Martin Short Interview 1977 Brian Linehan's City Lights

McKenzie Porter recently reviewing the musical show harried back in town pointed out that none of the seven actors presented was presented as a star but the youthful foxy faced Martin Short a longtime favorite and review and many musicals distinguished himself Martin Short he wrote moves into a character with a form of restrained frenzy a manic kinetic birds projecting humour tinged with poignant and singing loud and clear his mouth rolling lovingly over every word so that he drives home the full meaning of every lyric thousands of Canadians know Martin Short as the regular on the David Steinberg show Johnny del Bravo he is now a member of second city and we'll be right back with Martin Short Martin Short currently with second city is with us when we were coming on we were exchanging anecdotes about people we're talking about Oscar Levant wonderful book was it memoirs memoirs of amnesiac and you asked me if I can we say it on the air we sure what was the snow he was he was talking about how he would interview people and he would say terrible things about close friends and realize afterwards he had lost another friend he said about he called Judy Garland the s scott Fitzgerald of song and he said she was a vibrato in search of a voice and he set it on the air and then he thought and he quickly phoned up Judy and he said you won't believe what I just said and she you know howled and screamed and went hysterical and he went okay she's still my friend and what was the line with Martin from the the Jerry Lewis interview with he was interviewing Jerry Lewis and he said to Jerry Lewis who's your God and Lewis said Milton Berle he said you ain't so high and he knew that burlwood that was it Thank You burl wood not have anything to do with him and and didn't I should explain that all of this came about because we were talking about people we both know and appearing on talk shows and the difficulty of a performing artist suddenly being in a situation where it's dialogue and there's there's nothing happening and especially a show like this where you are going to try and a half an hour to have the public kind of know what someone is like and it's not like going out and doing a few minutes of comedy or a song or something and then sitting and moving down you know and it's I guess a little intimidating for some well I think the only thing that's intimidating is that I'm sitting here with the man who was born in Hamilton and maybe one of the few pieces that show business who has a BA in psychology and sociology and a BA in Social Work yeah was that in preparation for a life in show business a BA in Social Work no it was um it was just I mean I I still very involved in social work and I still involved with taking out kids and and I might end up doing that someday but there was throughout university I was aware that I was spending an equal amount of time doing plays and theater and I came to a point where I knew I had to I had done four years in University and I was about to do a master's degree and I thought now should I investigate this other interest so I didn't a friend of mine Eugene Levy who is pretty talented performer in town true kept saying Marty you got to come to Toronto you got to come to Toronto they'll love you they'll love you and it turned out that at that time he wasn't working he just wanted another friend to drink with will you tell us how far away you were when he said you've got to come to Toronto I was in Hamilton true I just wanted a pop in distance so at 30 miles but he meant to live in two struggles so I decided to struggle for a year and then I was very fortunate because it was a show called Godspell that was auditioning and what they wanted they wanted raw talent they wanted people who could sing but not that great people who could dance but then people who were funny but did and if you were slick you were not valid for God's feel so that was like the greatest training get ground I did it for a year and it was the first edition that I did and I was I got up and saying my funny valentine sweet comic valentine and I got I couldn't believe it you know it's wonderful though you talk about Godspell 1972 yeah tell us excluding yourself who else was in that company of Godspell now when you look over that company well Victor Garber Gerry Salzburg Rudy Webb Don Scardino were the men and the women were Gilda Radner Andrea Martin Nancy Dolman Jane Eastwood talked about raw talent getting together in five years later it was a la ville champ it was a it was a fabulous fabulous new gene let me in that sure did I leave out Eugene only because you'd mentioned him earlier oh my god you know something that I think you've done particularly well the season with David Steinberg and the Johnny Dell brought their character how did it come about did you go to them and present Johnny del Bravo or were you cast as Johnny del Bravo no they they wanted david steinberg came to Toronto and he spoke to Sheldon Patinkin who was and is the director of the second city and they he he knew Sheldon for many years from Chicago when David was in second city and said she first of all give me the talent in town and who I can possibly use in my show and the one character that he wanted was David has a particular dislike for club singers and he wanted to have a running character of a club singer that he wouldn't like who would play his cousin and so I went in to to speak to David about it and he said no we don't really know what kind of character we want but we want him to be offensive on some levels so I did an impersonation of a character that I'd done for a couple years in my own mind of someone who had watched Sinatra and Tony Bennett and copied them and idolized them but had there was one catch he couldn't sing so that he had all the yeah thank you it's groovy to be here you're fabulous I love you you know kind of ala David Brenner but and so that was a character in this what we use and whose idea was the wig the wig was originally felt looked a little too young so they decided to put a wig on me just to try it out and I look so bizarre that this is the look where the lion roars how does a character like that evolve on a show like the Steinberg show were their production meetings every week yeah and a spot was found to put Johnny del Bravo in mm-hmm yeah and and usually it was used to get David from the the stage setting to across the street to the delicatessen setting and what better way than to have Johnny doe Bravo who David hated and would therefore not want to be in the studio when de Bravo was on but he could