Onscreen, Martin Short<\/a>‘s zany characters \u2013 enthusiastic Ed Grimley, tactless Jiminy Glick and exuberant Franck Eggelhoffer in \u201cFather of the Bride,” among them \u2013 have made audiences cackle for decades.<\/p>\n But off-camera, life hasn\u2019t always been a stream of laughs. As Netflix\u2019s documentary \u201cMarty, Life is Short\u201d<\/a> (now streaming) shows, the funnyman has suffered harrowing tragedies.<\/p>\n \u201cHe has a history of terrible loss, and he has an attitude that is very positive,\u201d says director Lawrence Kasdan, an Oscar-nominated filmmaker and Short\u2019s longtime friend. The two met during casting for the 1987 rom-com \u201cCross My Heart<\/a>,\u201d and \u201cI knew that he had this history, and yet I was fascinated, from the time that we got to know each other, by how upbeat and positive he was, despite real challenges,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n At just 20, Short had already suffered the loss of his older brother and his parents. In 2010, his wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, died of ovarian cancer at age 58. In February, Short mourned the death of their daughter, Katherine Short<\/a>, who died<\/a> by suicide at age 42.<\/p>\n \u201cThe thing I admire most about him, I think, is his resilience,\u201d Kasdan, 77, says. \u201cThat’s really the subtext of the whole movie \u2026 how do we recover when things go bad? It’s not that complicated when things are going great, but nobody has a life where everything goes great.\u201d<\/p>\n Kasdan gives viewers an intimate look at the witty Short, 76, through home footage shot by the star and interviews with early collaborators Eugene Levy<\/a>, Andrea Martin and Catherine O’Hara<\/a>, who died in January of a pulmonary embolism<\/a>, following a rectal cancer diagnosis<\/a>. Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, John Mulaney<\/a> and Steven Spielberg<\/a> also praise Short\u2019s talents and character. Short\u2019s son, Oliver, also participated, but a sit-down with his brother, Henry, proved \u201clogistically impossible,\u201d Kasdan says.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what you should know about \u201cMarty, Life is Short.\u201d<\/p>\n Martin Short opened up to his friend, Oscar-nominated filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, for the Netflix documentary “Marty, Life is Short.”<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Kasdan says the idea for a documentary came to him while working on a 2022 docuseries about visual effects, \u201cLight & Magic.\u201d When talking to his team about the project\u2019s tone \u201cI said, \u2018I want it to feel like what it’s like to hang out with Marty Short,\u2019\u201d Kasdan says. \u201cThey really responded to that because, even though they were younger people, they just love Marty, and they wanted to know all what that meant.\u201d<\/p>\n When Kasdan pitched the film to Short, \u201che was a little hesitant at first because he just didn’t want it to be another one of these documentaries,\u201d the director says. \u201cHe’s also a private person. But he came around. We talked for quite a while about it, and I think if we hadn’t been friends, he wouldn’t have done it. But he agreed.\u201d<\/p>\n Short has seen the film \u201cseveral times,\u201d Kasdan says. \u201cHe really likes it.\u201d<\/p>\n Kasdan and his team of filmmakers decided to dedicate the documentary to the memories of O\u2019Hara<\/a> and Katherine Short. A picture of the two is included at the end of the movie. Kasdan says he was close to both. He directed O’Hara in \u201cWyatt Earp,\u201d and collaborated with her husband, production designer Bo Welch, on \u201cThe Accidental Tourist\u201d and \u201cGrand Canyon.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAnd Katherine Short, I’ve known since she was a little girl,\u201d Kasdan says, \u201cI just feel total affection, and sadness at her loss.\u201d<\/p>\n Katherine Short\u2019s death is not recounted in the documentary, due to timing and a desire to let Short grieve privately.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were well into finishing of the film, and even if we hadn’t been, it’s not something I want to put him through questions about,\u201d Kasdan says. \u201cHe has his own way of dealing with it. He will tell people what he wants to tell them.\u201d<\/p>\n Short spoke of his daughter\u2019s struggles in an interview with CBS Sunday Morning<\/a> May 10.<\/p>\n “It’s been a nightmare for the family,” he told journalist Tracy Smith<\/a>. “But the understanding that mental health and cancer \u2212 like my wife (had) \u2212 are both diseases, and sometimes, with diseases, they are terminal. And my daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health \u2212 borderline personality disorder, other things \u2212 and did the best she could until she couldn’t. So Nan\u2019s last words to me were, \u2018Martin, let me go.\u2019 And (Katherine) was just saying, \u2018Dad, let me go.\u2019”<\/p>\n Martin Short sits with his friend, Catherine O’Hara, for a documentary about his life.