Catherine O’Hara reacted bashfully to Martin Short saying he was ‘madly in love’ with her before the iconic Home Alone star passed away in January 2026.
O’Hara joined Steve Martin, Eugene Levy, Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg as just some of the famous faces to appear in Netflix’s new documentary Marty, Life is Short, which arrives on the streamer today (May 12) and sees the stars heap praise on their friend and co-star.
Short, 76, has worked frequently with O’Hara throughout his lengthy career, with both comedians having appeared on the sketch comedy show SCTV.
Footage in the new documentary shows the pair hanging out together throughout their lives, with clips filmed years before O’Hara’s death showing her dancing and speaking fondly of Short.
O’Hara also took part more recently in the filming of the documentary, where she sat with Short and reflected on their time working together.
“Am I madly in love with Catherine? Yes,” Short said in the doc, causing O’Hara to laugh as she sat beside him.
However, Short, who was married to his wife Nancy Dolman for 30 years before her death, made clear that his feelings for O’Hara weren’t unusual for those in their circle.
“Every guy was,” he added, as O’Hara remained humble and said: “No.”
“It’s true,” Short responded, prompting O’Hara to add: “I love Marty.”
The Schitt’s Creek actor then went on to admit that there was something undeniably attractive about comedy, saying: “When someone makes you laugh, that’s the sexiest thing in the world.”
Remembering their SCTV experience, O’Hara noted that everyone was making each other laugh, and admitted that the ‘connection’ made cast members feel like they should ‘try dating’.
“Didn’t everybody love each other?” she asked Short, who agreed.
Short met O’Hara when she was just 18 years old (Sonia Recchia/WireImage)
O’Hara and Short remained friends throughout Short’s marriage to Dolman, with O’Hara even admitting that she used her friend’s marriage as inspiration for her own when she and her husband experienced a ‘rough patch’.
She explained: “My husband and I went through a little rough patch, and we went to therapy. And one of the questions she was, ‘Do you have friends, do you know a couple whose relationship you would love to have or you’d love to emulate?’
“We said, ‘Oh, we have these friends Marty and Nancy.’ And she said, ‘I can’t tell you how many people have named them when I’ve asked this question.'”
Dolman sadly ended up dying of ovarian cancer in 2010.
16 years later, after filming her interviews for Marty, Life is Short, O’Hara died on January 30, 2026, after experiencing a pulmonary embolism.
Short paid tribute to O’Hara at a comedy show in Texas following her death, saying: “She has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with.”
Marty, Life is Short is available to stream on Netflix now.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.unilad.com ’
