When Martin Short's long TV career was just getting started

The crew over at CBC Arts has compiled a list ofThe 22 Artists Who Salvaged 2022, and among them is Canadian actor and comedian Martin Short for his work with Steve Martin and Selena Gomez in the Hulu series Only Murders in the Building.

On Dec. 10, Short and Martin hosted Saturday Night Live a homecoming of sorts for the pair: Short was a cast member in the 1980s, and Martin has been a frequent host since the 1970s. (Short has also hosted alone.)

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Only Murders in the Building is just the latest act in Short's long TV career, which has taken him from being a player on the legendary Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV in the '80s to a judge on Canada's Got Talent in 2012, among many other credits for acting and voice work.

But before that, Short appeared on CTV's The David Steinberg Show as the character Johnny Del Bravo, a nightclub singer who couldn't sing.

Steinberg is a Winnipeg-born comedian who had sometimes filled in for American talk show host Johnny Carson. He was guest-hosting CBC's Canada After Dark in early 1979 when he and Short reunited for the first time since Steinberg's own talk show ended in 1977.

"I actually just left Second City," said Short. "I just left two weeks ago after being there for two years."

Watch the video below to hear Short tell an anecdote about how the fictional Del Bravo character led to a real-life misconception for a newspaper reporter who proposed a profile of him.

Short stuff

Martin Short moves on from Second City

46 years ago

Duration 2:50

On CBC's Canada After Dark in early 1979, the young comedian tells guest host David Steinberg he's just left the Toronto comedy revue.