I’ve been a fan of Martin Short since the 1984 season of Saturday Night Live, which as a ten year-old I would “time tape” with our new VCR to watch the next day. A lot of the humor went over my head but I especially loved him as Ed Grimley.
Somehow I missed him as Jiminy Glick until last week’s Real Time With Bill Maher, where he absolutely kills.
You know comedians are funny when they break up other comedians.
Short has a manic comic energy that's very infectious. In some ways, it reminds me of Robin Williams, except with Short it seems to come from a place of joy rather than desperation. Sorry to speak ill of the dead, but I think that's why I always enjoyed Short but found Williams grating at times.
From all the accounts I've read from Short's castmates on SCTV, Short could bring up the spirits of everyone in the room. He certainly lit up the classically grouchy Maher in this bit.
Have you ever gotten into SCTV? As Maher says, there were a ton of brilliant people involved in that show - some of the funniest bits ever.