Martin Short

“I think Canadians are great satirists because we sit in the middle of these two giants: Great Britain and the U.S.”

“All you're trying to do in an improvisation is get as much material as possible for the editing room.”

“My job is not to analyze my career. But I am proud of the amount of work I've done and the amount of commitment I've given to it. That makes me proud.”

“Someone once asked me what was the weirdest question I was ever asked. And I was stymied.”

“I've chosen to treat my life more like a party than something to stress about.”

“Sometimes people get passionate about the obscure jokes.”

“My mother was the concert master of the symphony. Absurdity and eccentricity were not criticized.”

“Eugene Levy is my closest friend.”

“I know if I were to drop dead now, people would probably write nice things in the obit.”

“Everything alters and changes with time. Some things that are considered triumphs, and 10 years later, they're considered minor.”

“'Nice' is not a common label for comedians, but it is for Canadians. I like it.”

“You try to figure out things to keep yourself interested. It's very easy to get lulled.”

“I remember, as a kid, nothing struck me funnier than seeing Richard Nixon look into the camera and sincerely tell everyone he didn't know where the 18 minutes had gone from his tapes. But there was all this sweat on his upper lip. We knew he was lying. He knew we knew he was lying. But he was determined to tell the lie.”

“Any time you're honoured by your home, it's a bigger deal than most.”

“My natural state is to be happy. I'm naturally buoyant. I wake up feeling, 'What a great morning!' I've had some tragedy in my life, absolutely, but I don't know one human being who hasn't. You either learn from it and become empowered by it, or you become a victim to it. It's life, after all.”

“I've always thought one of the tricks of being an actor for a long time is keeping yourself interested once you've figured out how to pay the rent.”

“Anytime there's originality and comedy combined, it's very potent for people who love comedy.”

“I think loss can fuel how you lead your whole life.”

“What I learned, a little too late, was that the 'traditional' Martin Short target viewer weighs under 300 pounds. Unfortunately, I was on during daytime.”

“Some people you work on a film with, and then they disappear.”