Steve Martin and Martin Short Are Friendship Goals — See Their Biggest Moments

Fittingly, the hilarious duo met during the filming of a new version of "Saturday Night Live". "I met Steve, the first time, backstage at 'The New Show,' an hour-long version of 'Saturday Night Live' in prime time that Lorne Michaels was producing for NBC," Short told InStyle in 2021. "Steve was the guest host that week — this is in '84 — and Catherine O'Hara, my old friend, was doing the show with Steve." However, they apparently only interacted briefly and didn't get to know one another until they starred in their first film together.

The two comedians' first collaboration was "Three Amigos!" in 1986 alongside Chevy Chase. In their interview with InStyle, Martin revealed that they grew close "pretty fast" during filming. Short agreed, revealing that the filming process led to fast bonding. "In the movie we were supposed to be very close friends who live in the same house. So we consciously did that — we'd play Scrabble between takes in someone's trailer," Short said. "And laughter is a great bonding mechanism. If you make someone laugh or they make you laugh, you want more of that," he continued. "When the film wrapped, we started having dinners, the three of us and our wives. And it just continued on. There was never a phase where I didn't see Steve for a couple of years."

The duo appeared in "Father of the Bride" in 1991 and reprised their roles in "Father of the Bride II" in 1995. Martin played the titular father of the bride, while Short played a very unique wedding planner.

The pair cemented their status as Hollywood BFFs during a joint appearance on "The Late Show With David Letterman" in 2009. It was the first of many, many joint late-night show interviews.

The duo took to the stage during the Toys "R" Us Children's Fund Gala in NYC, with Martin playing the piano while Short sang along. They went on to reprise variations on the act in numerous comedy tours to come.

The duo absolutely hammed it up during a tribute to their "Father of the Bride" costar Diane Keaton at her Lifetime Achievement Award ceremony.

Martin and Short showed off their comedic genius in their Netflix special "An Evening You Will Forget For the Rest of Your Life". It was far from the first time the pair had shown off their stand-up skills; they toured their show "A Very Stupid Conversation" in 2015 and took a new act called "The Funniest Show in Town at the Moment" on the road in 2021.

Martin and Short brought their talents together on screen with "Only Murders in the Building" in 2021, starring alongside Selena Gomez in the hit Disney+ show. The show was Martin's brainchild, and he told The New York Times that he came up with the idea at a party when a host suggested he write about three older theatre actors in attendance. "The idea came almost immediately, that they lived in a building and they all were interested in crime. But they didn't have the energy to go downtown, so they would only do murders in the building," Martin said.

His original idea starred three older men, though he apparently didn't want to play one of them until Short suggested they do it together. Ultimately, Martin pitched the idea to producers Dan Fogelman and Jess Rosenthal and agreed to star in the show only if Short could, too. Eventually, showrunner John Hoffman suggested adding a younger character to the mix, so Gomez's character, Mabel, was born, and the rest was history.

The pair brought their raucous comedy style to "Saturday Night Live"'s 48th season as cohosts, playing everything from Scrooge and a holiday ghost from "A Christmas Carol" to eccentric travelling musicians. The appearance was far from the first time they'd appeared on "Saturday Night Live" — that was in 1986 while promoting "Three Amigos!" — and judging by how things have gone, it definitely won't be the last.