Editing Martin Short (section)

=== 1972–1976: Early theatrical and Canadian television work ===
As Short was about to graduate from [[McMaster University]], rather than immediately pursuing a career in social work, he moved to [[Toronto]] with intention of temporarily giving acting a shot.<ref name="vanity-fair-i-must-say">{{cite news|first=Martin|last=Short|url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/10/martin-short-memoir-i-must-say|title=Comedy Legend Martin Short Recalls His Start in Showbiz|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20230603191209/https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2014/10/martin-short-memoir-i-must-say|archivedate=June 3, 2023|work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|date=9 October 2014|access-date=24 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Right away, in March 1972, he landed his first piece of paid work as an actor: playing a plastic [[credit card]] inside a woman's purse in a [[Chargex]] television commercial.<ref name="vanity-fair-i-must-say"/> He was then cast by [[Stephen Schwartz (composer)|Stephen Schwartz]] for the new 1972 production of the [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] hit ''[[Godspell]]'' being prepared at Toronto's [[Royal Alexandra Theatre]].<ref name=moviestimes>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/martin-short |title=Martin Short Biography at New York Times |access-date=August 26, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071205164854/http://movies.nytimes.com/person/65439/Martin-Short |archive-date=December 5, 2007 |department=Movies & TV Dept. |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=2007}}</ref> Among other members of that production's cast were [[Victor Garber]], [[Gilda Radner]], [[Eugene Levy]], [[Dave Thomas (actor)|Dave Thomas]], [[Andrea Martin]], [[Jayne Eastwood]], and Gerry Salsberg; [[Paul Shaffer]] was the [[musical director]].<ref name=tcmbio>{{cite news|author=|url=http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/176806%7C0/Martin-Short/milestones.html|title=Martin Short Milestones at TCM|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131005011611/http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/176806%7C0/Martin-Short/milestones.html|archivedate=5 October 2013|url-status=dead|agency=TCM.com|date=|access-date= August 26, 2013}}</ref> As stated by Short in his 2014 [[memoir]] as well as in the 2018 documentary ''[[Love, Gilda]]'', he and [[Gilda Radner]] [[On-again, off-again relationship|dated each other on and off]] during that time.<ref name="msnbc-i-must-say">{{cite news|first=Martin|last=Short|url=https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/excerpt-martin-shorts-i-must-say-msna451056|title=An excerpt from Martin Short's "I Must Say"|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231012051923/https://www.msnbc.com/morning-joe/excerpt-martin-shorts-i-must-say-msna451056|archivedate=October 12, 2023|agency=MSNBC.com|date=4 November 2014|access-date=24 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref>

Short subsequently found work in several Canadian television shows and theatrical productions. These included being cast for the role of a tough, sexually predatory prison inmate in the 1972 staging of [[John Herbert (playwright)|John Herbert]]'s drama ''[[Fortune and Men's Eyes]]'' that had the upstart twenty-two-year-old actor commuting back to his hometown [[Hamilton, Ontario]].<ref name=tcmbio/><ref name="msnbc-i-must-say"/> With the success of ''Godspell'' at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in [[downtown Toronto]], by late 1972, the production moved uptown to the Bayview Playhouse where it ran for 488 performances.<ref>{{cite news|first=Terry|last=Fallis|url=https://leasidelife.com/remember-when-godspell-reigned-on-bayview/|title=Remember when Godspell reigned on Bayview?|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20231028145103/https://leasidelife.com/remember-when-godspell-reigned-on-bayview/|archivedate=October 28, 2023|agency=LeasideLife.com|date=1 August 2021|access-date=24 May 2023|url-status=live}}</ref> Young Short's increased stage profile led to a guest spot on ''[[Right On (TV series)|Right On]]'', a [[teen]]-focused live program airing weekly in the [[After-school activity|after-school timeslot]] on the [[Government of Canada|government]]-funded [[CBC Television|CBC TV]].<ref>{{cite news|first=John|last=Corcelli|url=https://broadcasting-history.ca/programming/television/programming_popup.php?id=1130|title=Right On|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20061010124647/https://broadcasting-history.ca/programming/television/programming_popup.php?id=1130|archivedate=10 October 2006|url-status=dead|agency=Broadcast-History.ca|date=September 2005|access-date=24 May 2023}}</ref> He also played the role of Smokey the Hare on the [[TVOntario]] daytime kids' program ''[[Cucumber (Canadian TV series)|Cucumber]]''.

In June 1973, with ''Godspell'' winding down and Chicago's Second City improv comedy theatre starting up a sister company in Toronto, many of Short's ''Godspell'' peers (his girlfriend Radner, in addition to Levy, Eastwood, and Salsberg) as well as the rest of his social circle ([[Valri Bromfield]] and [[Dan Aykroyd]]) successfully joined the [[List of alumni of the Second City|new troupe's first cast]].<ref name="vanity-fair-i-must-say"/> Short, on the other hand, resisted auditioning due to feeling a "phobia of being funny on demand" and considering himself a "traditional song-and-dance performer".<ref name="vanity-fair-i-must-say"/>

In 1974, Short was hired as a writer on ''[[Everything Goes (Canadian TV series)|Everything Goes]]'', a nightly variety show hosted by [[Norm Crosby]], [[Mike Darow]], and [[Catherine McKinnon]]. Produced by and aired on [[Global Television Network]], broadcasting only to [[Southern Ontario]] as a newly launched regional grouping of television stations, the show lasted less than six months before being cancelled.