Martin Short

Martin Short got his footing at Second City Toronto in 1977, literally taking over John Candy's slot. SCTV in 1982 gave him Ed Grimley, a nervous, triangle-clutching obsessive who became the character he'd carry for decades. When NBC needed to rescue a post-Eddie Murphy SNL, they brought in established talent for the 1984-85 season: Short, Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer. Grimley went national. He left after one season for Three Amigos! with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase, and that friendship turned into the whole second act of his career.

Only Murders in the Building is the best thing that happened to his public profile since the 80s. Playing Oliver Putnam, a perennially broke Broadway director, he won his first SAG Award in 2025, beating Jeremy Allen White and Harrison Ford. He and Steve Martin reportedly earn $600,000 per episode on a show renewed through Season 6. At his age, accumulating award nominations he didn't get at his supposed peak is its own kind of punchline.

Short lost his older brother at 12, and both parents before he turned 21. He met his wife Nancy at a 1972 production of Godspell, while he was still dating Gilda Radner. Nancy died of ovarian cancer in 2010, 30 years into their marriage. When Kathie Lee Gifford asked Short on the Today show about his 'one of the greatest marriages in show business,' about two years after Nancy was gone, he let her finish and didn't correct her on air. He has three children, all adopted, none of whom went into entertainment.