Martin Short tells his favourite joke
Martin Short is a true stalwart in the world of comedy. Across five years in the industry, Short has appeared in some of the most beloved films and TV series of all time, winning two Primetime Emmy Awards along the way. Amongst his appearances are some of the finest sketches on Saturday Night Live and features in Three Amigos and Three Fugitives.
Short’s knowledge of comedy is unrivalled, so we ought to listen to his favourite joke of all time. The joke goes like this (via Variety): “I was in premed, and I remember one time I was doing rounds, and a guy had been in a motorcycle accident and broken his jaw — it was all wired shut — and he said: [Muffled sounds.] They say, ‘Well, we have to feed you through the back door.’ So they flipped him over on his stomach, and they put a funnel in his ass.”
It continues: “He says, ‘Well, I’m kind of hungry. What’s for lunch?’ They say, ‘We have roast beef, broccoli, a baked potato, and hot chocolate.’ [Muffled sounds of agreement.] So they pour it down the funnel, and he goes, ‘OH!’ And they said, ‘Too hot?’ and he said, ‘Too sweet!’”
Short was asked how he felt about the fact that it seems like a lot of his source material is derived from show business. He responded: “I’m not really making fun of it at all. I mean, I know it looks like I’m making fun of it, and I’m satirising it because you satirise what you know.”
He added: “And I know it’s show business, but when I go on [late-night TV] and make fun of Dave Letterman or pretend to fawn over Fallon, what’s really fun is to see their reaction because we’re all friends and they know it’s me.”
Another actor with whom Short has a history is Steve Martin, who also derives much of his comedy from the world of show business. When asked whether or not he saw any differences between himself and Martin, despite the similarity of their work, Short said he didn’t feel like that at all. “He was making fun of show business, I was making fun of show business, he said. “But I think there’s no big difference. Because he was watching Johnny Carson, and I was watching Johnny Carson, he was watching Ed Sullivan, and I was watching Ed Sullivan. We were products of television. And it doesn’t matter what city — you’re watching the same program.”
