Martin Short has shared a poignant reflection on the final moments he spent with his late wife, Nancy Dolman, and how those memories resonate with the recent tragic loss of his daughter, Katherine. The actor opened up about these deeply personal experiences, shedding light on the profound connections between them.
Nancy bravely fought against ovarian cancer for three years before she passed away in 2010 at the age of 58. More recently, Katherine, aged 42, took her own life in February after struggling with mental illness for an extended period.
In a heartfelt interview with The New York Times, the 76-year-old actor recounted the final words Nancy shared with him, words that echo in his memory to this day.
“Martin, let me go,” Nancy had told him, Short revealed. These words mirrored a similar plea from Katherine, who expressed, “Dad, let me go.”
Short emphasized his view on mental illness and cancer, stating, “I don’t see any difference between mental illness as a disease and cancer as a disease. In some cases, both are terminal. And in some cases, both are survivable.” This perspective underscores the complexity and gravity of both conditions.
The star of “Only Murders in the Building,” who was honored by his dear friend Catherine O’Hara in the Netflix documentary “Marty, Life is Short,” continues to grapple with his daughter’s passing. O’Hara’s own death in January adds another layer of grief to Short’s already heavy heart.
Martin Short – seen on May 6 – has offered a glimpse into the final moments he spent with his wife Nancy Dolman before her death of ovarian cancer in 2010, and how it connects with the heartbreaking loss of his daughter Katherine, who battled mental illness for years
The 76-year-old actor shared the last words that Nancy spoke to him. ‘Martin, let me go,’ Short described Nancy telling him; pictured with Nancy in 1992
He added it feels different from Nancy’s death because ‘this is your child. I am trying to head toward the light.’
Short met Nancy in 1972 when he was appearing in a production of Godspell. He was dating and living with his co-star – and future SNL star – Gilda Radner at the time, but two years later they broke up and Short started dating Nancy.
They wed in 1980 and welcomed three children through adoption: Katherine, Oliver, 40, and Henry, 36.
Short spoke similarly while appearing on CBS News Sunday Morning on May 10, saying that Katherine’s death has been ‘a nightmare for the family.’
‘The understanding [is] that mental health and cancer, like my wife’s, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal,’ he said while on the program.
‘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.
‘So Nan’s last words to me were, ‘Martin, let me go.’ And what she was saying was, ‘Dad, let me go,’ he added, the last a reference to Katherine, who was a licensed clinical social worker in Los Angeles.
‘So I hold a deep desire. And that’s why I’m involved in 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 could be the last stage of an illness – and that’s my approach to this.’
‘Katherine was saying: Dad, let me go,’ he told The New York Times in an interview published on Friday, adding: ‘I don’t see any difference between mental illness as a disease and cancer as a disease’; pictured with his daughter in 2011
The actor and comedian married Nancy in 1980 and they welcomed their three children via adoption; pictured with Oliver and Katherine in 1989
Short said Katherine’s death has been ‘a nightmare for the family’; pictured in 2006 with, L to R, Katherine, Henry, Nancy and Oliver
Speaking on CBS News Sunday Morning on May 10, Short said: ‘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’
Katherine died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head inside her Hollywood Hills home, as confirmed by the Los Angeles coroner, per People.
She legally changed her name to Katherine Elizabeth Hartley in 2013, in an effort to separate herself from her father’s fame.
But by all accounts, she had a loving relationship with The Three Amigos star.
In a statement released after her death, the Short family said she was ‘beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.’
