In roles ranging from the queeny wedding planner Franck in the 1991 romantic comedy Father of the Bride to his most recent one as the ever-so-stylish but struggling Broadway director-turned-true-crime-podcaster Oliver in Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building, Martin Short has never shied away from playing eccentric and flamboyant characters.
Thus, it is simple to understand why Martin Short is frequently mistaken for a gay man. We examine some of Short’s most recognisable queer-coded characters in this article to see if the actor genuinely identifies with them.
Who Is Martin Short?
Veteran actor and comedian Martin Short is known for creating classic characters for sketch shows like Saturday Night Live and Second City Television (SCTV).
Improv Beginnings
Short joined the SCTV cast in 1982 after spending a number of years playing with The Second City improv troupe in Toronto, Canada. iconic SCTV characters with limited development, such as the endearing eccentric Ed Grimley and the geriatric singer Irving Cohen. Short worked as a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1984 until 1985.
Short only spent a brief time on Saturday Night Live, but he is well known for being one of the cast members that worked to revive the show after Eddie Murphy left in 1984. The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley, an animated sitcom, was offered to Ed Grimley by the time he departed Saturday Night Live. As a result, Grimley became the sole SCTV and SNL character to have his own animation.
Other Film & TV Shows
SNL, along with many other widely watched comedy programmes, contributed in the start of Short’s TV and film careers. In the 1980s and 1990s, Short made a lot of funny cameos in movies and TV shows like Three Amigos, Innerspace, Mars Attacks!, The Martin Short Show, and Primetime Glick.
Short’s Career Today
One of the funniest men in Hollywood today is still Short. He co-stars with Selena Gomez and longtime friend and frequent collaborator Steve Martin in the murder mystery comedy Only Murders in the Building, which is available on Hulu.
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Is Martin Short Gay?
Given his assortment of eccentric and colourful personas, it is easy to see why Martin Short is commonly mistaken for being gay. In his most recent production of Only Murders, Short plays Oliver, a former productive Broadway director. With his constant use of patterned robes and scarves, Oliver is undoubtedly the best representation of a queer-coded Broadway director ever made.
The creator of the sitcom, John Hoffman, has not explicitly said whether Oliver is in fact gay. But he did add that, as a theatre student, he was inspired by the many Olivers he met at school, some of whom were homosexual and others of whom weren’t. He’s been around for a while. Will we talk about Oliver’s relationships and other unsurprising tales? Hoffman went on to say that I wouldn’t rule that out.
Another queer-coded character that Short is well recognised for portraying is Franck, the fantastic wedding planner who leaves Steve Martin’s character in Father of the Bride baffled and mystified by his thick German accent. Who will ever forget Franck’s boisterous “Helloooooo”? The irony of Franck is that Short never wanted to make him out to be gay. In an interview with Pride Source, Short stated, “My eye goes to odd conduct or heightened behaviour or weird behaviour or just humorous behaviour.”
However, there is a difference between identifying as homos*xual (or bi) and portraying many fantastic and queer(-coded) characters. He is a performer after all. Are they, Martin Short? Martin Short’s sexual orientation, whether straight or gay, remains unproven. He was married to comedian and singer Nancy Dolman for 30 years before she passed away from ovarian cancer in 2010. He also had a failed two-year relationship with actress and former Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner before to getting married.
We understand that just because someone has married a woman in the past doesn’t automatically mean they can’t be gay or bi. However, as Short hasn’t previously revealed having any romantic connections, any assumptions regarding his sexual orientation at this point is merely speculative. In addition, he once claimed to have a bad gaydar! Short claimed that it is frequently very difficult to recognise LGBT people in an interview with Pride Source. I’ve encountered several straight, honest people who are effeminate. Then the reverse occurs.
Conclusion
Listen to Short: Someone is not necessarily gay just because they are effeminate or play roles with gay or queer themes. Gender expression, sexual orientation, and gender identity are all separate from one another. In the end, Short is a wonderful comic actor who has a keen sense of what makes a character funny, gay or straight.