{"id":2409092,"date":"2026-05-09T14:45:31","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2409092"},"modified":"2026-05-09T14:45:31","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T14:45:31","slug":"martin-short-documentary-serves-as-a-love-letter-to-late-wife-nancy-dolman","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/martin-short-documentary-serves-as-a-love-letter-to-late-wife-nancy-dolman\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin Short documentary serves as a love letter to late wife Nancy Dolman"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div data-article-body=\"true\">\n<h3 class=\"mb-4 text-lg font-bold\">Key Points<\/h3>\n<ul class=\"mb-4\">\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Martin Short remembers the &#8220;drop dead beautiful&#8221; Nancy Dolman, to whom he was married in 1980, in new documentary <em>Marty, Life Is Shor<\/em>t.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dolman died of ovarian cancer in 2010.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"ml-4 list-disc\">\n<div class=\"\">\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The late Catherine O&#8217;Hara recalled telling a couple&#8217;s counselor that she wanted to emulate Martin and Nancy&#8217;s dynamic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">The late <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/catherine-ohara\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Catherine O'Hara;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Catherine O'&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Catherine O&#8217;Hara<\/a>, who was a good friend of <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/martin-short\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Martin Short;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Martin Short&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Martin Short<\/a> for decades, explains in the new documentary about his life, <em>Marty, Life Is Short<\/em>, that his love story with late wife Nancy Dolman was admired.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;My husband and I went through a little rough patch, and we went to therapy,&#8221; O&#8217;Hara says. &#8220;And one of the questions she was, &#8216;Do you have friends, do you know a couple whose relationship you would love to have or you&#8217;d love to emulate?&#8217; We said, &#8216;Oh, we have these friends Marty and Nancy.&#8217; And she said, &#8216;I can&#8217;t tell you how many people have named them when I&#8217;ve asked this question.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">O&#8217;Hara is one of several recognizable faces the <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/entity\/netflix\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Netflix;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Netflix&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Netflix<\/a> project who confirm that the couple was a perfect match. The Netflix film, which is directed by family friend Lawrence Kasdan, is full of vintage photos and video footage of the couple.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><strong><em>Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our <\/em><\/strong><a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/ew-dispatch-newsletter-11812417\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:EW Dispatch newsletter;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;EW Dispatch newsletter&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><strong><em>EW Dispatch newsletter<\/em><\/strong><\/a><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Martin&#8217;s <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/only-murders-in-the-building\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Only Murders in the Building;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Only Murders in the Building&quot;}\" class=\"link \"><em>Only Murders in the Building<\/em><\/a> costar <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/steve-martin\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Steve Martin;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Steve Martin&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Steve Martin<\/a> explained part of their dynamic.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She thought everything he said was hilarious,&#8221; Martin said. &#8220;And it was a sincere laughter. It wasn&#8217;t like a wife doing it. It was like a person laughing. You know, &#8216;Tell that story again.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Short married Dolman, an actress herself, in 1980, after meeting her during the 1972 production of <em>Godspell<\/em> in Toronto<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He soon found himself spending time with the &#8220;drop dead beautiful&#8221; actress with a <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/person\/joni-mitchell\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Joni Mitchell;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Joni Mitchell&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Joni Mitchell<\/a> look, as both of them were going through breakups.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;I was doing a play and Nancy came, it was the summer,&#8221; Short said. &#8220;And she was wearing short shorts and a halter top. And I was wearing short shorts and a T-shirt. And we went to the Four Seasons Hotel, and I said to the guy, &#8216;My wife and I would like a room, please.&#8217; And even he started laughing because we looked about 12. And that was it. That was it.&#8221;<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><button aria-label=\"View larger image\" class=\"group absolute bottom-0 size-full\" data-ylk=\"elm:expand;itc:1;sec:image-lightbox;slk:lightbox-open;\"><span class=\"absolute bottom-3 right-3 rounded-full bg-primary p-3 opacity-100 shadow-elevation-3 transition-opacity duration-300 group-hover:block group-hover:opacity-100 md:p-[17px] lg:bottom-6 lg:right-6 lg:bg-primary\/90 lg:p-5 lg:opacity-0 lg:shadow-none\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"24\" height=\"24\" viewbox=\"0 0 24 24\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" class=\"flex-none size-4 -scale-x-100 text-primary lg:size-6 [&amp;_path]:fill-current\"><path fill=\"currentColor\" d=\"M3.1 3.1V11h1.8V6.314l5.392 5.393 1.415-1.414L6.313 4.9H11V3.1zm17.8 17.8V13h-1.8v4.686l-5.393-5.393-1.415 1.414 5.393 5.393H13v1.8z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/button><dialog aria-label=\"Modal Dialog\" aria-modal=\"true\" class=\"fixed bottom-0 left-0 right-0 top-0 z-4 size-full max-h-none max-w-none bg-primary hidden\"\/><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-sm mt-1 pr-2.5\">\n<p><i>Martin Short wife Nancy Dolman and their kids<br \/>Credit: Bruce Glikas\/FilmMagic<\/i><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Dolman, who raised three children, including <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/katherine-short-dead-martin-short-daughter-42-11913631\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:late daughter Katherine;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;late daughter Katherine&quot;}\" class=\"link \">late daughter Katherine<\/a>, with Short, died of ovarian cancer in 2010. Short also talks about that painful experience, which followed her 2007 diagnosis that came after she suspected she had a hernia. It turned out to be an ovarian cyst.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Friends said Dolman was determined to live during the last few months of her life.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She tended to be positive in general,&#8221; Short said. &#8220;So when she got sick, her approach was, &#8216;I can fight it.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">He said Dolman would tell everyone during her treatment that she felt cured each time she had a new cocktail or chemotherapy.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">&#8220;She went to the internet once,&#8221; Short recalled, &#8220;read about it, and said, &#8216;I&#8217;m not gonna do that anymore.'&#8221;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\"><em>Marty, Life Is Short<\/em> premieres May 12 on Netflix.<\/p>\n<p class=\"mb-4 text-lg md:leading-8 break-words\">Read the original article on <a rel=\"nofollow\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/ew.com\/martin-short-documentary-love-letter-to-late-wife-nancy-dolman-11970809\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" data-ylk=\"elm:link;elmt:article_link;slk:Entertainment Weekly;itc:0;sec:content-canvas\" data-yga=\"{&quot;yLinkElement&quot;:&quot;context_link&quot;,&quot;yModuleName&quot;:&quot;content-canvas&quot;,&quot;yLinkText&quot;:&quot;Entertainment Weekly&quot;}\" class=\"link \">Entertainment Weekly<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><em> \u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n<p><em> \u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Key Points Martin Short remembers the &#8220;drop dead beautiful&#8221; Nancy Dolman, to whom he was married in 1980, in new documentary Marty, Life Is Short. Dolman died of ovarian cancer in 2010. The late Catherine O&#8217;Hara recalled telling a couple&#8217;s counselor that she wanted to emulate Martin and Nancy&#8217;s dynamic. The late Catherine O&#8217;Hara, who [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2409093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25177],"tags":[437393,471068,470313,22350,373259,365813,305346],"class_list":["post-2409092","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-celebrities","tag-catherine-o39hara","tag-drop-dead-beautiful","tag-life-is-short","tag-martin-short","tag-nancy-dolman","tag-ovarian-cancer","tag-steve-martin"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/Martin-Short-documentary-serves-as-a-love-letter-to-late.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2409092","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2409092"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2409092\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2409094,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2409092\/revisions\/2409094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2409093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2409092"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2409092"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2409092"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}