Born in Ontario, Canada, Short began his career on Canada's "SCTV Comedy Network," where his work garnered an Emmy Award. Short's proven ability as a comedic chameleon and his host of hilarious impressions brought him to the attention of "Saturday Night Live." After only one season, Short was instantly recognized for his standout performances and on-the-mark impressions of such characters as Ed Grimley, Jackie Rogers Jr., legendary songwriter Irving Cohen and lawyer Nathan Thurm. With the tremendous exposure he gained on "Saturday Night Live," he was on the Hollywood fast track and quickly crossed over into feature film work.
Short made his big screen debut in "Three Amigos." where he worked along side former "Saturday Night Live" colleagues Chevy Chase and Steve Martin. Over the years he has continued to land plum comedic roles in theatrical releases such as "Inner Space", Tim Burton's "Mars Attacks," "Jungle to Jungle" and "The Big Picture," among others. Perhaps his most memorable role was that of the scene-stealing Franck the wedding planner in "Father of the Bride." He later reprised the hilarious portrayal for "Father of the Bride II."
Not limiting himself to acting, Short has also written, produced and starred in three highly acclaimed comedy specials for television. For these efforts, which included "Martin Short's Concert for the North Americas," for Showtime, "I Martin Short, Goes Hollywood," for NBC, and "The Show Formerly Known As The Martin Short Show," for NBC, he won two Cable Ace awards and an Emmy Award, respectively. Short's work in television also includes his co-starring, Emmy-nominated role in the NBC mini-series "Merlin," one of the highest-rated programs in the network's history. And following that he co-starred in the critically acclaimed "Alice in Wonderland,' for NBC as the Mad Hatter.

A veteran of the theater in Canada and on Broadway, Short has received accolades for this varied work on the stage, earning a Tony Award nomination, a Theatre World Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for the 1993 Broadway production of "The Goodbye Girl." Most recently, Martin won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his work in the Neil Simon/Colemon Broadway production of "Little Me." In addition, he also starred in Lawrence Kasdan's "Four Dogs and a Bone" at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles.

In the fall of '99, Short brought his comedic and musical talents, versatility and improvisational genius to the television genre when he hosted King World's daily one-hour talk/variety entertainment program, The Martin Short Show. The show garnered seven Emmy nominations, two of which were for "Best Show' and "Best Host".

Back for it's third season, Short currently stars as Jiminy Glick in "Primetime Glick" for Comedy Central. Martins next move takes him back to the theater where he'll star opposite Jason Alexander in Mel Brooks' The Producers opening May 2003.

Short's incredible career has been recognized by the public and critics alike, and by his Canadian homeland. In 1994, Short was awarded the "Order of Canada" (the Canadian equivalent to British Knighthood) for his contribution to Canadian culture and was inducted into the Canadian Walk of Fame in June 2000.