In February, actor Martin Short lost his daughter, Katherine, 42, to suicide. Although she struggled with mental health issues for years prior to her death, her family wants to remember the wonderful things about her.
Katherine Short was a social worker with a deep love for animals. At one point during her life, she served on the board for Karma Rescue.
While working through his own grief, Martin Short came to realize that talking about Katherine kept her memory alive and eased his pain. Now, he wants to encourage and support others in going through similar situations.
Martin Short Wants to Use His Platform For Good
Losing Katherine Short was a tremendous loss for the entire family. Though the grief was devastatingly painful, her father realized he could put his experience to use.
While speaking with “CBS Sunday Morning,” Martin Short vulnerably spoke about losing his oldest child and how he wanted to use his platform to spread awareness.
“If I said to the audience, any audience I was in, ‘How many have lost anyone from suicide?’ You’d be stunned by the hands that would go [up]. ‘How many have mental health in their family?’ You’d be stunned by the hands that would go up,” the actor shared.
“So, why pretend that this is your own pain? Maybe by sharing your pain, it will help other people’s pain,” Short bravely told the host.
The host asked if speaking about Katherine’s passing has personally helped him heal, he confirmed that it has.
“I think whenever you realize you’re not the only person on the planet that’s going through something, I think, you go, ‘Oh, really?'” the comedian shared.
However, Martin Short also shared how seriously he took Katherine’s mental health struggles. He described her passing as a “nightmare for the family.”
“But the understanding [is] that mental health and cancer, like my wife’s, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal,” he shared. “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.”
The Comedian Presses Forward With His Work
Although Katherine’s memory will stay with Martin Short forever, he’s working through the pain and wants to press onward. He has two surviving children, whom he adopted with his late wife, Nancy Dolman: Patrick, 40, and Henry, 36.
In April, Martin Short returned to his comedy tour alongside Steve Martin. Despite losing Katherine just months before, he wanted to keep the show going and bring smiles to fans’ faces.
“Only Murders in the Building” is expected to produce a sixth season. Art Threat reports that production will kick off this month and will take several months to complete. A premiere date in 2027 seems most likely at this point.
In the meantime, fans can watch “Marty, Live is Short,” a documentary exploring his decades-long career in the comedy space.
“Marty, Life is Short” is now available to stream on Netflix.
