Is Martin Short on TikTok? Only when Selena Gomez shows him 'something that makes her laugh,' he says.
The comedian's latest role as mayor of Funner, Calif., has Steve Martin making fun of him for being "all over the place."
Martin Short doesn’t know much about TikTok, but he has his Only Murders in the Building co-star to thank for keeping him in the loop.
“The only time I’ve seen TikTok is when Selena [Gomez] shows me something that makes her laugh,” he told Yahoo Entertainment in a new interview.
Growing up in Canada, the actor dreamed of having a career like American comedians Jack Lemmon or Jackie Gleason. At that time, he explains, finding your niche was a different game altogether.
“A lot has changed. It’s so hard to get noticed now,” said Short. “Some people will think, ‘Oh, if I eat 12 spiders then maybe they’ll look at me!’”
Getting noticed was never Short’s problem. Over his 40-year career, he’s brought characters to life, like Ed Grimley on Canada’s Second City Television and Jiminy Glick on Primetime Glick. He’s also had long-standing collaborations with friend and partner in comedy Steven Martin, from Three Amigos! (1986) and Father of the Bride (1991) to his latest, the Hulu hit Only Murders in the Building, which returns for Season 4 on Aug. 27.
Despite his successes, Short is a realist when it comes to his career.
“Some people like me, some people hate me,” he said. “You can get seduced by [online] comments. Sometimes it’s, ‘Oh, he's great. Oh, I like him,’ and then some are, ‘The most boring guy I’ve ever seen. I just hate him!’ But look, all I know is if I had to have dinner with that person, I know I’d be bored.”
He credited that mindset to his parents, who used humor to navigate touchy subjects in life and politics.
“I was always fascinated by politics, like my parents,” he said. “At 13, I’d do things that were kind of bizarre. I would write things in my diary like: ‘Dear Diary, former President Herbert Hoover seems very ill — and he may die tonight.’”
Still, you’d be hard-pressed to see Short broaching the topic onstage. He and Martin have strict rules to not make fun of politicians when they perform together.
“It’s such a polarized country,” he explained. “When people come to the theater, they don’t want to be preached at and see their heroes made fun of, so we avoid [Donald] Trump jokes and [Joe] Biden jokes. If you’re seeing a political comedian, then you're expecting that and that's why you’re there. If you don’t want to have the person you’re paying money to see think you’re an idiot for supporting ‘blank’ candidate, then you don’t go.”
Short was recently sworn in as mayor of Funner, Calif., by Harrah’s Resort Southern California, succeeding former mayors David Hasselhoff, Rob Riggle and his Only Murders in the Building co-star Jane Lynch. It’s a title he’ll hold for two years.
“As a kid in Canada, I had a vision that someday I would be mayor of Funner, Calif., and here I am,” he joked.
With his new mayoral duties, Short is adding to an already-packed schedule.
“Steve sent me a text yesterday,” he said. “We’re on a hiatus [from Only Murders in the Building], but I'm all over the place, and he said, ‘Isn’t it great to just be relaxing in your living room? Oh… that’s right. Sorry.’”
