Actor Martin Short and Katherine Elizabeth Short at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party on February 27, 2011, at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood. (Gregg DeGuire / FilmMagic via Getty Images)
Katherine Short, a Los Angeles social worker and the daughter of actor and comedian Martin Short, has died. She was 42.
Her death was confirmed by her family.
“It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short,” the family said in a statement. “The Short family is devastated by this loss and asks for privacy at this time. Katherine was beloved by all and will be remembered for the light and joy she brought into the world.”
Read more: Larry David, Martin Short and other famous friends had this to say about Rob Reiner
The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to her Hollywood Hills home on Monday at about 6 p.m. Paramedics pronounced her dead shortly after. A law enforcement source told The Times that Katherine Short died by apparent suicide.
Katherine Short, who obtained a bachelor’s degree in psychology and gender studies from NYU in 2006 and a master’s degree in social work from USC in 2010, operated a private practice and worked part-time at psychiatry-led outpatient clinic Amae Health, according to People. She was also involved with the charity Bring Change 2 Mind, whose mission is to end the stigma and discrimination surrounding mental illness.
She was the eldest of three children Martin Short adopted with his wife, actor Nancy Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010. The couple met in the early 1970s while working on the Toronto production of the rock musical “Godspell.” They married in 1980.
“I’ve been asked to write books over the years,” Martin Short told The Times in a 2014 interview at his Pacific Palisades home. “I knew it had to be something more important that just anecdotes. After my wife died, I realized we all go through this and we wake up the next day whether we think the world should stop or not — it doesn’t.”
That year, Martin Short published his memoir, “I Must Say: My Life as a Humble Comedy Legend,” which he dedicated to his children.
Read more: Appreciation: Catherine O’Hara was an onscreen benediction
Katherine Short’s death comes less than a month after actor Catherine O’Hara, a close friend and longtime collaborator of Martin Short’s, died of a pulmonary embolism. O’Hara had also been fighting a private battle with rectal cancer.
Martin Short and his “Only Murders in the Building” co-star Steve Martin paid tribute to O’Hara during a recent stop on their joint comedy tour. Recalling meeting O’Hara when she was 18, Martin Short said, “In all these years later, she has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel.”
More in Celebrity
Erika Kirk Is Unrecognizable Without ‘Cakey’ Makeup & ‘Mar-A-Lago’ Glam In Resurfaced Photos
SheFinds
1K
Martin Short’s Daughter Katherine Dead at 42
Globe
646
David Bowie’s Daughter, 25, Claims She Was Forcibly Taken to a Treatment Center After Singer Was Diagnosed with Cancer
People
157
The best shoes for walking and standing all dayFree Motion Shoes
The comedy duo’s next show is scheduled for Friday at Milwaukee’s Miller High Life Theatre.
Martin Short is up for an Actor Award this Sunday for actor in a comedy series for his performance as Oliver Putnam in “Only Murders in the Building.” The Hulu show, which co-stars Martin and Selena Gomez, is also nominated in the ensemble category.
O’Hara is nominated as well for her portrayal of hardened Hollywood veteran Patty Leigh in entertainment industry satire “The Studio,” which earned five total nominations.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
