ACTOR
Martin Short
39 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Oct 2026
All facts (39)
- #001
Martin Short began as a pre-med student before studying sociology and then specializing in social work at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario.
- #002
Short's wife, actress Nancy Dolman, died of cancer on August 21, 2010. She had been battling the disease since 2007.
- #003
He is one of the very few former Saturday Night Live (1975) cast members to have appeared as a guest actor on the rival Saturday-night sketch comedy show Mad TV (1995).
- #004
His first acting job was playing a giant Visa card in a TV commercial.
- #005
He counts Gilda Radner as his first real romantic love.
- #006
He is one of Steve Martin's best friends.
- #007
His older brother David died in a car accident in 1962. His mother, Olive Grace (Hayter) Short, who was of English and Irish descent, was a child violin prodigy and the first female concertmaster in North America; she was concertmaster of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra. She married Charles Patrick Short, the Ireland-born vice president of Canada's largest steel company, who had come to North America as a stowaway, in 1935. Olive Short died in 1968 after a five-year battle with cancer. Charles Patrick Short died in 1970 as a result of complications from a stroke.
- #008
Martin's older brother died when he was 12, and by the time he was 20 both of his parents had died.
- #009
He trained as a social worker but fell into acting after landing a role in a production of "Godspell" in Toronto, Ontario.
- #010
His father was born in Crossmaglen, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland.
- #011
He was awarded the C.M. (Member of the Order of Canada) on April 13, 1994, and invested on October 19, 1994, for his service to entertainment. One of Canada's best-known comedians, he has made laughter a significant Canadian export. His ability to make audiences aware of their own weaknesses while entertaining them shows in his stage, television and film performances. The generosity of his spirit is evident in his boundless support for Big Brothers, the Easter Seals Telethon, the Organization for Deaf Children and the Canadian Red Cross.
- #012
He has three children: Katherine Elizabeth (born December 3, 1983), Oliver Patrick (born 1986) and Henry (born 1990).
- #013
Short is the youngest of five children. In addition to his two named brothers, the late David Short and Emmy-winning television writer Michael Short, Short has an older brother, Brian, who was vice president of Dover Industries in Canada, and an older sister, Nora, who is an anesthesiologist.
- #014
On Inside the Actors Studio (1994), he said his favorite curse word is "poo."
- #015
He was Mel Brooks's first choice to play Leo Bloom opposite Nathan Lane in the Broadway version of "The Producers." In 2000, while Short was hosting his short-lived talk show The Martin Short Show (1999), Brooks and Lane appeared as guests in the same episode; Brooks, seated between Lane and Short, pulled out the "The Producers" contract and asked both of them to sign it there, which was met with laughter of surprise and pride from the two actors. Because of the talk show, Short had family obligations as well as professional commitments on the West Coast (his three children were then enrolled in school in the Los Angeles area), so he had to decline, and he was visibly guilty about telling Brooks he could not sign at that moment and would consider the offer later. Lane did the same, which helped the situation. Lane later accepted, while Short declined and was replaced by Matthew Broderick (who earned a Tony Award nomination). Shortly afterward, in 2003, Short gave a successful performance alongside Jason Alexander in the Los Angeles production of "The Producers."
- #016
He is friends with David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Tom Hanks, Eugene Levy, Robin Williams, Chevy Chase, William Shatner and Diane Keaton.
- #017
Before building a successful career in comedy, he worked with Danny Thomas.
- #018
He is depicted on one of a set of five Canadian commemorative postage stamps, issued on August 29, 2014, honoring Great Canadian Comedians; the set does not specify a denomination. In addition to the main portrait, he is shown as his characters Ed Grimley, Jiminy Glick and Jackie Rogers Jr. The others honored in the set are Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Catherine O'Hara and Oliver Guimond. Each stamp cost 85¢ on its issue date.
