Long and Short of It

Once upon a time, long, long ago, Saturday Night Live was funny. You’re shocked, but it’s true. But being funny is, apparently, really hard work. It’s so difficult, in fact, that many of the players who made SNL good aren’t even with us anymore. Moment of silence, please. But Martin Short is one of the few from the early days who’s still kicking around and still as funny as his Ed Grimley character — you know, the excitable guy with the Alfalfa hairstyle who loved Pat Sajak and Wheel of Fortune. Grimley was actually borrowed from a character Short played on Second City TV (SCTV) — Canada’s version of SNL — in the ’70s. What’s it all mean? Just that Short has been doing comedy for a long time and in a lot of genres. He also starred in Three Amigos (with fellow SNL alums Steve Martin and Chevy Chase) and Three Fugitives, the Father of the Bride movies, Clifford, and Captain Ron (though those last two are forgettable), as well as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Arrested Development, and Primetime Glick. See what Short is up to in his fifth decade of comedy at Hard Rock Live Monday.
Mon., March 28, 8 p.m., 2011