In this engagingly witty, wise, and heartfelt memoir, Martin Short
tells the tale of how a showbiz-obsessed kid from Canada transformed
himself into one of Hollywood's favorite funnymen, known to his famous
peers as the "comedian's comedian."
Short takes the reader on a rich, hilarious, and occasionally
heartbreaking ride through his life and times, from his early years in
Toronto as a member of the fabled improvisational troupe Second City to
the all-American comic big time of Saturday Night Live, and from
memorable roles in such movies as ¡Three Amigos! and Father of the
Bride to Broadway stardom in Fame Becomes Me and the Tony-winning
Little Me.
He reveals how he created his most indelible comedic characters, among
them the manic man-child Ed Grimley, the slimy corporate lawyer Nathan
Thurm, and the bizarrely insensitive interviewer Jiminy Glick.
Throughout, Short freely shares the spotlight with friends, colleagues,
and collaborators, among them Steve Martin, Tom Hanks, Gilda Radner, Mel
Brooks, Nora Ephron, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara, Paul Shaffer, and
David Letterman.
But there is another side to Short's life that he has long kept private.
He lost his eldest brother and both parents by the time he turned
twenty, and, more recently, he lost his wife of thirty years to cancer.
In I Must Say, Short talks for the first time about the pain that
these losses inflicted and the upbeat life philosophy that has kept him
resilient and carried him through.
In the grand tradition of comedy legends, Martin Short offers a
show-business memoir densely populated with boldface names and rife with
retellable tales: a hugely entertaining yet surprisingly moving
self-portrait that will keep you laughing--and crying--from the first
page to the last.
