THE TWO MARTINS Steve Martin and Martin Short get candid about their friendship

As friends for 35 years, the veteran comedy icons are having a blast touring together – and making fun of each other

There are few friends in Hollywood who seem to have as much fun working together as Steve Martin, 74, and Martin Short, 69. In 2018 they decided to blend their individual comedy and musical tours into a joint show now called The Funniest Show in Town at the Moment that they’ve taken on the road. The performance is a mix of anecdotes from 35 years of friendship, funny songs and just riffing off each other. “We adore the show because of the reaction that we get from it, which is just full of laughs,” says Short, who lives in Los Angeles and has three grown children. (His wife, Nancy Dolman, died of ovarian cancer in 2010.) There are also few friends who admire each other as much as they do, both as people and as actors. “I loved Marty in LA Story. Oh, sorry, you weren’t in that,” says Martin, who also lives in LA with his wife, Anne Stringfield, 47, and their 7-year-old daughter. “And I loved you in The Jerk. Oh no, you weren’t in that either.” Jokes aside, they clearly couldn’t be closer. Says Martin of Short: “He’s pretty much the perfect person.”

Do you remember the first time you met? STEVE MARTIN We met at my house when Marty came by to pick up a copy of the script for The Three Amigos [in the mid-’80s]. MARTIN SHORT I looked around at Steve’s beautiful house, covered with spectacular paintings like Picassos, and said, “Steve, how did you get this rich? Because I’ve seen your work”.

MARTIN And I said, “You’re perfect to be my cat’s new chew toy”.

What is it about touring together that you both love so much? MARTIN We have a goal when we do it, and that is for the audience to leave thinking, “That was the funniest show I ever saw!” Now, whether we succeed or not is the question, but I think we do sometimes. We love doing it, and we try to get as many laughs – sincere, good laughs – as we can and do a really big show. We’ve got a band, we’ve got musicians, we’ve got costumes!

SHORT Oh, I’m just in it for the money. But no, we do this because of how much fun we have. We have a dinner the night before, rehearse the next day, finish a show and then discuss it over a glass of wine. It’s very harmonious. There are no jerks in the group – it’s just as much fun as you can have while getting paid money. You’ve been friends for so long. Do you ever get sick of spending so much time in each other’s company? SHORT No! MARTIN We never do. When we’re not on the road, we don’t hang out all the time or see each other every day. We don’t talk every day. So when we do see each other, we’re very happy. We do call each other when we have gossip, though. Martin, what is Steve’s best quality? And Steve, what do you like about Martin? SHORT Steve’s best quality is who he is as a man. He’s very moral, he’s very loyal, he’s very, very ethical. This is beyond all the talent. You can be working with the most talented, funniest human being in the world, but if they don’t have those qualities, you don’t want to tour with them.

MARTIN Martin’s best quality? There’s nothing.

SHORT Can I change what I said?

MARTIN No, he’s smart, he’s funny, he has many friends. He’s the most popular guy at your dinner party. If he’s coming, it’s a better dinner party. If he can’t come, cancel it!

What are the weird habits you’ve noticed in each other?

MARTIN Well, I have to listen to Marty warm up his voice because our dressing rooms are usually side by side. So I’m hearing him go ‘E-E-E-E-E’ for about an hour before each show.

SHORT Right. And Steve’s tradition is to knock on my dressing room [door] about a half hour before we go on to remind me how he got started as a writer with the Smothers Brothers.

MARTIN Want me to tell you again now? SHORT No, no, it’s OK. The trick is to not accidentally mouth the story along with him.

What do you both like to do in your downtime? MARTIN Well, I have a child, so that’s pretty much it. SHORT And I tend to just sit in a darkened room and screen old prints. Very Sunset Boulevard.

Does it get confusing when people are saying your names out loud? SHORT It is bizarre that we’ve been lifelong friends, formed this comedy thing, and he’s Steve Martin, I’m Martin Short. It is odd. MARTIN It seems to bother others more than it bothers us. They’re always saying, “Why don’t you call it The Steve Martin Short Show?”.

How long do you think you’ll keep touring with the show?

MARTIN If the audience will keep having us, we’d love to keep doing it.

SHORT As long as we’re having this kind of fun, why would we ever stop?

“Martin’s best quality? There’s nothing”

— Steve Martin