Martin Short is a comedy legend to multiple generations.
In the 1980s, he created one brilliant character after another with SCTV and Saturday Night Live — from the hyperactive Wheel of Fortune superfan Ed Grimley to the hyper-defensive lawyer Nathan Thurm.
Then in the 2000s, he gave the world the clueless film buff Jiminy Glick — and most recently, podcasting sleuth Oliver Putnam on Only Murders in the Building.
His career is celebrated in a new documentary, Marty, Life Is Short.
For anyone who knows Short’s personal life, that title stings.
In February, after the documentary was finished, his daughter, Katherine, took her own life at the age of 42.
Short told Morning Edition host A Martínez, “The reality is that my daughter had a severe disease: mental illness. Like cancer, some diseases are terminal. And hers was terminal.”
Short says the documentary’s director, Lawrence Kasdan, suggested postponing the film’s release.
“My instinct was the opposite,” Short said. “Because it’s about love, loss and survival… I think we proceed. We must figure a way to survive through grief without denying it or without in any way undermining its importance.”
The documentary reveals just how often Short has had to endure the deaths of family members. Between the ages of 12 and 20, he lost his father, mother and brother. Then in 2010, his wife, Nancy Dolman, succumbed to ovarian cancer. Their blissful relationship is a highlight of the film, as told through Short’s own home videos.
“When I first saw a rough cut of this documentary,” Short remembered, “I said to Larry Kasdan, ‘I didn’t know you were in love with Nancy!’ Because it is a love letter to her.”
Marty, Life Is Short begins streaming May 12 on Netflix.
If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or is in crisis, call or text 9 8 8 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.
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