Martin Short is opening up about one of the painful periods of his life with devastating honesty.
Years after losing his wife, Nancy Dolman, the beloved comedian is now grieving one other unimaginable tragedy following the death of his daughter, Katherine.
While reflecting on each losses, Short revealed the emotional connection between their final words and why he believes mental illness deserves to be treated like every other disease.
The “Only Murders within the Constructing” star recently spoke to The Recent York Times while discussing his Netflix documentary “Marty, Life Is Short.”
In the course of the emotional conversation, Short looked back on the ultimate days of his wife, Nancy Dolman, who died from ovarian cancer in 2010 at age 58.
As he reflected on losing Dolman after nearly 30 years of marriage, Short revealed the heartbreaking final message she shared with him.
“Martin, let me go,” Short recalled her saying.
The actor explained that hearing similar emotions years later, after the death of his daughter, Katherine, forced him to take into consideration grief and illness in a totally different way.
Short and Dolman first met in 1972 before marrying in 1980. Together, they raised three children: Katherine, Oliver, and Henry.
Through the years, Short regularly described Dolman because the emotional center of their family, making her loss especially difficult for him and their children.
Martin Short Drew Painful Connection To Daughter Katherine
While speaking with The Recent York Times, Short revealed that the death of his daughter Katherine earlier this yr reopened emotions he had carried since losing his wife.
Katherine died by suicide in February at age 42, in accordance with the Los Angeles coroner’s office.
As Short reflected on her death, he explained that he heard echoes of Dolman’s final plea in what he imagined his daughter can have been trying to precise during her own struggle.
“Katherine was saying: Dad, let me go,” he said.
Short then shared his belief that mental illness deserves to be viewed with the identical seriousness as physical diseases.
“I don’t see any difference between mental illness as a disease and cancer as a disease,” he explained. “In some cases, each are terminal. And in some cases, each are survivable.”
The actor admitted that losing a baby brought a distinct level of pain than anything he had experienced before.
“That is your child,” Short said. “I’m attempting to head toward the sunshine.”
Short Speaks Openly About Mental Health
Martin Short also addressed the tragedy during a May 10 appearance on “CBS News Sunday Morning,” where he described Katherine’s death as “a nightmare for the family.”
In the course of the interview, the actor spoke candidly about his daughter’s years-long mental health battle and the challenges she faced privately.
“However the understanding that mental health and cancer, like my wife [had], are each diseases,” Short explained. “Sometimes with diseases, they’re terminal. My daughter fought for a very long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the perfect she could until she couldn’t.”
He again reflected on the emotional connection between Dolman’s final words and his daughter’s death.
“So Nan’s last words to me were, ‘Martin, let me go.’ And what she was saying was, ‘Dad, let me go.’”
The comedian also explained why he became involved with Bring Change to Mind, a corporation focused on mental health awareness and ending stigma surrounding mental illness.
“So I hold a deep desire. And that’s why I’m involved on this organization, Bring Change to Mind … taking mental health out of the shadows, not being ashamed of it, not hiding from the word ‘suicide,’ but accepting that this may very well be the last stage of an illness,” he said.
Katherine Dedicated Her Life To Helping Others
Although Katherine largely stayed out of the general public highlight, she devoted much of her profession to helping people scuffling with mental health challenges.
She worked as a licensed clinical social employee in private practice while also serving part-time at Amae Health. In line with reports, her responsibilities included psychotherapy, peer support, family support groups, and community outreach.
Friends and family members remembered Katherine as deeply compassionate and committed to supporting others through difficult moments.
Following her death, the Short family released a press release describing her as someone who brought warmth and happiness to everyone round her.
They said Katherine was “beloved by all and will probably be remembered for the sunshine and joy she brought into the world.”
Despite the pain surrounding the tragedy, Martin Short has continued speaking publicly in hopes that discussing grief and mental illness openly may help other families feel less isolated.
Martin Short Wants Families To Stop Suffering In Silence
Elsewhere during his “CBS News Sunday Morning” interview, Short explained why he felt it was essential not to cover from conversations about suicide and mental illness.
“If I said to the audience, any audience I used to be in, ‘What number of have lost anyone from suicide?’ you’d be stunned by the hands that will go [up],” he said. “‘What number of have mental health of their family?’ You’d be stunned by the hands that will go up.”
The actor believes many families quietly carry similar pain but avoid speaking openly about it due to shame or fear.
“So why pretend that that is your individual pain? Possibly by sharing your pain it should help other people’s pain,” Short added.
For Short, turning grief into conversation now appears to be a part of the healing process as he continues attempting to move forward after two devastating losses that eternally modified his life.