'Marty, Life Is Short' reveals the losses endured by comedy legend Martin Short

"“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.”"

"“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.” Their blissful relationship is a highlight of the film, as told through Short's own home videos."

"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."

"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."

Martin Short created memorable comedic characters across decades, from SCTV and Saturday Night Live to later roles like Jiminy Glick and Oliver Putnam. A documentary titled Marty, Life Is Short chronicles his life and personal losses. After the film was completed, his daughter Katherine died by suicide at age 42, following a terminal mental illness. Short compared mental illness to terminal diseases and chose to proceed with the documentary’s release, aiming to address grief without denying it. The film also covers earlier family deaths, including his father, mother, and brother between ages 12 and 20, and his wife Nancy Dolman’s death from ovarian cancer in 2010. Home videos portray their relationship as a central love story.

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