watch del Bravo on the monitor in the delicatessen and when del Bravo and there'd be a running kind of gag where you know this time I would say now please Johnny do not do any impersonations we get letters people hate your impersonations please just sing a song and all right David you're groovy and I definitely won't and then he leaves and then five minutes later when we want to return back to the studio someone would turn up the monitor and the delicatessen and Billie sue Luca who played Vinny de Milo would say hey Dave tell Bravo's you better see what he's doing in Damon would see don't worry Vinny it's no problem at all he's singing what now my love and Vinny Oh - yeah but it's Betty Davis - what now my love now that I've left so here's to run across to him push me healthy you see there's a show going to be back in 78 are you going to be back with Steinberg no I I don't think the show is gonna be back in 78 they were I think the that the problem with the show really was so many shows a financial problem and the two best shows that were done were done one per week and there were only two shows out of 26 done that way the rest were done two three and even four a week and it was just too rushed for the writers it was too rushed for David was rushed for everybody and I think that he chose that to not come back unless more money was available and it wasn't so he's not going to come did you go after the spot with the resident company in second city did you want to be a permanent member of that resident company well I wanted to do second I've always been a big fan of second city and my friends have done it for years and years and I always was very attracted to it except that I knew that I wouldn't do well in it unless I really wanted it very much not if someone else said hey Marty do you want to do second city so I knew that I had to wait until I wanted to do it and I was recently in Los Angeles and I saw an improvisational group called war babies and I thought they were I just loved what they were doing i sat there I thought yeah I want to come back and do second city so I came back and gave them a phone call and said if there's any openings - give me a call and you said I'm available I'm I'm ready you didn't see the group at that place in LA called the can of the Comedy Store did you know I didn't know we've been to that Club yeah it's that's great fun - but that's a different type of thing I mean that's just comedians trying out things and young comics and you sit there okay tell you what we'll take a commercial break I'll be right back with Martin Short second city and more Martin Short is with us and we've been talking about second city the David Steinberg show life bas and Social Work and psychology I wanted to pick up on something because I was reminding myself and you that one thing that I had enjoyed particularly was when you and Andrea Martin had done the production of Elaine Mays very black comedy enough rope and not enough I'm sorry not enough rope and you had made an observation about acting and the performing artist and performing which I thought was interesting well right at that at that time Andrea and I were both very concerned because we were doing a straight play to perform our acting and so many actors act they're acting beautifully and you and you sit and watch them and you say gee that's acted beautifully and it's boring - and some actors have an instinctive ability to perform their acting Andrea is certainly one Jane Eastwood is another Eugene Levy is another Dave Thomas at second city or another Kathryn listen I won't go on well if you add Fiona Reid we have every show Oh Fiona I mean really these are the people that instinctively do it what Andrea and I were doing we were talking about in the early rehearsals of 9fo we were so busy worried about oh no we've got to perform this and the first preview of not enough rope we went out and there was not one laugh it was so heavy dramatic and tragic and we realized that we were so busy worrying about the performing end of it that we weren't having fun with it and the next night we went out and just did Andrea and Marty having fun with Elaine May you know and it was we loved doing that play when you when you say that you see a group like was it war babies mm-hmm and it gives you something when you talk about the actor performing his material who have you seen recently or who do you look at as an actor who performs his or her material from whom you learn or you feel a sense of I want to do that or I've learned something new about my own craft film theater - yeah I need any media well I think that Al Pacino does that and I think that Brando does that very much Brando does a thing in on the waterfront which is just I've seen that a billion times and always cry when he finds Charlie hanging just and he just just don't worry charlie and it's a very stage you move when he and even recent have run down the alley and they see Charlie Rod Steiger hanging there and he says I'm gonna take it out of there Hines and it's a it's it's a little bigger but it's so effect cuz he's just performing and another thing he'll do is if I'm if I'm Brando and you're Rod Steiger he'll look at diagnosing wasn't my night it's looking off they're basically to the audience and looking back it's kind of a gutsy thing to do but it works beautifully and it's that's why he's never dull he may be hammy or he may be whatever some critics say of him others never criticize him he's never dull and it's because of that that natural instinct I don't even think he's aware of it John candy of Second City's another one who just this is just presence or something or maybe it's just an ability to really enjoy an audience but I'll always watch Brandon I'll always watch Pacino and always watch Dustin Hoffman and always watch Burton because the you mean Richard Burton Richard Burton yes no no well so will Burton is great to answer yeah right but they have an ability to to not internalize to the extent of excluding us and that's I'm really very fascinated by that I think I find it fascinating that that the North American performer is so in tune with whatever it is that Brando Pacino De Niro Hoffman is sharing with them and I remember just recently reading an interview with with Al Pacino which was called the basic training of Al Pacino and Pacino saying that every American actor has a debt to Brando because Brando created an American style and when you really think over the whole history of American film and theater acting it was a complete revelation and revolution in acting yeah I mean I saw East of Eden as opposed to east of Eaton's