Bette Davis not being amused by Martin Short

I’m not amused by him either, TBH. His career peaked with The Three Amigos FFS.

He was great on Carson. I've always heard he's not such a nice guy. Not sure what the deal is with that. I saw him at The Greek with Steve Martin a couple of years ago. They were fantastic. They are good friends I hear.

Bette Davis was right.

I find Short insufferable. A little of him goes a long way. I found him much like Robin Williams in interview, just overbearing (However I loved watching Williams on film).

Martin Short irritates the fuck out of me. Team Bette.

(With the huge exception of Jiminy Glick. That shit was hysterical. )

To be fair, most of her face didn't move after the stroke. And she had just sharted a little.

Does he ever credit Skip E. Lowe for inspiring Jiminy Glick?

Short's best character was Nathan Thurm. Loved it!

I don’t blame her. I watched just a few minutes and couldn’t stand to watch anymore. He’s like a hyperactive, exhausting toddler desperate for attention.

I had forgotten how awful he is/was. The people he imitates are the same people everyone imitates, because they're so pronounced and distinctive. Hepburn? Davis? Hell, when I drink too much even I can do them. Bette was right, "We'll just skip it then"

R8, His Nathan Hepburn was hilarious.

Robin and Martin do give off a similar energy.

But Robin never believed he was god's gift to manic comedy. (In fact, Robin often seemed embarrassed by his own frenetic nature.)

Martin clearly does. Which makes him even more irritating.

Oh, yeah. Robin seemed really embarrassed when he'd go into his gay hairdresser routine. So embarrassed.

Bette should've made Short her ashtray.

Short has gotten much better with age. When he was younger, he could be really hard to take. When he was doing something like Ed Grimley his hyperactivity worked well, but with the celebrity impressions or in movies like Three Amigos, he was exhausting. I didn't really like him until Jiminy Glick and even then he could get too far in the weeds with the character and become tiresome.

R13, I meant when he wasn't performing. After the fact, you know?

More importantly, I assume Robin's gay hairdresser routine is triggering for you?

If so, I hope you find the peace you so deserve.

Haven any of you had one of Jiminy's four sons?

I've heard stories that Short has become a bigger asshole with time. And as he's palled around with weightier names like Steve Martin, Lorne Michaels, Tom Hanks, etc. Someone wrote on here he was a total nightmare on Celebrity Jeopardy.

It sucks as I appreciate Jiminy Glick more than anything. And I actually think he's one of the great talk show guests. But no one likes a prick. Even a funny one.

This is actually one of his best late night appearances. He recounts the whole Bette Davis story (it's way funnier in the retelling) but also some priceless bits flying with a latter day Lucy and Gary Morton.

In comments on the video, someone says it was Rob Reiner who bet Martin Short he wouldn't have the guts to do a Bette Davis impression in front of Bette herself. That makes it funnier.

I was only able to get through half of r19's video. He just wears me out

Ummm I don’t think I ever realized how long he’s been in the business… he’s been around my entire life, but it never registered just how long he’s been around until I saw him next to Bette Davis.

he's 71, Davis died in 1989, you're a moron

His best interview was when Kathie Lee inquired about his wife . . . not realizing she was deceased.

I love Martin Short and am part of the cult of Clifford.

Why did they make Bette suffer through that? When her part was over she should have gone home.

r25 I've dealt with bigger bitches than Ms Short in my time

Never could stand him, especially that Ed Grimley shit.

What happened on Celebrity Jeopardy?

I’ve also heard he’s an asshole.

Sad about his wife dying though. He really seemed to love her.

R22 I was born in 1986. Sorry, but I wasn’t around for her career.

R12- Except for the fact that Martin Short is a big QUEEN

Davis should have withdrawn from the business after her stroke(s). She truly wasn’t herself anymore. The creepy thing is that Short’s impression was of a Davis she no longer was. You have to respect her work ethic, but her tools for being an actress and personality had disappeared.

It’s also terrible the way she was styled post stroke. She had always been a ‘practical’ dresser in real life, but suddenly she was some sort of Bob Mackie version of Joan Collins on Dynasty. The last couple years of her acting and public appearances were depressing.

And I think Short is a funny guy. You have to realize that almost all comics are complete assholes in real life. It’s a very weird phenomenon but true. So you can’t judge a comedian by their real life behavior. He was hilarious on SCTV. And as someone above pointed out, Nathan Thurm is one of the funniest invented out of nowhere characters in all of comedy. Short has some of the same type of talent that Ernie Kovacs had.

"You have to realize that almost all comics are complete assholes in real life. It’s a very weird phenomenon but true. "

One of the few true statements made on DL. I've known a number of comedians over the years due to my job and it's remarkable what shits they tend to be. Most of all, they're angry. Really, really angry -- that's the energy that drives them forward, their constant fury at the world, and then their creative ability to turn that anger into humor.

The other thing about comedians: they're never funny in real life. That anger, combined with their constant need to be the funniest person around even when they're not funny at all, and then their insatiable desire to be the center of attention, makes them the worst possible of guests at a dinner or a party.

Never meet a comedian.

[quote]I've dealt with bigger bitches than Ms Short in my time

I did it the hard way!

I read that biography she wrote years ago. It was beyond strange with a chapter written by her assistant. "Kath", I believe. They both interviewed cooks and claimed they would try and serve her (gasp) Stouffers on the sly. Parts of it bordered on comedy.

She had just made mincemeat of Faye Dunaway in the same interview, so Martin Short must have seemed like easy prey.

Yes, it was sad seeing the effects of the stroke on Davis. Yet she still had her sharp wit and gave us good performances in As Summers Die and The Whales of August.

This 'n That was a memoir, r35. It was hardly "beyond strange". She had basically covered her life already in The Lonely Life and Mother Goddam.

I found it beyond strange, R38, so learn to tolerate another opinion or go talk to the other cult members. Everyone's such a grown up these days.

"Beyond strange" and "cult members", r39?

[quote] One of the few true statements made on DL. I've known a number of comedians over the years due to my job and it's remarkable what shits they tend to be. Most of all, they're angry. Really, really angry -- that's the energy that drives them forward, their constant fury at the world, and then their creative ability to turn that anger into humor

On Seinfeld’s Comedians Getting Coffee In Cars show, I can count on one hand how many guests were normal and assured and fine with their lives. One of them was Jay Leno. And I think the reason is that his existence is pretty simplified. He drives one of his 7 million cars to work, and he enjoys doing stand up all the time, and he funds his wife’s charitable ventures. If lockdown has taught us anything, it’s that knowing yourself is the key.

The rest, though? Holy fuck, what a pack of mean, awkward, self-loathing, weird creeps. Amy Schumer was bumbling and sour. Bill Maher hates himself. Chris Rock considers himself a phony but doesn’t think we realise it.

What a depressing show.

But ya ah a twerp Marty!

Kathy Griffin is a nice person and seems pretty stable.

Jay can afford to buy Newport digs...furnished, r41. He should be happy.

Jay Leno is ridiculously rich and notoriously cheap. He barely eats out to avoid spending too much, even though he’s worth hundreds of millions.

He is only willing to splurge on certain things, like cars.

^ ... And mansions filled with antiques

Who actually lives in a mansion in Newport? It's like living in Colonial Williamsburg.

I’ve only heard good things about Martin Short. I don’t think he has received the acclaim he is due. Maybe he’ll have the good fortune of George Burns - who gained greater appreciation in his later years - and enjoy a long & healthy life.

Did he cause that plastic surgeon to off himself?

Marty's pretty effective on "Only Murders in the Building". Occasionally he lets that grating shtick set in, but it's good latter-day casting.