Martin Short “Was Terrified” ‘SNL’ Would Be Canceled During His Run

Although Martin Short made a splash during his brief run on Saturday Night Live, he constantly had one foot out the door.

The 3x Golden Globe nominee, who returns to host SNL this weekend with musical guest Hozier, recently admitted that he “was terrified every show” during his tenure as a cast member on the NBC sketch comedy show.

“This is really bizarre. I was a cast member 40 years ago,” Short noted on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, explaining that he “had a one-year contract because it was a very weird year” following Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo’s exits.

“And they thought the show was going to be canceled,” he continued. “So, Dick Ebersol, who was running it then, not Lorne, called it ‘the George Steinbrenner year.'”

Short added, “I was terrified every show. I treated it like a special. In fact, during the fourth show, on the Tuesday I went in to try to quit. Being Canadian and savvy, I said to Dick Ebersol, ‘I haven’t cashed any checks yet.’ And he said, ‘Well, you do have a contract, and if you leave now, we’ll look bad and you’ll look bad. But if you stay to Christmas, I’ll let you out of your contract.’ Because he later told me, if I made it to Christmas, I would have figured out how to do the show. But it was always nerve-wracking to me.”

Short was a cast member on Season 10 of SNL from 1984 to 1985, reviving several characters he previously originated on Canada’s Second City Television, including Ed Grimley. He’s since returned to SNL on several occasions.

Created by Lorne Michaels in 1975, Saturday Night Live will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a primetime special on Sunday, Feb. 16.