at Second City and I hadn't seen for a long long time I was James Dean's first film and he really was very very brandish you know all this stuff which he wasn't so much in the next two films and he didn't really need to be because he had this great face and he's great eyes but he you could see that there was a kid who had looked at Brando and and I read a book on Brando maybe it was a little favor and brando's favor but they said that Brando was asked to what Dean's performance and used to beating he said him the actor was wearing my last year's performance you know so he obviously it was kind of understood in I guess the business that he was this new kid who was doing Brando but doing something of his own to and with a kind of unique quality to it that was also very interesting and his next two films but without a cause in giant he showed that he really dismissed he just took the method acting and left the brand new isms aside which were wise moves you know speaking about great names and other than those appearing and east of eating when you do a show like this and summer says did you mention my name okay and now I can just say yes to almost everyone I think we got them all if we include Monica Parker we covered the city okay Monica Parker yes I wanted to bring up something because do you remember one evening after a performance there there let me second-guess you Brian and we had also seen an interview and we started talking about Dick Cavett interviewing guess who and out of absolutely nowhere you started I asked you a question and I was being Cavett and you were being Katharine Hepburn it's true and remember you were you don't smoke but you got so excited that you said okay let's do it now Oh what the heck I've been smoking everything but I I try to cover it up can you pull it out if I say okay well let me can I move a table if you want to go out of your key light and be in very dramatic shadow which may indeed make you look more like you know this table yes you may know though as you'll see it's quite necessary your Ovaltine I would like you to know what a thrill it is for all of us that you have consented to be here yeah well it is not easy for me to do a show like this my brother told me Kate why do a show when you're already loved by a nation and I set up because I'm afraid of it I I truly am I'm I'm terrified of the cameras in the color and the possibility that I might look like a complete fool and I'm attracted to it - Spencer used to say that - to be frightened by something you're frightened of is pretty silly and I I I agreed with him on lots of things and I agree with what he said yeah are you pleased that you consented that you're here now speaking the way you are not really is there anything we can do to make you more comfortable well I suppose if you just turn off the cameras and we go to my home that would make me a lot happier but I'm here and I've got a weather whatever I've got myself into do you remember the time we appeared on the same stage together ah I believe you'll have to freshen my memory just a little Shakespeare in the Park oh really what what was your role I was the King I was a page two lines that's yeah them you know I can't remember them I was so in awe of being on the stage with you well I'm sure I would have been in awe of being on the stage with you had you delivered memorable line readings well thank you all think that over how do how do you feel how do you feel oh well yes about all the things that are being written about you and the unauthorized biographies oh I think they're a bit of a sham because what what truly is our private person's life should remain the private persons if I don't pretend to be anything more than what I am a diligent actress trying to to carve out what something but to do to to read in print private moments I don't know I it makes me feel just dreadful just awful I thank you we'll be right back with Martin Short second city and more it really is Martin Short with us we've been talking about a lot of things I would like to ask you something after the television work we've been talking about the Steinberg show the review you've done all of the work in Toronto around the country industrial shows pilots for CBC everything that's happening why did you make the commitment to second city as a man who seems so busy professionally why commit yourself to a small yet prestigious theater group what do you expect to get out of second city um I think that the second city offers so much it's unbelievable how much it can offer an actor it first of all it teaches you how to write everything that we do in second city we write ourselves and just that I mean I would like to someday maybe write a play I would like to someday maybe do monologues and and this is the perfect testing ground for anything that might come into my head anything I might read that day or I want to talk about it also ensemble acting with the quality of actors that are in second city is just something that very very few actors have a chance to take a crack at and I'll stay with second city as long as I can learn as much as I've been learning by being with it it's it's I couldn't be more pleased with my decision to finally do it and with the amount of material that I've learned from it I think that any actors should take a stab at if he really feels like he's at a point in his life for it's time to take a big chance and see how much you can grow was david steinberg ever a member of second city money oh yeah he was for six years in Chicago in Chicago yeah and he just recently came to Toronto upstairs from us to work and try new material pika and he because he felt he feels so at home with the whole atmosphere that his second city and the tradition that is second city which is now I believe almost 20 years old are you still involved with with that what is the children's group that you're involved with in Hamilton working with children what in here at the change made in Toronto yeah I take out a little boy Brett Johnston has branched into second city no III had his mom see it let's see what she thought she went mm-hmm she loved it but she thought it was a little Brett's just turned 10 and it was a little a little funky to say the least yeah I want to thank you for being here thank you been a pleasure you

Channel: Brian Linehan's City Lights

Views: 26,518

Rating: 4.9202657 out of 5

Keywords: Second City, Toronto, SCTV, Godspell, David Steinberg, Eugene Levy, John Candy, Gilda Radner, Johnny Del Bravo, Ed Grimley, Katherine Hepburn

Id: j6fDnWFPQ3o

Length: 23min 7sec (1387 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 21 2016