8 Martin Short ‘Saturday Night Live’ Skits To Get You Excited for His Next Hosting Gig

Gabrielle Moss December 20, 2024

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 40TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL -- Pictured: Martin Short during the — Photo by: Dana Edelson/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Though Martin Short was only a cast member of Saturday Night Live for the 1984-85 season, the Canadian comedian is considered one of the greatest talents that the show has ever produced, and the work he did there remains highly influential. The Emmy and Tony-winning Short will host for the fifth time on Dec. 21, 2024, making him a member of the show’s Five-Timers Club. That’s a rare honor for anyone, but it’s extra notable for Short: at 74, he’s the oldest person to join the Five-Timers Club, and only five other former cast members have ever joined its ranks: Chevy Chase, Tina Fey, Will Ferrell, Kristen Wiig and Bill Murray (though Steve Martin’s career is deeply intertwined with SNL, he was never an actual cast member).

As you get ready to watch Short in action, take a trip back through time and revisit some of his most memorable SNL moments.

Ed Grimley

Short created the character of Ed Grimley, an awkward, Wheel of Fortune-obsessed nerd with high-water pants and a perpetual bad hair day, during his time in comedy group The Groundlings, and first brought him on TV with Canadian sketch show SCTV. But it’s only when he brought him to SNL that Grimley really took off as a pop culture phenomenon, with his own toys and a children’s cartoon series.

In this skit, Ed gets to finally interview to be a contestant on Wheel, where he proceeds to work himself up into a lather fantasizing about winning and becoming close personal friends with Pat Sajack.

Soldier Who Can’t Climb the Stairs

In this season 10 skit from Short’s year as a cast member, Short plays an inept World War II soldier who can’t seem to figure out how to do much of anything — including walk up a flight of stairs to save the members of his platoon. Why can’t his character climb the stairs? He just doesn’t know how — “it never came up before.”

Celebrity Jeopardy

In his first 1986 hosting gig, Short co-hosted with Chase and Martin, and didn’t get a ton of screen time. His first solo hosting gig was in 1996, where he appeared in the first-ever “Celebrity Jeopardy” skit. Though Norm MacDonald’s Burt Reynolds and Darrell Hammond’s Sean Connery steal the show with their rudeness and rambunctiousness, Short delivers a spot-on Lewis impression, and gets in some impressive mugging.

Royal Family Doctor

In this 2012 skit, Short is a representative of the British royal family, instructing a very frustrated obstetrician on how to properly treat the then-pregnant Kate Middleton.

Holiday Pageant (with Paul McCartney)

Here’s a weird fact: all of Short’s SNL hosting gigs have occurred in December! So many of his greatest skits are Christmas-themed. In this 2012 skit, Short is an untalented singer auditioning for a Christmas talent show, and musical guest Paul McCartney is his beleaguered triangle player. Midway through, the skit takes an unexpected pivot, and Macca sings “Wonderful Christmas Time” with a children’s choir.

Marty and Beyonce

@huggyattack #snl40 #snl ♬ original sound – Huggy

For SNL’s 40th anniversary celebration in 2015, Short teamed up with Maya Rudolph’s Beyonce to celebrate the show’s way with musical parody, with guest appearances by Wiig, Ferrell, and a host of other past SNL stars.

A Christmas Carol (with Steve Martin)

In 2022, Short hosted alongside Only Murders in the Building co-star and frequent collaborator Steve Martin. In this skit, Martin plays a repentant Ebenezer Scrooge, who just wants to apologize to the townsfolk he spent years terrorizing. But it turns out that a generous Scrooge is even more dangerous than a miserly Scrooge — and Martin’s Jacob Marley only makes things worse.

Father of the Bride

This 2022 parody of Martin and Short’s 1991 film sees both of them reprising their respective roles as an overwhelmed dad and an aggressive wedding planner. Kieran Culkin also shows up, to reprise his role as the bride’s annoying younger brother, and Only Murders co-star Selena Gomez shows up, just because.