Comedy fans are currently enjoying Mr. Martin Short solving crimes alongside Steve Martin in Only Murders in the Building, but 40 years ago he was killing it at 30 Rockefeller Plaza. As I discussed in my post featuring Billy Crystal, the 1984-85 was marked by established performers like Crystal and Christopher Guest joining SNL for one special season. No one stood taller that year than Short.
The Canadian performer who would also turn into one of the greatest talk show guests of all time already had sketch experience. From 1982-83, Short excelled on his native country’s SCTV. On SNL, he would bring several of his creations to New York City including the manic spiky haired Ed Grimley and constantly nerve wracked defense attorney Nathan Thurm. There’s also Vegas singer Jackie Rogers Jr. Short’s on point impressions included Jerry Lewis and Katherine Hepburn.
His finest moments on SNL might have been the taped bit “Synchronized Swimming” which is criminally unavailable on YouTube. Short may have only shined on SNL for one year, but I must say his contribution was significant enough to place him high on this list. I’ll throw in some terrific clips on when he returned to host as well and #15 will be up soon!
Martin Short
Years on the Show: 1984-85
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