Martin Short’s got talent. Over a career spanning four decades in show business, the iconic Canadian comedic actor is now taking his experience and legendary charisma to the judges’ table on the first season of Canada’s Got Talent, premiering on Citytv March 4.
He says the show’s judges — including opera singer Measha Brueggergosman and musician Stephan Moccio — have been constructive rather than cruel, which is a departure from the norm established by other famous reality star judges in the United States.
“It’s a celebration of talent,” Short says about the show. “No one has been caustic or mean — that doesn’t play in Canada.”
Short, who has already been on a cross-Canada tour auditioning performers, says that much of the talent has actually been deserving of accolades.
“They’ve been very, very impressive,” Short says.
The production itself is in the format of a talent show with performers competing for a grand prize of $100,000 and a booked gig at a Las Vegas venue. (The show’s U.S. counterpart, America’s Got Talent, is currently in its seventh season.)
Short, his co-judges and the show’s producers have hand-picked the talent up until now. Once the show debuts, the winner will be determined in Toronto by audience votes.
As a performer with a long and varied career that includes stints on Broadway, his own TV comedy specials, a turn as a cast member on Saturday Night Live and, of course, the legendary Canadian sketch comedy series Second City Television (SCTV), Short is the perfect mentor for young Canadian hopefuls starting out.
He has created some unforgettable comic characters including the hyperactive, cowlick-sporting nerd Ed Grimley and the forgetful TV interviewer Jiminy Glick.
He has also appeared in classic Hollywood hits like Three Amigos, Mars Attacks! and Father of the Bride as the world’s most fabulous wedding planner, Franck.
Of his own career, Short says that being able to mix it up by tackling theatre roles, TV and film has helped him to achieve longevity.
“If you’re versatile, then you can have a more eclectic career,” he says. Plus, Short says, taking on roles through different media has meant that he stays stimulated and motivated within the business.
“It’s always better at the end of the year to be able to say, ‘I’ve done TV, a movie and concerts.…’ It makes it more interesting for you as an actor.”
He says he also has never gotten caught up in any ideals about what he wanted to achieve in the industry. Certainly when he was starting out, becoming a celebrity was the furthest thing from his mind.
While majoring in pre-med and social work at McMaster University, Short acted in plays but didn’t harbour any dreams of a career in show business.
“None of it seemed realistic to me,” Short says. It was fellow comedian and SCTV alum Eugene Levy, also a student at McMaster, who encouraged Short to give acting a shot.
“He said, ‘You have so much talent you should try it,’ and then I had this idea if I looked in the mirror at 50, I didn’t want to say, ‘You should have taken a chance on becoming an actor,’ ” Short says.
At 21, he auditioned for a role in the musical Godspell and ended up performing with surely one of the most talented young casts ever seen in a local production, including Levy, Gilda Radner, Andrea Martin and Paul Shaffer.
“It was a tremendous first step in show business,” Short says. “It was the hip thing at the time, and everyone wanted it.”
Asked what he did to stand out in his audition among the other hopefuls, Short remains perplexed to this day but says he sang “My Funny Valentine” “Sinatra-esque” and had long hair.
While his rendition of the Chet Baker classic may have helped, it could have also been his trademark bright energy that, to this day, commands an audience.
Despite having had a big break, Short says he kept himself in check. Throughout his early days as a performer, he made a contract with himself that he would reassess his situation annually to decide if he should continue trying for another year.
“I didn’t want to be a 29-year-old guy who was broke,” he explains.
Living year-to-year on personal “contracts,” Short never could have predicted the success he would find as his career grew.
Short was the youngest of five children in an Irish Catholic family, which he says has influenced his identity as a performer.
“Being the youngest, you’re certainly picked up and nurtured,” he says. “The youngest gets spoiled — they’re the best — and that kind of confidence helps when you’re out there performing.
“I also come from a very, very funny family,” he adds.
Short’s introduction to any kind of performance came through his mother, the first female concert master of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, whom he would watch rehearse.
After graduating from McMaster, the actor remained based in Toronto until work demands took him to the States.
“I love Toronto,” says the actor. “I lived there from age 21 until 36 .… I’ve made movies there and TV shows, and I have a lot of friends there. It’s been a huge part of my life.”
Short also spends time at his cottage in Muskoka. He has three adult children. His wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, whom he met as a fellow cast member in the production of Godspell, passed away in 2010. Now based in Los Angeles, Short continues to take on roles that offer him different and challenging experiences.
He recently had a recurring guest role on the hit sitcom How I Met Your Mother and was nominated for an Emmy Award for his role as a devious attorney in the FX channel’s legal thriller Damages. He has also continued to tour his one-man show, Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me.
Of his many successes, Short takes special pride in winning a Tony Award for best actor in a musical in the Broadway production of Little Me (1999). “At end of day, if you win a Tony Award, you know it wasn’t for anyone editing your performance,” says Short.
So with the live portion of Canada’s Got Talent set to air, what would Short say to a young performer looking to be a star in show business?
“A star is a different idea. It’s tied to luck and endurance,” Short says. “Talent is part of it but not necessarily all of it.”