comedian Martin Short Brings hilarious characters to Paramount

Media Contact:

Kristen Gleason
Director of Marketing
The Paramount Theater
215 East Main Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.979.1922 ext. 103
kristen@theparamount.net

For Immediate Release

March 5, 2008

A master of improv and king of zany entrances, Emmy and Tony Award-winning comedian Martin Short is acclaimed for his many memorable appearances on stage and screen. From SCTV and Saturday Night Live to Three Amigos and Father of the Bride, Short is instantly recognized for his standout performances and on-the-mark impressions with characters such as Ed Grimley, legendary songwriter Irving Cohen, and the “Round Mound of Hollywood Sound,” Jiminy Glick.

In a musical evening complete with songs, sketches, and videos, Martin Short will bring his creations to life in one hilarious performance at The Paramount Theater on Thursday, March 20 at 8 pm.

This performance is sponsored by Janet & Gray Ferguson. Special Media Sponsor is Generations 102.3 and 94.1 -- Music for Your Generation.

Born in Ontario, Martin Short began his career on Canada's SCTV Comedy Network, where his work garnered an Emmy Award. Short's proven ability as a comedic chameleon, and his host of hilarious impressions, brought him to the attention of Lorne Michaels and Saturday Night Live. Short established himself in one short season with characters Ed Grimley, Jackie Rogers Jr., Irving Cohen, and lawyer Nathan Thurm, and quickly crossed over into feature film work.

Short made his big screen debut in Three Amigos, working alongside former Saturday Night Live colleagues Chevy Chase and Steve Martin. He’s continued to land plum comedic roles in theatrical releases such as Inner Space with Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan, Tim Burton's Mars Attacks, and Jungle to Jungle with Tim Allen, with his perhaps his most memorable role that of scene-stealing Franck the wedding planner in the Father of the Bride series of films.

Short has continued his comedy work; writing, producing, and starring in three highly acclaimed comedy specials for television -- Martin Short's Concert for the North Americas, (Showtime), I Martin Short, Goes Hollywood, (NBC), and The Show Formerly Known As The Martin Short Show, (also NBC), which won two Cable Ace awards and an Emmy Award, respectively.

In the fall of 1999, Short combined his comedic, musical, and improvisational talents as host of the daily talk/variety program, The Martin Short Show, which garnered seven Emmy nominations.

A theater veteran in Canada and on Broadway, Short’s stage work includes the Broadway production of The Goodbye Girl, the Neil Simon/Colemon Broadway production of Little Me (for which he won the 1999 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical), Mel Brooks’ critically acclaimed The Producers (starring with Jason Alexander), and Fame Becomes Me, A Musical Comedy, which he wrote (with musical score by Marc Shaiman). Fame Becomes Me ran on Broadway from August 2006 through January 2007.

In 2001, Short created fictitious character Jiminy Glick, a “Hollywood legend and celebrity interviewer” derived from The Martin Short Show.  Starring in Primetime Glick for Comedy Central, Short was nominated for an Emmy (Best Performer in a Musical, Comedy or Variety Show) in the show’s third and final season. Glick’s character returned for the film Jiminy Glick in La La Wood, which Short wrote in 2005.

Called “one of the funniest men alive” by the Chicago Sun-Times’ Roger Ebert, recognized by critics and the public alike, Short’s incredible career has also been acknowledged in his homeland with induction into the Canadian Walk of Fame and with the "Order of Canada" (the Canadian equivalent to British Knighthood), given for his contributions to Canadian culture.

Tickets are still available for Martin Short’s Paramount performance on Thursday, March 20. Seats are $64.50, $74.50, $89.50, and $99.50. Half-price student rush tickets and group discounts are available.

Tickets are available online or through The Paramount’s Box Office at 434.979.1333.