Kriti Mehrotra
Born in Ontario, Canada, as the youngest of 5 children to Olive Hayter Short and Charles Patrick Short, Martin Short grew up in an incredibly affectionate, humorous, and supportive family. In fact, he has long maintained that everyone in his family was funny, so the comic gene just trickled down and somehow continues to persist among him and his siblings despite their losses. We specify losses because, as chronicled in Netflix’s ‘Marty, Life is Short,’ they lost their eldest brother David in 1962 when Martin was 12, their mother in 1968, and their father two years later.
David Short Died in a Car Accident at Age 26
As the eldest child of a trailblazing concertmistress at the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra and an edgy corporate executive at the steel company Stelco, David Short was reportedly near-perfect. According to his youngest brother, Martin, he was cool, funny, handsome, ridiculously sweet, unwaveringly kind, and a trumpet player who never hesitated to spend quality time with family. There was a 14-year age gap between the two siblings, but the comic still remembers that his brother genuinely cared about others and freely gave out his attention, so he became his hero.
Unfortunately, everything turned upside down on July 18, 1962, as David sadly passed away in a horrible car accident in Montréal in Québec, Canada, at the young age of 26. Martin was 12 at the time and at a summer camp, so his counselor was the one to break the news to him, having to reiterate that the accident had “killed” his brother because he couldn’t comprehend it. The entire family was heartbroken, but they still kept joy alive in their lives because they knew it was what David would have wanted, especially after Martin claimed he had come to him in a dream.
“I’m telling you, I can see it right now, and it was in technicolor,” Martin revealed in the aforementioned documentary. “I was sitting by a stream in the woods, and David came up. He looked handsome. He was wearing this beautiful Ban-Lon shirt. He said, ‘I’m fine. Everything is wonderful. And I’ll see you in a minute.’ I woke up, and the cloud (of pain, grief, and despair) had lifted.” But alas, the comic and his 3 remaining siblings still had to endure a lot of tragedy as their mother, Olive, died from cancer at age 55 in 1968, followed by their father, Charles, at age 61 in 1970.
Michael Short is a Well-Reputed Comedy Writer
Since humor was always encouraged in the Short household, it comes as no surprise that second-born Michael developed a passion for it in a way that went beyond just everyday jokes. It became a craft to him, one that he has honed through significant experience since at least 1980, when he joined the 12-episode syndicated sketch comedy show ‘Big City Comedy’ as a writer. He then went on to pen several series at ‘Second City Television’ (or ‘SCTV’) right until it was canceled in 1984, only to then work alongside his brother on ‘Martin Short: Concert for the North Americas.’
Michael subsequently served as a writer on ‘Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood’ (1986), ‘The Canadian Conspiracy’ (1986), ‘Howie from Maui’ (1987), and ‘The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley’ (1988). He followed these with some significant contributions to television productions like ‘The Dave Thomas Comedy Show’ (1990), ‘The Smoggies’ (1988-1991), ‘Manic Mansion’ (1990-1993), ‘The Martin Short Show’ (1994; 1999-2000), ‘Goosebumps’ (1996), and ‘MadTV’ (1996-1998). As if that’s not enough, he has also written for ‘The Wayne Brady Show’ (2001-2003), ‘Primetime Glick’ (2001-2003), ‘G-Spot’ (2006), ‘The Jane Show’ (2007), the Canadian Screen Awards 2014, and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ (2015–2020).
Michael even served as a producer or executive producer for many of these originals. In other words, he has spent his entire career giving the world comedy gold, whether alongside his youngest brother, Martin, or on his own. It thus comes as no surprise that he is a 9-time nominee and a 3-time winner of the Primetime Emmy Award in Comedy Sketch Writing. Coming to his current standing, it appears Michael now prefers to keep his personal experiences well away from the limelight for privacy reasons. Therefore, all we know for certain is that he is in his 80s, is still based in Ontario, Canada, and is a family man devoted to his siblings, wife, kids, and grandkids. His loving wife, Grace, seems to be an artist, with whom he shares at least 2 sons: Nick and Louie. From what we can tell, they are both in the music industry, happily married, and proud parents.
Nora and Brian Short Prefer to Lead Quiet Lives Without Any Public Attention
While Michael and Martin Short have been in the entertainment industry for nearly 5 decades as of writing, their sister, Nora Short, and brother, Brian Short, consciously chose a different path long ago. According to the former two, their siblings are just as funny as they are (if not more), since they all share a similar sense of humor from their upbringing, but their passions lie elsewhere. In fact, it appears Nora kick-started her career as a Registered Nurse before evolving into an Anesthesiologist, but she is now in her 80s, blissfully retired, and focused on family. As for Brian, he was primarily a business executive based out of his homeland who reportedly retired after a long stint as the Chief Financial Officer & Senior Vice President at Dover Industries Ltd. It seems both Nora and Brian have always preferred to keep away from the public eye, which is why they likely didn’t participate in ‘Marty, Life is Short’ either. However, through the production, we do know they maintain a tight-knit bond with Michael and Martin and are proud spouses, parents, and grandparents, too.
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