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(TheSaturday Night LiveandSCTValum has joked that his epitaph will read Almost.)
And that hes mastered.
But youre still so game for the whole song and dance.
What accounts for that?I dont think what youre saying is true.
Definitely not about Steve.
You dont think so?
He almost never does movies anymore.
You never see him on TV.
If Steve comes out here, hell have a dinner party and its filled with people from the business.
Thats not happening when you grow up in Hamilton.
Show business was something that happened on another planet.
When you put it that way, show business sounds pretty good.I enjoy the work.
I think the answer is that you pursue what you enjoy.
In my case, its variety.
Now, I remember when I … this is getting to be a long answer, David.
We were off the record at that point.
He might remember this differently, but lets say my memory is accurate.
He said something to me to the effect of Isnt it odd to have become what you satirize?
Like withJackie Rogers Jr.?Right.
Larry David feels no different about what hes doing now than he did in 1984.
He still wakes up every morning saying, I wonder how I can prevent this project from failing.
Whats going through my brain is the same thing as 40 years ago.
And whats that?That what Im doing probably isnt going to work.
I dont analyze what I do.
The people I work well with Steve is an example its because we work in the same way.
Were both fascinated by the process of whittling away at the sculpture.
Although, it isaccurate to say that Steve and I share a comedic sensibility.
Theres rarely something that he finds hilarious that I dont.
But thats also true of me andJohn Mulaneyor Bill Hader Bills as funny as a person can be.
And those guys are good guys.
Theres that story in your memoir about him peggingMary Hartin the head with a dinner roll.But that was hysterical.
He was only doing it to make me laugh.
When the roll hit her in the head he hid out of embarrassment.
And Chevy goes, Ill say!
And everyone was looking around to see whod said that.
Thats the kind of thing Chevy would do.
Could it be interpreted as pricky?
Sure, but that would be a misinterpretation.
Is that at all irritating?Nice is not a common label for comedians but it is for Canadians.
My father would say, Marty, do the decent thing.
Yeah, I think you do.
Thats not a purely hypothetical example is it?[Laughs.]
But instead you told a humane lie?Its what decent human beings do!
I dont know I have empathy for people in show business who have zero talent.
It must be horrifying for them.
For example, when I make a movie, I cant assume that its going to work out well.
The odds are probably that it wont.
hes not trying to put Mel down.
So its not cathartic for you to play a self-absorbed asshole?No.
I dont have things festering inside me.
I let things out.
I dont sit on it.
Sitting on things is what leads to misinterpretations.
How would a Jiminy Glick interview with President Trump go?Probably badly.
To be quite honest, I wouldnt do it even if I had the chance.
I have such disdain for Trump, and I think his skin is very thin.
But I couldnt care less about meeting Donald Trump.
But then Kevin said that you just brushed it off with a one-liner Whats that about, doctor?
You do what you do.
Im there to entertain the folk, and I dont know how to do it any other way.
In a half-hour were done.
And I said, In a half-hour Id still be putting on my first layer of Glick makeup.
I think its just because I dont know how to do what Dennis could do.
So youd say theres no psychological explanation that accounts for the way you do what you do?No.
My style is not remotely psychological.
That interpretation makes sense.
It just isnt the case.
I was putting together that variety show up in my familys attic before any pain happened.
Im not trying to make anyone love me.
You, I like.
But this guy I hate.
He said,Martin Short is alwayson.
And he was suggesting that there was something inherently insincere about that quality.
When you see me, youre seeing me in a situation where Im there to entertain.
I was going through an airport once and this woman came up.
I had three kids a 5-year-old, a 3-year-old, and a baby in my arms.
My wife was in New York and we were flying there from Toronto.
This woman comes up with six pieces of paper: Can you sign these?
And I said, No, Im sorry.
As I walked away she said, And I heard you were nice.
I bet that storys grown in the retelling.Martin Short?
He slugged me in the face at an airport.
But again, I dont have a need for strangers to like me.
Im comfortable with who I am.
How much of a comedians fundamental style is innate?
Heres an example for you: When I was inSecond City in Toronto,Id be onstage withCatherine OHara.
I was so fascinated by her genius that I ended up copying things she did.
Shed do this characterLola Heatherton.
Shed go, Its 1960 …
I dont even know what year it is.
All I know is Im alone.
And then shed give this look that I know I give, too.
Its very odd thinking about all this.
In my stage shows Im still running around like a monkey.
I can still do all the things Ive always done.
Second City came to Toronto in the spring of 1973.
I was living there with Gilda Radner at the time.
The assumption was that I would audition too, but Id say, Nah, its not for me.
I thought of myself as an actor or a singer.
Ultimately, I was just afraid.
I knew Id made a mistake not doing it.
So he fires somebody and puts me in the show.
But I felt I was four years behind everyone else in my development and had to catch up.
So while other people were going out for drinks Id be transcribing the improvisations wed taped.
And thats because I was treating the improvisations from a writers perspective.
I was refining what wed come up with onstage.
Its all characters, no jokes, and its driven by attitude and satiric observation.
