife, actress
Nancy Dolman. The cast album was released on April 10, 2007 and is available from Ghostlight Records, an imprint of
Sh-K-Boom Records.
2010–2019: Stand-up tour with Steve Martin and
Nasim Pedrad at
PaleyFest in 2014 Short voiced
the Cat in the Hat in the animated TV series
The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That!, which aired from 2010 to 2013. He later voiced the character in a number of related TV specials in 2014 and 2016. He shot a new comedy special for television in Toronto in September 2011. The special,
I, Martin Short, Goes Home follows his return to his native Hamilton, Ontario and has a cast that includes
Eugene Levy,
Andrea Martin,
Joe Flaherty, and
Fred Willard. The special aired on
CBC Television on April 3, 2012, and garnered Short a nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Program or Series at the
1st Canadian Screen Awards. In 2011, Short joined the cast of
How I Met Your Mother for its seventh season, playing Marshall's manic boss and was a judge on the first season of ''
Canada's Got Talent'' (2012). He, along with
Steve Martin and
Chevy Chase appeared on an episode of
Saturday Night Live as part of the "
Five-Timers Club", on March 9, 2013, which included those actors who had hosted the show five or more times. However, Short appeared as a waiter, as he had only hosted three times. Short has continued to tour in his one-man show, which features many of his best-loved characters and sketches. In addition to
Fame Becomes Me, some titles that Short has used for his one-man show include
Stroke Me Lady Fame, ''If I'd Saved, I Wouldn't Be Here
, and Sunday in the Park with
George Michael''. Short's memoir, covering his 40-year career in show business,
I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend, was released on November 4, 2014. From 2014 to 2015, he starred in the Fox sitcom
Mulaney, as Lou Cannon, a game show host and boss of the title character
John Mulaney. In 2015, he returned to Broadway replacing
Nathan Lane in the
Terrence McNally comedic play ''
It's Only a Play. On May 31, 2016, Short debuted a new variety show on NBC, Maya & Marty'', which also starred
Maya Rudolph. Since 2015, Short has toured with the comedian
Steve Martin. Together their tours have included
A Very Stupid Conversation in 2015,
An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life in 2017, and
The Funniest Show in Town at the Moment in 2021. Their 2017 tour was filmed for
Netflix as a special and was nominated for four
Primetime Emmy Awards and a Directors Guild of America Award nomination.
2019–present In 2019, Short appeared on the
Netflix talk show
Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee alongside
Jerry Seinfeld in the episode "Martin Short: A Dream World Of Residuals". From 2019 to 2021, he took on a sinister role portraying Dick Lundy, a disgraced filmmaker, in the
Apple TV+ series
The Morning Show. Damon Wise of
Deadline Hollywood wrote, "Short is a damn fine dramatic actor" citing his "brief but indelible guest role". Short said of the role, "Well, it came to me by the producers reaching out and asking me to do it. I don't know why they wanted me, necessarily, but I was immediately interested. I'm very fascinated by conversation and discussion" around the
MeToo movement. The performance earned Short a nomination for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. He also appeared as a Leprechaun in another Apple TV+ series
Schmigadoon! from 2021 to 2023. Short voiced the roles of Grandpa Frump in
The Addams Family (2019) and Father Willoughby in the
Netflix animated film
The Willoughbys (2020) as the impolite father. He also reprised the role of Franck Eggelhoffer in the
Nancy Meyers directed short film
Father of the Bride Part 3(ish) (2020). Starting in 2021, he has starred and served as an executive producer in the
Hulu crime comedy series
Only Murders in the Building alongside
Steve Martin and
Selena Gomez. The show was nominated for a 2021
Peabody Award, and in July 2022, he received his 13th
Emmy nomination for his role in it. He received nominations for the
Primetime Emmy Awards for
Outstanding Comedy Series and
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. Mike Hale of
The New York Times wrote that Short "gives a master class" in the series adding, "It's not a class in acting or comedy so much as it is a seminar in agelessness and professionalism, and in Short's unmatched ability to turn self-absorption into a virtue." In 2023, he voiced the role of Kingfish in
Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom. In 2024, he reprised his role as
Jiminy Glick on
Real Time with Bill Maher and guest hosted
Jimmy Kimmel Live. Starting in June 2025, Short took over as the host for
Match Game on
ABC, replacing
Alec Baldwin. ==Personal life==