Short also provided voicework for films such as The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Treasure Planet (2002), 101 Dalmatians II: Patch's London Adventure (2003), Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper (2004), The Spiderwick Chronicles (2008), Frankenweenie (2012), The Wind Rises (2013) and The Willoughbys (2020).

Short was born on March 26, 1950, in Hamilton, Ontario, the youngest[3] of five children of Olive Grace (née Hayter; 1913–1968), a Canadian-born (of English and Irish descent) concertmistress at the Hamilton Symphony Orchestra,[4] and Charles Patrick Short (1909–1970), a corporate executive at the Canadian steel company Stelco who had emigrated from Crossmaglen, south County Armagh, Ireland as a stowaway during the Irish War of Independence.

Encouraged by his mother in his early creative endeavours,[10] Short attended Westdale Secondary School and then graduated from McMaster University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Work in 1971.

[13] As Short was about to graduate from McMaster University, rather than immediately pursuing a career in social work, he moved to Toronto with intention of temporarily giving acting a shot.

[14] Right away, in March 1972, he landed his first piece of paid work as an actor: playing a plastic credit card inside a woman's purse in a Chargex television commercial.

[2] Among other members of that production's cast were Victor Garber, Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Andrea Martin, Jayne Eastwood, and Gerry Salsberg; Paul Shaffer was the musical director.

These included being cast for the role of a tough, sexually predatory prison inmate in the 1972 staging of John Herbert's drama Fortune and Men's Eyes that had the upstart twenty-two-year-old actor commuting back to his hometown Hamilton, Ontario.

[15][16] With the success of Godspell at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in downtown Toronto, by late 1972, the production moved uptown to the Bayview Playhouse where it ran for 488 performances.

[17] Young Short's increased stage profile led to a guest spot on Right On, a teen-focused live program airing weekly in the after-school timeslot on the government-funded CBC TV.

[14] In 1974, Short was hired as a writer on Everything Goes, a nightly variety show hosted by Norm Crosby, Mike Darow, and Catherine McKinnon.

Short was encouraged to pursue comedy by McMaster classmates Eugene Levy and Dave Thomas, in March 1977, joining the improvisation group The Second City, taking over for John Candy in The Wizard of Ossington, their ninth revue.

[19][20][2] In early 1978, Short secured his feature film debut via a supporting role in the Melvin Frank-directed British romantic comedy Lost and Found starring George Segal and Glenda Jackson.

"Short's appearance on SNL helped to revive the show's fanbase, which had flagged after the departure of Eddie Murphy, and in turn, would launch his successful career in films and television.

"[23] His SNL characters included numerous holdovers from his SCTV days, most notably, his Ed Grimley character, depicted on Saturday Night Live as a geeky everyman who is obsessed with Wheel of Fortune, plays the triangle, and often finds himself in bizarre situations rather than a miscast bad actor in several film and TV show parodies (The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley used the SNL characterization of him rather than the SCTV take on him).

It featured many of his characters including Ed Grimley and Jackie Rogers Jr.[28] After doing sketch comedy for several years, Short starred in Three Amigos (1986), Innerspace (1987), The Big Picture (1989), Captain Ron (1992) and Clifford (1994).

[38] The New York Times in 2002 referred to the character as "the most unpredictable and hilariously uninhibited comic creation to hit TV since Bart Simpson was in diapers.

[41][42] Although the role of Leo Bloom was originated on Broadway by Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks first approached Short about doing the part opposite Nathan Lane.

[43] On the subject, Short has stated in numerous interviews that, while he was thrilled by the opportunity, the idea of having to move his family from their Los Angeles home to New York for a year was less than ideal and ultimately proved a deal-breaker.

[44] In addition to his own series, Short has guest starred on several shows including Arrested Development (episode titled "Ready, Aim, Marry Me", 2005), Muppets Tonight (1996),[45] Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Weeds.

A Dinosaur's Story (1993), Hubie in The Pebble and the Penguin (1995), Huy in The Prince of Egypt (1998), Ooblar in Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), B.E.N.

Bergermesiter/Nassor in Frankenweenie (2012), Stefano the sea lion in Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted (2012),[29][47] Kurokawa in the English dub of Hayao Miyazaki's The Wind Rises (2013),[48] and The Jester in Legends of Oz: Dorothy's Return (2013).

The show also featured parodies of many celebrities including Celine Dion, Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, Tommy Tune, Joan Rivers, Britney Spears, Ellen DeGeneres, Renée Zellweger, Jodie Foster, Rachael Ray, and Short's wife, actress Nancy Dolman.

The special aired on CBC Television on April 3, 2012, and garnered Short a nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Program or Series at the 1st Canadian Screen Awards.

[60] He, along with Steve Martin and Chevy Chase appeared on an episode of Saturday Night Live as part of the "Five-Timers Club", on March 9, 2013, which included those actors who had hosted the show five or more times.

Damon Wise of Deadline Hollywood wrote, "Short is a damn fine dramatic actor" citing his "brief but indelible guest role".

He also reprised the role of Franck Eggelhoffer in the Nancy Meyers directed short film Father of the Bride Part 3(ish) (2020).

Starting in 2021 he has starred and served as an executive producer in the Hulu crime comedy series Only Murders in the Building alongside Steve Martin and Selena Gomez.

[73] In 2024, he reprised his role as Jiminy Glick on Real Time with Bill Maher and guest hosted Jimmy Kimmel Live.

[81] Short appeared in a 2001 episode on the Celebrity Who Wants to Be a Millionaire hosted by Regis Philbin, winning $32,000 for his charity,[82] Loyola High School.

Short has actively campaigned for the Women's Research Cancer Fund, and he accepted a "Courage Award" on behalf of his late wife at a 2011 gala by the group.