"....in a fleeting moment."
Ironic that my big take-away from this likeable, funny book, published in 2014, is the humanity behind the public face. I came away with a new liking -- his characters have been hit or miss with me -- and respect for Martin Short. So much of what he said resonates loudly with his current visibility and popularity in the hit comedy-mystery "Only Murders in the Building" on Hulu. I "read" the audio version, btw, read by Short himself, which I highly recommend.
It's sometimes difficult to wrap our minds around the fact that they seemingly always funny, smiling man we see on television and in the movies or, if you're lucky on a Broadway stage, hasn't had an easy, smooth life. Short lost a brother and both parents by the time he was twenty. His wife of 30+ years died of Ovarian Cancer, ironically the disease that took the life of a former girlfriend, Gilda Radner.
Yet, even now that I know the back story of Short's life, it's hard to envision him as anything but smiling and loving life. As he writes, bad things happen but the sun does come up the next morning. He feels the mark of a man isn't just how he handles it all but what he learns from the experience. He's still smiling, remembering a good life, and surrounded by a circle of friends that would make almost anyone's A-list, including the likes of Steve Martin, Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, not to mention one of his house guests at one point was the late Robin Williams. Steve Martin wrote a special song, "The Great Remember", for banjo in tribute to Nancy, Short's wife, after her death. I could go on and on but, well, think of your dream guest list and they are probably friends of Martin Short. That tells you something, the man is genuinely likeable.
I won't detail the whole list but Short lists the nine categories that have been essential to him. The key seems to be keeping a balance and getting your priorities straight. For him, yes, that included his show biz career but his family and friends were the ultimate concern. As he notes, all the little perks and rewards we get are nice but the important thing is really whether you're enjoying life and helping make the world a better place. A good philosophy for us all, I'd say.
Given the success and popularity of the Steve Martin created "Only Murders in the Building", I couldn't help but zero in on some performance/life traits that Martin Short brings to the character he plays. I also noted that he has a son who shares the name Oliver, Short's show name. The character is a bit of an oddball, aren't we all, but as Short notes in the book, written well before the show was created, oddball characters are often sweet, empathetic, and agreeable. It's the innocence in a character that strikes actor Short. While he definitely ascribes to the theory that, yeah, more can be fun, he also tries not to telegraph or oversell the character. Just as with his general life philosophy, he strives for that balance. As he notes in the book, any performance has in it the chance for danger, fun, and even anarchy.
The end of the book, while dealing with the lose of his wife to cancer, somehow manages to also strike that often precarious balance. It circles back to the death of his mother, who kept the seriousness of the disease from him as long as possible, thus illustrating his seeming need to somehow protect Nancy from the truth of her diagnosis as long as possible. His reaction and that of their children is enough to bring tears to the eyes. At the time, he tells Steve Martin that he is shattered. That said, the optimistic side of him seems to have won out, with not just imagined chats with her on the deck of their snug getaway but in the way his friends circle about him. As he recalls, it's a quote from his late brother that seems to bring peace: "I'll see you in a fleeting moment."
Funny, sad, and with lots of name dropping, this book should be a must for fans of both Short's past and present work. It'll make you look at him with new eyes.
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