Martin Short has reflected on a series of family tragedies which changed his life “completely” after he lost his parents and his elder brother all before he reached the age of 21.
Martin Short has reflected on the family tragedies which changed his life “completely”.
The Only Murders In The Building star, 76, was just 12 years old when his elder brother David died in a car crash and he went on to lose both of his parents, Olive and Charles, in quick succession before he’d reached the age of 21.
During a panel discussion at the Netflix Is a Joke Presents: This Better Be Funny with David Letterman event at The Montalban Theater in Los Angeles on Thursday (07.05.26), Short looked back on the tragedy which blighted his early years, saying: “My older brother David died first. He was the star of the family.
“Then my mother was diagnosed with cancer at his funeral and died three years later. My father died the year after that. So there was definitely a period where life changed completely.”
Short previously told PEOPLE magazine he refused to let the series of tragedies doom him to a life of misery, telling the publication: “There isn’t a period of my life that I don’t like to think about or wouldn’t go back to. It sounds like a tragic family, but it really isn’t.
“My mother had cancer, and she had been ill and then in remission since I was 13. She was a remarkable person; both my parents were.
“So I never looked at it as if it was a tragedy – that I didn’t have them my whole life. You learn some sense of priorities. Our whole family took the attitude that if you have wonderful moments, don’t second-guess them, just enjoy them.”
Short experience further blows later in life when his wife Nancy Dolman – the mother of his grown-up children Oliver, Henry and Katherine – died in 2010 after a battle with ovarian cancer.
The actor’s daughter Katherine took her own life in February at the age of 42 and Martin returned to public life for the first time since the devastating loss by attending the the premiere of his new Netflix documentary Marty, Life Is Short in Los Angeles on Wednesday (06.05.26).
Short posed for pictures with his sons Oliver, 40, and Henry, 36, as they faced the cameras for the first time since Katherine’s death.
A representative for the actor confirmed the loss in a statement at the time which read: “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.”
Martin Short reflects on family tragedies which changed his life ‘completely’