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cNancy was drop-dead beautiful,\u201d Short says in the documentary, but he didn\u2019t pay too much attention to the men gawking at her because he was in an on-again, off-again relationship with Gilda Radner. One summer, when he and Dolman were both single, she came to see him in a play. They stopped in at a Four Seasons hotel, where Short delivered a wisecrack to a member of the staff: \u201c\u2018My wife and I would like a room please.\u2019 And even he started laughing because we looked about 12,\u201d Short says. \u201cThat was it.\u201d<\/p>\n They wed in 1980 but had trouble conceiving because of Dolman\u2019s endometriosis.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were stunned,\u201d Short says when they couldn\u2019t get pregnant, and they turned to fertility drugs that affected Dolman\u2019s mood. She once got mad at Short for not cleaning the counter after making a sandwich.<\/p>\n The relationships between Martin Short and Nancy Dolman was praised in “Marty, Life is Short.”<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cI said, \u2018OK, you have to stop those drugs. And we\u2019re going to adopt a baby,\u2019\u201d Short says. \u201cAnd we adopted Katherine, and then Oliver, and then Henry.\u201d<\/p>\n O’Hara praises Short and Dolman as \u201can amazing team.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMy husband and I went through a little rough patch in our marriage,\u201d O’Hara says. So they went to couples counseling where the therapist asked if they knew any couples they aspired to be like. \u201cWe said, \u2018Oh, we have these friends, Marty and Nancy.\u2019 And she said, \u2018I can\u2019t tell you how many people have named them, when I\u2019ve asked this question.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Nancy Dolman and Martin Short, at the Paramount Theatre on Dec. 5, 2007, were married from 1980 until her death in 2010.<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n Short decided against auditioning for The Second City Toronto when it opened in 1973, because he \u201cdidn\u2019t like the idea of being funny on demand,\u201d he says, \u201cbecause I was basically afraid of it. I wanted to be Sinatra. I wanted to be a singer. I wanted to be an actor.\u201d<\/p>\n But before long, Short felt stuck professionally. So he moved to Los Angeles with then-girlfriend Dolman, when she landed a recording contract. One evening, in 1977, Short and Dolman were walking to get dinner with friends Paul Shaffer and Bill Murray<\/a>, who\u2019d made his \u201cSaturday Night Live<\/a>\u201d debut that January. Short became \u201coverwhelmed with, \u2018I can\u2019t. I can\u2019t do it,\u2019\u201d he says. Out of work and without prospects, Short told Dolman, \u201cI can\u2019t go and pretend to be happy for Bill because I don\u2019t know what I\u2019m doing. I need to sit down.\u201d<\/p>\n The next morning Short, \u201cwoke up in a funk.\u201d But seeing the improvisational group War Babies provided the clarity Short desperately needed.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was like the light bulbs went off. \u2018Of course this is what I should be doing,\u2019\u201d Short says, and he joined Second City Toronto.<\/p>\n Short\u2019s older brother, David Short, died following a car accident in 1962, when the comedian was 12. After, \u201cit was like nothing made sense,\u201d Short says. \u201cAnd then I had a dream. And I\u2019m telling you, I can see it right now, and it was in Technicolor. And I was sitting by a stream in the woods, and David came up. He looked handsome. He was wearing this beautiful Ban-Lon shirt. And he said: \u2018I\u2019m fine. Everything is wonderful, and I\u2019ll see you in a minute.\u2019 And I woke up, and the cloud had lifted.\u201d<\/p>\n But tragedy struck the family again when Short\u2019s mom, Olive, started to cough at David\u2019s funeral. She\u2019d previously battled breast cancer quietly, Short says. But this time, it was predicted that she had just three months left to live. Olive refused to accept her prognosis, as she had \u201canother child to raise,\u201d Short says. So she asked her daughter, Nora Short, to pass her some grapes. \u201cAnd that became a symbol of courage in our family,\u201d Short says.<\/p>\n Olive \u201cwas in perfect health for the next two years,\u201d Short says, but died when he was 18. His father\u2019s health declined quickly after, and Charles Short died when his son was just 20. Short\u2019s beloved wife, Dolman was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007. She tended to be an optimist and put up a fight, Short says, but died in 2010.<\/p>\n \u201cLike any family, it\u2019s just a simple fact that loss is something to negotiate,\u201d Short says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to happen to all of us, and we must celebrate and continue that voice and never let it go.\u201d<\/p>\nA \u2018private\u2019 Martin Short lets viewers in<\/h2>\n
\u2018Marty, Life is Short\u2019 is dedicated to Catherine O\u2019Hara and Katherine Short<\/h2>\n
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Martin Short fell in love with the \u2018drop-dead beautiful\u2019 Nancy Dolman<\/h2>\n
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How Bill Murray’s success impacted Martin Short’s move to comedy<\/h2>\n
Martin Short has learned \u2018loss is something to negotiate\u2019<\/h2>\n