Is Jiminy Glick a Real Person? Martin Short's Brainchild Explained

Jiminy Glick is one of the most highly acclaimed characters created by Martin Short. Read on to learn more about the character in depth.

Written by Tejas Mundhada , Entertainment Journalist

Published on Feb 13, 2025 | 06:58 PM IST | 6K

Jiminy Glick (Getty)

While we all love Jiminy Glick, he is unfortunately a fictional character created and portrayed by Martin Short. Short played the character on screen in Primetime Glick, a TV series that ran from 2001 to 2003, as well as in the 2004 movie Jiminy Glick in Lalawood.

Regarding the inspiration for Jiminy Glick, Martin Short has credited Skip E. Lowe as his influence. As for the character’s fictional biography, Jiminy Glick was born Malcolm Glickman on March 12, 1948. He was the middle child of Omar and Isabella Glickman and had nine siblings. Various reports suggest different locations for his birthplace, including Akron, Ohio; Omaha, Nebraska; and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

Glick was often a loner and described himself as Tibetan-American. Since childhood, he faced ridicule for his obesity. According to his fictional backstory, he was frequently sick, with doctors claiming he had a Tonka truck stuck in his duodenum.

Jiminy Glick also appeared in Martin Short’s Broadway show Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Interestingly, the character first debuted as a recurring role on The Martin Short Show.

In the aforementioned show, Glick was a television interviewer who spent most of his time in Hollywood, yet he remained ignorant of pop culture and entertainment news.

In Primetime Glick, the character was joined by Michael McKean’s Adrian Van Voorhees, who resembled Lawrence Welk. Adrian was known for playing a full classical harp and leading a band of immigrants. Jiminy Glick also served as the main character in the feature film Jiminy Glick in Lalawood.

Moreover, Martin Short even portrayed Glick for nearly a week on Whoopi Goldberg’s Hollywood Squares.