Hollywood stars, fans defend Hamilton comedy legend Martin Short

Is legendary, Hamilton-born comedian Martin Short the most annoying actor on Earth?

After an online opinion piece explored that question, fans and famous supporters of the 73-year-old actor flooded social media with posts defending Short and even making him a trending topic over the weekend.

Dan Kois wrote the piece on Slate.com, an online magazine of news, politics, technology and culture, on Sept. 8 with the headline, “Why We Keep Putting Up With Martin Short.”

Kois lists his reasons for questioning Short’s talents — he thinks Short will desperately do anything for a laugh and he finds almost all the “over-the-top” characters he played — such as Ed Grimley with the Second City Toronto comedy troupe — “unbelievably annoying.” 

“I find Martin Short’s whole schtick exhausting, sweaty, and desperately unfunny. Throughout his evolution from sketch-comedy standout to uneasy movie star to twice-failed talk-show host to enthusiastic song-and-dance man, I’ve wrinkled my nose,” wrote Kois, a writer, editor and podcaster who lives in Arlington, Virginia.

Famous friends and fans swiftly defended Short on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Just got wind of that ridiculously laughable op-ed about Marty Short. After 50 years in the world of comedy there is one thing I know for certain – no one is faster, smarter, or funnier than Marty Short. He is the definition of funny!” wrote award-winning actor and Second City Toronto alumnus Eugene Levy (@Realeugenelevy) on X. 

A fan named Beth Merrill (@BethM874) wrote that it was a case of “any publicity is good publicity” for the writer. “It seems to me that this person just wanted attention, which he got. His op-ed is slowly getting to everyone and whether positive or negative, he’s causing a stir. “

“Well I’ll say one thing for this absolute disaster of an “article:” for one brief shining moment, it brought the entire country together, united in their love and appreciation for #MartinShort,” wrote a fan (@qate).

“Martin Short is a comedic genius. End o story,” wrote comedian Ben Stiller (@BenStiller).

“Hard to believe people are actually debating whether or not Martin Short is funny. Newsflash: He is HILARIOUS,” wrote Star Wars actor Mark Hamill (@MarkHamill), who added the hashtag #ComicGenius.

“I don’t know what people are on about re Martin short – But his mr rodgers boxing Match is my fav,” American actor John Cusack (@johncusack) wrote, referring to a character Short played in the SCTV Network comedy sketch TV show.

Despite Kois’s jabs, Kois concluded that Short was in fact ” basically a nice, decent guy” who would find haters like him boring as a dinner companion.

Short was nominated for an Emmy for the second straight year for his starring role in the Hulu murder-mystery comedy series Only Murders in The Building.

The former Hamiltonian won his first Emmy for Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program in 1983 for his work on Canada’s SCTV Network on NBC. That led to Short’s big breakout role on Saturday Night Live, where he won many fans for portraying characters such as Grimley, lawyer Nathan Thurm and famous songwriter Irving Cohen, according to online entertainment website IMDb.