Veteran comedian Martin Short has opened up about the “nightmare for his family” after the death of his daughter earlier this year.
Katherine Short died by suicide in February at the age of 42, and Short discussed the impact it had on him and his family with CBS News on Sunday.
The 76-year-old actor spoke about how he handled the grief and compared the experience with the loss of his wife, Nancy Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010.
He said he understood them the same way, saying, “mental health and cancer, like my wife’s, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal and my daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the best she could, until she couldn’t.”
He went on to say: “So, Nan’s last words to me were, ‘Martin, let me go.’ And what [Katherine] was just saying, ‘Dad, let me go.’”
Katherine was the eldest of three children adopted by Short and Dolman. She studied psychology and gender sexuality studies from New York University in 2006 and also earned a master’s in social work.
She spent most of her life working in private practice and keeping out of the spotlight, only occasionally appearing alongside her father on the red carpet.
Short was speaking to CBS ahead of the release of a Netflix documentary about his life.
Marty: Life Is Short, is due out this week and is directed by Hollywood legend and Short’s close friend Lawrence Kasdan.
A lot of the documentary focuses on the trials Short has gone through in life, with him suffering numerous tragedies from a young age.
His older brother David died in a car crash when he was 12, and both of his parents died when he was a teenager.
Alongside the loss of his wife and daughter, he has also had several close friends die in recent years, including Diane Keaton, Rob and Michele Reiner and Catherine O’Hara.
He told CBS the loss of so many people in such a short amount of time was “staggering”, adding: “You just have to breathe in, breathe out.”
Despite the hardship, Short has a well-known reputation for being a happy person who often brings joy to the room.
He told CBS: “I think I do have the happy gene and I think my orientation is to be happy.”
Short said the loss of loved ones led to him developing this muscle of survival and handling grief and a perspective on it”, as well as the bravery to become a performer: “I think if you’ve gone through that, an audience not liking you is really not that important any more.”
How to get help if you are struggling with your mental health
- CALM (Campaign Against Living Miserably) – Helpline: 0800 58 58 58
- MIND provides advice and support to empower anyone experiencing a mental health problem. Information line: 0300 123 3393
- Samaritans is an organisation offering confidential support for people experiencing feelings of distress or despair. Phone 116 123 (a free 24 hour helpline).
- Shout is a 24/7 text service, free on all major mobile networks, for anyone struggling to cope and in need of immediate help. Text SHOUT to 85258
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