Martin Short is the latest Saturday Night Live alum to get the documentary treatment.
The life and career of the comedy icon will be chronicled Marty, Life Is Short, a new docu due out on Netflix in May. Per Netflix, the film draws from “beautiful, intimate, never-before-seen archive footage” to create the “definitive documentary” of the comedian.
The film makes Short the latest name on a growing list of SNL cast members to get their own documentaries. The past few months alone have seen the release of films about Chevy Chase (I’m Chevy Chase and You’re Not), Eddie Murphy (Being Eddie), and Jim Downey (Downey Wrote That). Other SNL players to be captured in docs include John Belushi (Belushi), Chris Farley (I Am Chris Farley), Gilda Radner (Love, Gilda), and Darrell Hammond (Cracked Up).
After several seasons on the sketch comedy series SCTV, Short landed in the cast of SNL in 1984, for the show’s 10th season. Despite departing after just one year, he has become a key part of the show’s extended family. In addition to hosting five times, Short has made nearly a dozen cameos on SNL, and appeared in both the 40th and 50th anniversary specials.
Marty, Life Is Short will get a red-carpet premiere at Los Angeles’ Egyptian Theatre as part of the Netflix Is a Joke Fest, which is scheduled to run Monday, May 4 through Sunday, May 10. It will then stream on Netflix beginning Tuesday, May 12.
Marty, Life Is Short is directed by Lawrence Kasdan—a rare documentary project for the director best known for The Big Chill, Body Heat, and his writing credits in the Star Wars franchise. Kasdan directed Short in the 1999 comedy Mumford. Ron Howard and Brian Grazer serve as executive producers on the project.
