It’s always fun to watch old clips of stars and legends from decades past.
With the current technology, it’s easy to revive these old treasures from the archives for people to watch. It’s both exciting and nostalgic to see how they were in their youth or even just a memory of when they’re still alive.
Johnny Carson recently posted a video from his show way back in 1988.
It was an interview with Martin Short doing impersonations, and right beside him was the lovely Bette Davis.
Bette Davis is an actress who showed a lot of versatility in her craft.
Her stellar performances in television, film, and theater brought her awards and nominations on countless occasions. And even when her health was deteriorating, she continued to work before her death.
On the other hand, Martin Short is another familiar name when it comes to comedy.
Many talk show hosts love having him on their shows because he is a natural.
David Letterman affirmed this when he said he’s always excited to have Martin on his show because he knows he can relax, and Martin can take care of business running a few segments and holding them all on his own.
His career has always been in comedy.
He did movies, shows, sitcoms, and theater. Surprisingly, though, Martin never had a hit show or movie or an award.
His success is measured by the mark he left on people. His name always sticks out when you think of the funniest comedians, and you’ll never hear any bad word against him.
That is why this clip of Martin Short is refreshing and fun to watch.
Martin was impersonating Bette Davis from time to time throughout the interview.
He showed glimpses of his Bette impersonation while mimicking other comedians, talk show hosts, actors, and many more.
But you can see Bette Davis was quite unimpressed with it.
She asked Martin if he often impersonates Bette (like all the others he impersonates), which Martin admits Bette was “not that easy to do.” Bette shot back a witty remark saying: “Then we’ll skip it. I just wanted to know.”
Of course, that is all in a fun and loving manner. It’s also just Bette being Bette.
Martin also impersonated Jerry Lewis with his high-pitched voice and noted the change in his voice as he got older. He gave a little “tip” to emulate Jerry Lewis; you have to think you’re sucking an imaginary lozenge. And oh, he did it pretty well.
He also made many more impressions of Nelson Hepburn, Robin Williams, Richard Burton, Paul Simon, Jamie Farr, and Jerry Cooper.
He did so with lots of energy and copied their voice and actions so well that Johnny Carson just kept on laughing. You will, too, if you’re familiar with the actors and recognize how much of a resemblance Martin made out of his impersonations.
How did Martin Short do all these and so well?
He said:
“I guess it is true that you really do impersonate the people you admire. I mean, because you just watch them.”
And people think that Martin Short did so very effectively. Their high praises of the man show that he is indeed one of a kind.
Watch the hilarious clip in the video below!
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