• Received the Earl Grey Award for his work in SCTV at the Gemini in Toronto. [1995]
• Attended McMaster University in Hamilton
• Was trained to be a social worker but got bit by the acting bug after taking a part in a production of "Godspell" in Toronto, Ontario.
• His brother died when he was 12, and, by age 20, both his parents, too.
• Graduated from Westdale High school in Hamilton, Ontario.
• Won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his performance in the Broadway revival of "Little Me." [1999]
• Brother-in-law of Bob Dolman and Andrea Martin.
• Was supposed to host the 1994 season premiere of "Saturday Night Live" (1975), but he had to back out at the last minute. He was replaced by Steve Martin.
• On Inside the Actor's Studio, said his favorite curse word is "poo".
• Brother of Michael Short
• Went dramatic and appeared in a 1974 production of "Fortune and Men's Eyes" which dealt with prison rape.
• First acting job was playing a giant Visa card in a TV commercial.
• Met future Second City collaborator Dave Thomas in college in 1970. They began acting together. Martin appeared with Thomas in a production of "Macbeth" in which Short was Lennox and Thomas was Banquo. A production of "Godspell" in 1972 would include Thomas, plus other Canadian funsters Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Paul Shaffer, and Andrea Martin.
• Majored in social work in college after beginning as a pre-med and then studying sociology.
• Brother David was killed in a car accident in 1965. His mother, Olive Short, was a musician, and father, Charles Patrick Short, an Irish VP of a Canadian car company, who came to North America as a stowaway. They died in 1970 and 1972, respectively.
• Has three children: Katherine (born 1983), Oliver (born 1986) and Henry (born 1990)
• Is one of very few ex "Saturday Night Live" cast members who have made guest appearances on the rival Saturday night sketch comedy show "MADtv".
• Won Broadway's 1999 Tony Award as Best Actor (Musical) for a revival of "Little Me." He was also nominated in the same category in 1993 for "The Goodbye Girl."

Born in Ontario, Canada, Martin Short began his career on Canada's SCTV Comedy Network, where his work garnered both an Emmy Award and the prestigious Canadian equivalent, the Nelly. Later, Short's proven ability as a comedic chameleon and his host of hilarious impressions brought him to the attention of Saturday Night Live. After only one season, Short was instantly recognized for his standout performances and on-the-mark impressions of such characters as Ed Grimley, Jackie Rogers Jr., legendary songwriter Irving Cohen and lawyer Nathan Thurm. With the tremendous exposure he gained on the show, he quickly crossed over into feature film work.

Short made his feature film debut in Three Amigos, where he worked alongside former Saturday Night Live colleagues Chevy Chase and Steve Martin. Over the years he has continued to land plum comdic roles in theatrical releases such as Innerspace, Tim Burton's Mars Attacks!, Jungle to Jungle and A Simple Wish, among others. Perhaps his most memorable role was that of scene-stealing Franck Eggelhoffer, the wedding planner in Father of the Bride. He later reprised the hilarious portrayal for Father of the Bride II. Short also starred in the Lawrence Kasdan film Mumford and in Get Over It.

Not limiting himself to acting, Short has also written, produced and starred in three highly acclaimed comedy specials for television. For these efforts, which included Martin Short's Concert for the North Americas, I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood and The Show Formerly Known as The Martin Short Show, he won two Cable Ace Awards and an Emmy Award. His recent work in television also includes his co-starring, Emmy-nominated role in the mini-series Merlin. And following that, he co-starred in the critically acclaimed movie-of- the-week Alice in Wonderland, as the mad hatter.

A veteran of the theater in Canada and on Broadway, Short has received accolades for his varied work on the stage, earning a Tony Award nomination, a Theatre World Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for the 1993 Broadway production of The Goodbye Girl. Most recently, the versatile actor won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his work in the Neil Simon/Cy Coleman Broadway produc tion of Little Me. Additionally, he starred in Lawrence Kasdan's Four Dogs and a Bone at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

In the fall of 1999, Short brought his comedic, musical and improvisational talents to the television genre when he hosted King World's daily one-hour talk/variety entertainment pro gram, The Martin Short Show. The show garnered five Emmy nominations, including Best Show and Best Host. Currently, he stars as Jimmy Glick in Primetime Glick, a new series for Comedy Central.

Short's career has been recognized by the public and critics alike, and by his Canadian homeland. He was awarded the Order of Canada (the Canadian equivalent to British Knighthood) for his contribution to Canadian culture, and he was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in June 2000.