Martin Short has spoken out following the death of his daughter, Katherine Short, who died in February. She was 42.
“It’s been a nightmare for the family,” Short told CBS Sunday Morning of Katherine’s death. “But the understanding [is] that 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 couldn’t until she couldn’t.”
Katherine, the eldest of three children adopted by Short and his late wife, Nancy Dolman, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Los Angeles coroner.
A licensed social worker in Los Angeles, Katherine dedicated her career to mental health advocacy, working with the charity Bring Change 2 Mind, which focuses on reducing stigma around mental illness. She graduated from NYU with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender sexuality studies in 2006 and earned a master’s in social work at USC. She worked at UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital before moving into private practice.
Katherine’s mother, actress Nancy Dolman, died of ovarian cancer in 2010. Short has previously spoken about the difficulty of losing a spouse, telling The Guardian: “It’s been a tough two years for my children. This is the thing of life that we live in denial about, that it will ever happen to us or our loved ones, and when it does you gain a little and you suffer a little. There’s no big surprise.”
Short is set to be featured in a new Netflix documentary, “Marty, Life Is Short,” which is scheduled to premiere on May 12. The film explores his more than five decades in entertainment, including archival footage and interviews with collaborators.
Fans and colleagues of Short have expressed condolences on social media, honoring Katherine’s work and the joy she brought into the lives of those around her.
If you or anyone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources.