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Written by Dan England
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Friday, 02 May 2008 |
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Don’t ask Martin Short how he developed those really odd characters that were a staple of “Saturday Night Live” during the 1984-85 seasons.
“I don’t have a clue,” Short said during a phone interview. “I was just drawn to it, disguising myself and doing all these freak shows.”
Short’s made a career of it, though, a successful one that includes stints in movies, on television and even on stage, where he won a Tony Award in 1999 with the lead role in the revival of the musical “Little Me.”
Now a performance that will meld all three together will be one of the highlights of the Union Colony Civic Center’s 20th season.
Short will show video clips of his SNL days, sing a bit and play some characters, including “Wheel of Fortune” fan Ed Grimley and Jiminy Glick, the subject of a series from 2001-03, who will bring someone up from the audience for one of his clueless interviews.
Character-driven comedy was always Short’s staple, from his beginning in improvised theater with Second City in 1977 and the show SCTV (Second City Television, the show spawned other famous bits including Canadians Bob and Doug McKenzie) to “Saturday Night Live” to movies such as “Three Amigos” and a Jiminy Glick picture in 2004.
“I tried stand-up comedy once and a guy threw a beer in my face, and I remember thinking, ‘This is not what I want to do,’” Short said. “The reality is my thing is always doused in satire. It’s hard for me to get too sincere. There’s a lot of people doing that these days.”
Although today usually it’s the opposite, where comedians get their start doing stand-up, Short followed in the footsteps of Chevy Chase and Bill Murray and concentrated on characters and improvisation.
“I think I found it funnier as a kid,” Short said. “I was intrigued by characters and not just philosophy.”
Short went into comedy just because he was good at it, the same way a guy who likes to work on cars might eventually own his own auto shop, he said. He’d probably be a social worker, a teacher or even a politician had he not been a comedic actor, he said.
His show at the UCCC is a variety act, something he enjoyed about his career.
“It’s like a one-man variety show, like a party with Marty,” he said. “If I was at your house and I jumped in with a piano player and sang and danced and some strange characters showed up, that’s what it would be like. It’s a wild, moving, fast show.”
Show businesses doesn’t fuel him like it used to, with three children ages 24, 22 and 18, although he still enjoys it. He is writing a series for HBO and isn’t sure what he’s got planned down the road. He wanted to perform this variety show because it was something he hadn’t done yet.
“I’m not really worried about paying the rent anymore,” he said. “In this case you’re always kind of fascinated with something you haven’t tried yet, which in this case is me by myself.”
The singing might surprise some, although Short did win that Tony award.
“But if I did a full singing tribute to Cole Porter,” he said, “I think it would be disappointing.”
Martin Short
• 7:30 p.m., Friday, Sept. 19
• Union Colony Civic Center, 701 10th Ave. in Greeley
• $29-$49, and $75
• Call 356-5000 or go to www.ucstars.com
• All tickets for the 2008-09 season go on sale June 23.
UCCC 20th Anniversary 2008-09 Season Schedule
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