The son of a steel-executive father and concert violinist mother, Ontario native Martin Short attended McMasters University, where he graduated in 1972 with a degree in social work. If you haven't spotted Short at your local youth center or settlement house, it's because he decided to pursue a performing career, encouraged by his fellow McMasters classmates Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas. Making his professional debut in a 1973 Toronto production of Godspell, Short joined Levy and Thomas at the Second City improv troupe in Edmonton, Alberta in 1977. Two years later, Short made his first film, Lost and Found, and also co-starred on the critically lauded but little-seen American sitcom The Associates. It was while appearing on SCTV Network 90 from 1982 through 1983 and Saturday Night Live from 1984 through 1985.