by Martin Short
First published 2014
Martin Short opens his memoir by looking back on a life that began with tragedy and bloomed into comedy gold. The Canadian performer traces his journey from Second City Toronto stages to Saturday Night Live's Studio 8H, where he created characters like the manic Ed Grimley and sleazy lawyer Nathan Thurm. Short describes developing his most famous personas, including the bizarrely insensitive talk show host Jiminy Glick and elderly songwriter Irving Cohen. He chronicles his film work in Three Amigos and his Emmy-nominated television role in Damages, alongside his Tony Award winning Broadway performance in Little Me. The book reveals his collaborations with comedy legends like Steve Martin, John Candy, and Gilda Radner, while also exploring his friendships with Tom Hanks, Frank Sinatra, and producer Lorne Michaels. Short candidly discusses personal losses, including his parents and brother before age twenty, and the death of his wife Nancy in 2010 after thirty years of marriage. Through career highs and devastating lows, he maintains his characteristic optimism and shares the joy that has sustained him.
Genres: autobiography, biography-memoir, comedy
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, personal-journey
Setting: Second City Toronto, Saturday Night Live, Broadway
Period: 20th-century, 21st-century
336 pages · Hardcover · Harper