Martin Short’s life has been full of tragedies. The legendary comedian and actor has time and again said that these losses have shaped him as a person. On Monday, the 75-year-old lost his only daughter, Katherine, to suicide. The 42-year-old social worker was reportedly found dead at her home in the Hollywood Hills. TMZ cited law enforcement sources to report that she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short. The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world,” a Short family spokesperson said in a statement.
Katherine was adopted by Short and Nancy Dolman, who passed away in 2010 of ovarian cancer. The 42-year-old worked as a social worker in Los Angeles. She had a bachelor’s degree from NYU and did a master’s in social work from USC.
The circumstances around her death are unclear.
When Martin Short spoke about tragedies in his family
Short lost his older brother in an accident when he was only 12. His mother died after battling cancer for several years. Two years later, his father – a steel executive – died. The comedian had lost all three by the time he was 20 years old.
Speaking about their deaths, Martin Short told The Hollywood Reporter: “At 20, I knew things about life and death and tragedy and loss that none of my friends knew about. I don’t know why this didn’t screw me up. The only thing I can think of is that this kind of life stress either empowers you or defeats you.”
“But I think that by surviving all that and continuing on, I developed muscles to handle the disappointments in life. And I do think, in a weird way, it did make me braver as a performer, braver onstage. I’d try something, and if some people didn’t like it, I didn’t care because I didn’t know them. I was never doing this for the admiration of strangers. I was doing this to make my siblings and my friends laugh.”
Short’s wife, Nancy Dolman, died of ovarian cancer 16 years ago. The two were married for 30 years at the time. Speaking about Doleman in 2019, the comedian said he still ‘talks’ to her.
Martin Short told AARP magazine: “With real tragedy, you become a little more daring. It’s the yin to the yang: the positive part of life’s dark side.”