The enduring comedic partnership of Steve Martin and Martin Short is currently experiencing an unprecedented renaissance, captivating new audiences while delighting long-time fans with a mix of fresh material and classic banter. As of December 18, 2025, the legendary duo is dominating both the small screen and the national stage, cementing their status as one of the most beloved and successful pairings in entertainment history. The latest buzz centers on their highly anticipated new live tour and the continued success of their award-winning Hulu series.
Their creative synergy, built over decades of friendship and collaboration, has never been stronger. With a major US tour scheduled through 2026 and a fifth season of *Only Murders in the Building* generating significant awards buzz, including 2025 Golden Globe nominations, it is a truly golden era for the two comedy titans. This article dives into their recent projects, provides a comprehensive look at their careers, and explores the history of their iconic, decades-spanning friendship.
The Legends' Legacy: A Dual Biography
The foundation of the Martin and Short phenomenon lies in their respective, highly successful solo careers. While their styles—Martin’s absurdist, intellectual wit versus Short’s high-energy, character-driven comedy—are distinct, they blend perfectly into a unique, hysterical joint act.
Steve Martin: The Wild and Crazy Guy
- Full Name: Stephen Glenn Martin
- Born: August 14, 1945, Waco, Texas, U.S.
- Key Career Highlights:
- Began his career as a writer for *The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour*, winning an Emmy Award in 1969.
- Pioneered stadium-filling stand-up comedy in the 1970s with his "Wild and Crazy Guy" persona.
- Successful transition to film with classics like *The Jerk* (1979), *Planes, Trains and Automobiles* (1987), *Parenthood* (1989), and *Father of the Bride* (1991).
- An accomplished musician, specializing in the banjo, which he frequently incorporates into his comedy acts, often accompanied by The Steep Canyon Rangers.
- Recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and an honorary Academy Award.
Martin Short: The Canadian Comedy Dynamo
- Full Name: Martin Hayter Short
- Born: March 26, 1950, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
- Key Career Highlights:
- Began his professional career in a 1972 Toronto production of *Godspell*.
- Gained prominence as a key member of the Canadian sketch comedy series *SCTV*.
- Joined *Saturday Night Live* (SNL) in 1984, creating iconic characters such as the hyperactive man-child Ed Grimley and the smarmy celebrity interviewer Jiminy Glick.
- A Tony Award and Emmy Award winner, demonstrating his versatility across stage and screen.
- Known for his boundless energy and gift for physical comedy, a perfect foil for Martin’s deadpan delivery.
The 2025/2026 Comedy Renaissance: Tour and Television
The duo’s current schedule is packed with high-profile engagements, proving their appeal spans generations and mediums. Their recent work is fresh, unique, and highly acclaimed, making them more relevant than ever.
*Only Murders in the Building* Season 5 and Awards Buzz
The Hulu series *Only Murders in the Building* (OMITB), co-starring Selena Gomez, has been the defining project of their current era. The show, which follows a trio of true-crime podcast enthusiasts solving murders in their Upper West Side apartment building, the Arconia, was announced for a fifth season on September 4, 2024.
The series continues to receive critical praise for its sharp writing, witty mystery plots, and, most importantly, the incredible chemistry between Martin (as Charles-Haden Savage) and Short (as Oliver Putnam). The show’s success led to multiple major nominations in the 2025 awards cycle, including Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for the series and the stars.
The show’s latest season, which has been hailed as "Funnier Than Ever," successfully took a gamble on new narrative directions, proving the concept has deep creative longevity.
The "Dukes of Funnytown" Tour Dates
Beyond the screen, Martin and Short are taking their live show, "The Best of Steve Martin & Martin Short: Dukes of Funnytown," across the United States and Canada throughout 2025 and into 2026.
The tour is a signature blend of their talents, featuring razor-sharp stand-up, comedic sketches, and musical performances. Martin often performs on the banjo, sometimes accompanied by the Grammy-winning bluegrass band The Steep Canyon Rangers, while Short’s energetic presence and character work provide spontaneous, chaotic humor.
The shows are a unique live comedy-and-music event, not a scripted musical, allowing for the kind of improvisational banter and roasting of each other—and sometimes the host, as seen in their recent *Late Night with Seth Meyers* appearance—that fans adore.
From *Three Amigos!* to Arconia: The History of the Partnership
The creative and personal bond between Steve Martin and Martin Short is one of Hollywood’s most enduring friendships, a dynamic that fuels their joint success.
The First Meeting and *Three Amigos!*
While their professional collaboration began with the 1986 film *Three Amigos!*, co-starring Chevy Chase, the two comedians actually met a few years earlier in 1984.
The film, directed by John Landis, established their on-screen chemistry as the three silent-film stars mistakenly hired to fight a real bandit. This project became the launchpad for a partnership that would span over four decades, proving their comedic styles were instantly complementary.
The Evolution of a Friendship and Creative Synergy
The duo’s connection is rooted in a genuine, deep friendship that transcends their professional work. Their collaborations are frequent and varied, demonstrating their willingness to support each other’s projects and explore new comedic avenues. Key joint ventures over the years include:
- *The Prince of Egypt* (1998): They lent their voices to the animated film, playing the roles of Hotep and Huy, the two high priests.
- *Jiminy Glick in Lalawood* (2004): Martin Short starred as his iconic celebrity interviewer character, with Martin making a cameo appearance.
- *Maya & Marty* (2016): A live variety show on NBC that featured Short and Maya Rudolph, with Martin serving as a writer and occasional guest.
- Stand-up Tours: Their live stage shows, such as "An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life" and the current "Dukes of Funnytown" tour, have been highly successful, earning them multiple awards and nominations.
This history of collaboration shows a creative trust that allows them to push boundaries while always returning to their core strength: the hilarious, quick-witted interplay between them. Their joint success on *Only Murders in the Building* is not a late-career surprise, but the culmination of a lifetime of shared comedic experience.
The Enduring Appeal
The secret to their lasting appeal lies in the genuine affection and respect they have for one another, which translates into effortless on-screen chemistry. Whether they are trading insults as Charles and Oliver, or performing a banjo-and-sketch routine on stage, the audience is always invited into their private world of mutual admiration and comedic rivalry. This authentic bond is what makes their current "renaissance" feel so earned and so universally celebrated.
As the "Dukes of Funnytown" tour continues to sell out venues and *Only Murders in the Building* moves into its fifth season, Steve Martin and Martin Short are proving that true comedic genius, when paired with an enduring friendship, only gets better with age. Fans worldwide eagerly await every new episode, every tour date, and every spontaneous moment of their shared brilliance.
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