‘I Was Terrified’: Martin Short Reveals He Nearly Quit ‘SNL’ Midseason

Martin Short on Thursday revealed that he nearly quit “Saturday Night Live” when he was a cast member on the show during its 1984-85 season.

“I was terrified, every show,” the “Only Murders in the Building” star said in an interview with Jimmy Fallon on “The Tonight Show.” “I treated it like a special.”

Short — who was part of a Season 10 cast that included Billy Crystal, Christopher Guest, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Harry Shearer — said it was a “very weird year” on the NBC comedy sketch show as exits from the likes of Eddie Murphy and Joe Piscopo prompted fears that “SNL” would be canceled.

He added that “SNL” co-creator Dick Ebersol, who was the show’s executive producer at the time, called it the “George Steinbrenner year” as he brought on an all-star cast of comedians.

Short, a Canadian-born comedian who had a one-year contract on the show, said he tried to quit four shows into the season.

“Being, you know, Canadian and savvy, I said to Dick Ebersol … ‘You know, I haven’t cashed any checks yet,’” recalled Short.

The actor told a similar anecdote in 2014, revealing that he had sublet an apartment filled with “thousands” of cockroaches in Manhattan during that season, while his wife and baby daughter remained in Toronto, assuming he wouldn’t be in town long.

Short told Fallon that Ebersol reminded him that he had a contract so both “SNL” and the comedian would “look bad” if he exited the show.

Ebersol promised the comedian that he’d be let out of his contract if he stayed until Christmas.

“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,” he added.

Short, who was known for the characters Jiminy Glick and Ed Grimley during his stint as an “SNL” cast member, stayed until the season finale in April 1985.

He’s set to return to Studio 8H as host of this weekend’s episode.

Short last served as the show’s co-host alongside fellow “Only Murders in the Building” star Steve Martin in 2022.

Short said his co-star is not going to appear on “SNL” this weekend.

“He’s way into Christmas. Oh no, no, he loves — he’s already hung his compression stockings with care by the chimney,” he quipped.