- #019
He met future Second City collaborator Dave Thomas at university in 1970, where they began acting together. Short appeared with Thomas in a production of "MacBeth," with Short as Lennox and Thomas as Banquo. The legendary 1972 "Godspell" production included Thomas as well as other future entertainers Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Paul Shaffer and Andrea Martin. His future wife, Nancy Dolman, was Radner's understudy. Short first dated Radner and then began dating Dolman in 1974. They married in 1980.
- #020
Martin Short is the husband of Canadian comic actress Nancy Dolman and drew attention for his recurring role on the ABC cult sitcom Soap (1977) and in Custard Pie (1977). He also appeared in the critically acclaimed 1985 television special Martin Short: A North American Concert (1985).
- #021
Martin Short's daughter, Katherine Elizabeth Short, attends New York University. In 2003 she was selected to serve as Queen Shenandoah LXXVI at the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival in Winchester, VA. She is an aspiring actress.
- #022
Steve Martin and Martin Short were nominated for the 2018 Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series for Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life (2018), but lost to John Mulaney for John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (2018).
- #023
Along with friends Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn, and Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Martin Short owns a luxury vacation home in Ontario's affluent Muskoka region.
- #024
Martin Short's son, Oliver Patrick Short, currently studies marketing and film, television and theatre at the University of Notre Dame's Mendoza College of Business. He is a promising director/producer.
- #025
Martin Short's time on Saturday Night Live (1975) made him a major comedy star, but he never enjoyed it. This was partly because the relaxed production style of SCTV Channel's (1983) pre-recorded format contrasted with the demanding production schedule of "SNL," which had to be prepared and performed live within a week. Regardless, when Lorne Michaels returned to produce the series, he specifically asked Short whether he would be interested in being the only cast member to return for the 1985-86 season. Short declined, though in hindsight he admitted that accepting might have advanced his career further.
- #026
The severe allergic reaction Proctor (Short) has to bee stings in Pure Luck (1991) inspired the makeup idea behind Primetime Glick (2001).
- #027
In the fall of 1980, Short joined the cast of I'm a Big Girl Now (1980), a sitcom vehicle built for Diana Canova that also starred Danny Thomas. Canova was offered the sitcom after her major success as Corinne Tate Flotsky on ABC's Soap (1977). Shortly before Short's newlywed wife, Nancy Dolman, joined the cast, he left the cast of the second show to accept the offer. The series was an instant flop and ratings fell for Soap (1977), causing both shows to be cancelled that season.
- #028
Martin Short opened his one-man show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me (with a full cast of six) on August 17 at Broadway's Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre. It had enjoyed a successful preview run since July 29, 2006.
- #029
Martin Short is the first cousin of British politician Clare Short.
- #030
For his work on SCTV (1976), Martin Short received the Earl Grey Award at Toronto's Gemini Theatre.
- #031
Martin Short graduated from Westdale Secondary School in Hamilton, Ontario.
- #032
Martin Short shares the same birthday with Vicki Lawrence, and the two are friends.
- #033
Martin Short was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012 by the Governor General of Canada. He lives in Rosseau, Ontario, Canada.
- #034
In 2002, Martin Short was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal by the Governor General of Canada. He lives in Hollywood, California.
- #035
Martin Short's friends include Steve Martin, David Letterman, Conan O'Brien, Robin Williams, Billy Crystal, William Shatner, Tom Hanks, Selena Gomez, Maya Rudolph, Jerry Lewis, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Matthew Broderick, Chevy Chase, Vicki Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jim Carrey, Diane Keaton, Bill Murray, Amy Poehler, Kelsey Grammer, Tina Fey and John Candy.
- #036
Martin Short is the former brother-in-law of Andrea Martin.
- #037
Martin Short is the brother-in-law of Bob Dolman.
- #038
Martin Short is the uncle of Bob Dolman and Andrea Martin's two sons, Jack Dolman (born 1981) and Joe Dolman (born 1983).
- #039
Martin Short was born on the same date as Teddy Pendergrass.
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