ALL ‘THAT IS REPUGNANT’
Short discusses Trump, more
Actor-comedian Martin Short is one of this year’s recipients of the Governor General’s Award for lifetime achievement. In an interview, he talked about the success of Canadians in comedy, the influence of his childhood and the “preposterous” U.S. president.
Q: Congratulations on the Governor General’s performing arts award. Is this a big deal for you?
A: Oh absolutely. Any time you’re honoured by your home, it’s a bigger deal than most.
Q: Plus you’re in the company of Michael J. Fox. How sweet is that?
A: I adore Michael. I’ve known him for many years, and he’s a great guy, a lovely guy. I’m happy to be in the same auditorium, the same dinner table any time.
Q: I’m curious to hear your thoughts on why Canadians have done so well in comedy.
A: I think Canadians are great satirists because we sit in the middle of these two giants, Great Britain and the U.S. And I also think that Canada has greater patience for odder behaviour. We got the Pythons before anyone else got it. We’re so influenced by so many different things, and that influence can translate into satire.
Q: You haven’t really had a huge hit movie or sitcom in your career. How do you gauge your success?
A: I don’t. I think of success as giving 100 per cent to something and seeing it to its fruition. Success is not something that one can easily judge. When Three Amigos opened, for example, it was perceived as a financial disappointment. Now it’s considered a masterpiece. Everything alters and changes with time. Some things that are considered triumphs, and 10 years later, they’re considered minor. 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.
Q: No thoughts of retirement then?
A: No. I’m not a big believer in retirement. I think you retire from something you’ve always hated doing and now you’re glad you don’t have to do it anymore. If you’re getting ready for a show or something and you go, “Oh, I’m bored,” then you retire. I think what’s interesting in a career is when you reach a point where you’re not really doing it for money. You know, the original impetus is “Can I get the rent money together?” Not doing it for the money can be the trickiest time because you have to keep yourself interested without the innate motivation. Q: How do you do it? A: For me, it’s always been, luckily, I started off as a Canadian actor in the ’70s and there wasn’t a particular star system as much as you did everything you were asked to do. You had to learn to tap and dance and sing and act and do voice work and do cabaret, whatever was asked. You didn’t say, “I wonder if it’s good for my career,” you said, “Do I bring a suit or not.” And that kind of training, I think, is like anything else. The more you do it, the better you become.
Q: How are you handling the political climate in the U.S. these days?
A: Well, after the defeat of Hillary, I thought, I’m not going to look at the news for four years. Now I’m fascinated, because every 10 minutes, there’s a new preposterous element. This isn’t even about being right or left. This is the most preposterous, repugnant human being imaginable in that position. He’s lewd and crude and dumb and limited and racist and everything that is repugnant, and it’s dripping out. Now he can’t hide who he is. People are trying to defend him, and I find it hilarious.
Q: You were born and raised in Hamilton. Anything about the city that set you on this path?
A: I don’t think Hamilton did. I think my family did. My mother was a concert violinist. She was the concert mistress of the Hamilton Symphony, the first female concertmaster in North America. So when I was a kid hearing about rehearsal, that was a term in our house. The thing about my life growing up was no one laughed at the eccentricity that was clearly me. I had an applause tape and I would pretend to have my own variety show. I would make albums and my mother would adjudicate, but no one said, “Oh don’t be an idiot. Get out there and play baseball.” They said, “Good for you.”