'Scandal' Star Columbus Short -- Back in the Saddle ... Doing COMEDY... After Losing Everything

Former "Scandal" star Columbus Short didn't give up on his entertainment career after his infamous firing -- he's already back on the grind trying to claw his way back to the top ... doing the comedy club circuit.

Short was outside Flappers comedy club in Burbank this week and we asked about his burgeoning career as a comic -- he had a pretty fantastic sense of humor ... and even fired off a joke about how his life is in the crapper.

Short's also getting back into the music world ... working with R&B producer Knotch (seen in the video above) on some new tracks of his own.

It was all fun and games until we asked if any of Short's "Scandal" coworkers stood by him after he got canned ... and things got dark real fast.