Martin Short is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He currently stars in the Hulu comedy series “Only Murders in the Building”.
So let’s dive into some trivia and facts about his life and career.
- His full name is Martin Hayter Short OC
- He was born on March 26, 1950
- He is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, singer, and writer
- He is known for his work on the television programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live
- He has starred in comedy films such as Three Amigos (1986), Innerspace (1987), Three Fugitives (1989), Captain Ron (1992), Clifford (1994), Mars Attacks! (1996), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), and The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006)
- Short created the characters Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley
- He also acted in the sitcom Mulaney (2014-2015), the variety series Maya and Marty (2016), and The Morning Show (2019)
- He currently stars in the Hulu comedy series Only Murders in the Building (2021)
- For the series he earned a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a Critics Choice Television Award nomination
- Martin Short also provided voice-work for films like The Pebble and the Penguin (1994), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Treasure Planet (2002), 101 Dalmatians II: Patch’s London Adventure (2003), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Frankenweenie (both 2012), The Wind Rises (2013)
- And the PBS series The Cat in the Hat Knows a Lot About That! (2010–2018) as the title character
- He has also had an active career on stage, starring in the Broadway plays 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
- Martin Short was born on March 26, 1950, in Hamilton, Ontario
- He is the youngest of five children of Olive Grace, a concertmistress of the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra, and Charles Patrick Short (1909–1970), a corporate executive with Stelco, a Canadian steel company
- He and his siblings were raised as Catholics
- He had three older brothers, David (now deceased), Michael, and Brian, and one older sister, Nora
- Short’s father was an Irish Catholic emigrant from Crossmaglen, South Armagh in Northern Ireland
- He came to North America as a stowaway during the Irish War of Independence
- Short’s mother was of English and Irish descent
- She encouraged his early creative endeavours
- His eldest brother, David, was killed in a car accident in Montréal in 1962 when Short was 12
- His mother died of cancer in 1968
- His father two years later of complications from a stroke
- Martin Short attended Westdale Secondary School
- He graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work in 1971
- Martin Short met Canadian comic actress Nancy Dolman in 1972 during the run of Godspell
- The couple married in 1980
- Dolman retired from show business in 1985 to be a stay-at-home mother and raise their family
- Short and Dolman adopted three children: Katherine, Oliver, and Henry
- Dolman died of ovarian cancer on August 21, 2010
- Short and his family make their home in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles
- He also has a home on Lake Rosseau in Ontario
- He is a naturalized US citizen
- Martin Short has two stars on Canada’s Walk of Fame
- His brother, Michael, is a comedy writer and twice winner of the Emmy Award for comedy sketch writing
- Nancy 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
- Short is uncle to the couple’s two sons, Jack and Joe
- Bob Dolman and Andrea Martin have since divorced (2004)
- Martin Short is a first cousin of Clare Short, a former member of the British Parliament and former British cabinet minister
- Short appeared in a 2001 episode on the Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire hosted by Regis Philbin, winning $32,000 for his charity, Loyola High School.
- Short has actively campaigned for the Women’s Research Cancer Fund
- He accepted a “Courage Award” on behalf of his late wife at a 2011 gala by the group
- Martin Short is also a member of the Canadian charity Artists Against Racism
- Short is an avid fan of his hometown team, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats of the Canadian Football League
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