Steve Martin and Martin Short – An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life

Since their first collaboration on Three Amigos 36 years ago, Steve Martin and Martin Short have kept audiences laughing. Remaining close friends since then, these multi-hyphenate creatives have collaborated on numerous projects and comedy tours together, such as their Netflix special An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life.

A Tribute to the Late Maya Rudolph

As an homage to The Carol Burnett Show – widely considered one of the great variety shows ever aired from 1967-1978 – NBC debuted a modern take on it on May 31 featuring Martin Short and Maya Rudolph hosting musical numbers, celebrity guests, comedy sketches and their impressive improvisational skills in a new comedy/variety show called Modern Take on Classic Variety Show.

Longtime friends since first appearing together in 1986’s Three Amigos!, these longstanding actors have worked closely together ever since; from movies and tours together to costarring on Hulu’s hit comedy show Only Murders in the Building.

As part of their show’s opening segment, Short and Rudolph invited out a diverse choir of Broadway stars to sing a tribute song to Orlando victims of last weekend’s shooting spree. Singing a cover version of Burt Bacharach and Hal David’s classic tune “What the World Needs Now Is Love”, images of Stonewall Inn and Pulse nightclub flashed onscreen simultaneously while they performed this cover version of Burt Bacharach/Hal David classic song was performed.

The Three Amigos

One generation of viewers became acquainted with these three comic actors through various film roles: Gen Xers recall them as Lucky Day, Dusty Bottoms and Ned Nederlander recruited to fight Mexican gangsters in Three Amigos while millennials recognize them from Father of the Bride movies as uptight father (Martin) and flamboyantly accented wedding planner (Short).

Martin and Short have long been close on and off-screen, featuring in numerous comedy productions together and touring together on multiple tours. Additionally, they were there for each other during major milestones, like Martin receiving his 2015 AFI Life Achievement Award, with Short delivering an entertaining speech in celebration of his friend. Plus they even spent vacation time together – it’s no wonder their friendship remains top comedians decades later; having met during filming of Three Amigos!

Only Murders in the Building

Martin and Short are no longer the slapstick duo they once were, yet their brand of humor remains timeless. And they still deliver it, performing stand-up comedy in theaters across America (perhaps near your town? ).

Introvert Deadpan and extrovert Short are an incredible duo; when performing as a team (“We’re like Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un without sexual tension”), the result is electric.

As Charles, Oliver and Mabel remain embroiled in a murder mystery, newcomers Eugene Levy, Eva Longoria and Zach Galifianakis join them. However, it’s Martin and Short’s dynamic that makes this show tick; their shared expertise lies in subverting show business pleasantries while simultaneously having great fun doing it – their enthusiasm is infectious!

The Jerk

Martin & Short are two of comedy’s enduring figures, having amassed fans through decades as performers and collaborators on film, TV, and live performances. Now both in their 70s, they share five children between them.

The Jerk, Martin’s most successful film to date, offers an unflinching and crude examination of family dynamics and the effects of money on relationships and lives. Co-written by Carl Gottlieb and Michael Elias of Parenthood fame as well as two Father of the Bride films where Martin himself appeared alongside Goldie Hawn as co-star, it earned rave reviews upon release.

Morgan Neville’s Apple TV+ documentary STEVE! chronicles Steve Martin’s rise from small-time comedian to stadium-packing cultural phenomenon. While many of Martin’s contemporaries were engaging in political satire and commentary post Vietnam and Watergate America, Steve was known for being full of force-of-nature wit which would culminate in The Jerk.