Whats the funniest improvised line youve ever heard?I dont think I have one …
But Steve [Martin] can be really quick.
One time he said to me, Whats the worst job youve ever had?
I said, I did a bad pilot in 1980.
He said, I didnt say the worst sex, I said the worst job.
Steve also has a story about the fastest ad-lib hed ever experienced, and it was from Russell Brand.
Steve was at the Oscars, and he was leaving right as Russell was getting there.
And Russell said, Its a metaphor.
Not bad!Yeah, Steve was fascinated with Russell Brand.
Hes a fan of everybody.
Hes not one of those guys who stops liking new things.
You always feel that about Woody Allen.
Whos your favorite comedian?
Why is that, Woody?
Because hes not in competition with you?
Steves not like that all.
You know, to me the Steve Martin albumLets Get Smallis the perfect crystallization of his comedy.
Whats the movie or show or special of yours that performs that function?
I think theres an argument to be made that shes the best sketch comedy actress ever.God, its true.
Tina Fey will tell you the same thing.
She was so, so good.
She was so funny.
I can tell you the day I met her: June 28 in 1972.
I was 22 and Id never met people funnier.
But thinking about someone like Jan Hooks, I wonder if theres a parallel between her career and yours.
What about you though?
And Im not countingLettermanappearances.I dont know.
Its in the eye of the beholder.
Someone else might say, Oh, I hate that movie.
So I dont know what the perfect vehicle is.I do think I was good inInnerspace.
But I must admit, Im very in the moment of doing the work.
I dont dwell on the outcome.
I dont go back and say, Its Monday, time to watchThree Amigos!
You also kind of let people tell you what they think.
Certain films grow in time.Cliffordis a perfect example.
]Cliffordwas total absurdity.
My outfit would have bigger buttons to make me look smaller.
We had a big party scene and every girl or guy had to be six-foot-four.
It was all done like that.
Figuring that stuff out sounds like such a fun game.Oh, it was great.
In Canada, where I primarily worked from 72 to 79, there was no star system.
Being an actor was like being at university.
Instead of doingCheersor whatever for a decade, youd do 15 different jobs in a year.
There must be something.I dont think I have an answer.
Come on, what is it?King Lear?The Trojan Womenactually.
Okay, there is something Id kill to do, because I love to sing.
A standards album?Thats right, actually.
Or an evening of singing at [Manhattans] Town Hall.
For the sandbag to fall?Yeah.
But I dont agree.
Also, a lot of people can sing.
Its a unique honor to make people laugh.
How did you used to prepare for aLettermanappearance?
Then we whittle it down.
Like if Im doing Fallons show, Ill confirm we talk aboutSNLfor a bit.
I remember thinking,Ive got to come across as loose as I can be at a dinner party.
So an impersonation of myself being relaxed was the approach from the beginning.
I moved down the couch but I was in still in Conans eye line.
That must be very rewarding.
And I went like this [makes a mock interested face] as she was answering.
Conan saw me and went like this [stifles laughter].
You mentionedSaturday Night Livea minute ago.
How much of that difference had to do with the personalities of the cast?It wasnt that.
But different people have different stories about their experience there.
When I signed up in 1984, I may as well been named crown prince.
The four of us were treated fantastically.
If we wrote something, it almost always got on the show, and always in the first half-hour.
Did the rest of the cast resent you guys?There were definitely two divisions.
The one-year-contract people were getting a lot of favoritism, but they were also creating good work.
Look, the other cast members were Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jim Belushi all these talented people.
But no one could argue thatEd Grimleyhadnt done well, you know?
you’re free to find iton YouTube.
That could never be onSNL.
OnSNL, the live audience is there judging you.
We could just let something like Yellowbelly fly.
Something about it almost makes it come off like a non sequitur.[Laughs.]
So I believe that line was him.
It sounds like pure improvisational Chris Guest.
But that sketch wouldnt fly today.
Im sure people on social media would complain.
What if you said Meryl Streep can only play Americans?
Or Marty cant do Jiminy Glick because he isnt overweight?
Saying,Baseball been berry berry good to me?No, no, no.
Sorry.David, its okay.
have a go at imagine Garrett doingNews for the Hard of Hearingtoday.
Lorne [Michaels] couldnt do it.
But what I want to know is, what if he did?
Thered be some mean tweets.
Will Lorne Michaels ever retire?I cant imagine it.
When I was onSNLthe read-through with the host was at 11 in the morning.
Now, because Lorne doesnt like to wake up early anymore, its around 4:30 in the afternoon.
Hes got it figured out.
With his experience comes ease.
Even withSNL, certain cast members leave and people say, Thats the end ofSNL.
Then it becomes, Wow, whos this Kate McKinnon?
The ebb and flow is just the way it is.
I didnt want to feel like her death was something I needed to hide.
I wanted to expose what Ive experienced about grief and loss.
I guess what youre trying to find after something like that happens is what normal feels like.
Certainly I know there are people that say, Jesus, I dont get Martin Shortat all.
Thats the guy who I see and am like give me the remote.
This interview has been edited and condensed from two conversations.
Annotations by Matt Stieb.
Photo by Getty Images.
