Talking with Martin Short

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Of his friend Martin Short, Tom Hanks once said, "Marty operates at the speed of joy." Is that true? "You know, I don't analyze myself," said Short. "If that's his review for me, I'll accept it. But I think I do have the happy gene. And I think my orientation is to be happy."

For more than 50 years, he's been a bright spot on any stage or screen, with that crazy energy and that singular smile. And when you know what Martin Short has endured in private, his sunny attitude is all the more astonishing.

He's now the subject of a new documentary film out this week. "Marty: Life Is Short" was directed by Hollywood legend and family friend Lawrence Kasdan, who said Short needed to be prodded a bit to do it. "It was not a natural instinct of his to want it; he's not like that," Kasdan said. "I had to sell him on it. I had to lie to him, tell him how much I loved him and I would never hurt him." Kasdan also used hours of home movies with Short's pals, like Hanks, Kurt Russell and Steven Spielberg.

But with all of the good times, it seems Short had more than his share of bad. The youngest of five, Martin was 12 when his older brother was killed in a car accident, and he was still in his teens when both of his parents died.

Asked what that taught him about grief and loss, Short said, "What it developed in me was this muscle of survival and handling grief and a perspective on it."

He said it also gave him a bravery to put himself out on stage: "I think if you've gone through that, an audience not liking you is really not that important anymore."

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/martin-short-facing-tragedy-with-joy/