Martin Short has recently opened up about his personal accomplishments and tragedies on the documentary, Marty, Life Is Short.
Videos by Wide Open Country
The comedian reflected on losing his oldest brother as well as his mother and father when he was a young man.
Short said in the documentary, "My mother was a sweet angel of a person. My father had so much edge. I think that with any family, if you have one grounded, sweet, angelic person, whether the mother or the father, then that balances everything out."
Sadly, his oldest brother, David, died in a car accident at 26. Short was just 12 at the time. The loss rocked Short's world. He had been at a sleepaway camp at the time. "It was like nothing made sense," he said.
Martin Short Opens Up About Losing Brother
After his brother's death, Short says that he had a dream of his brother. It was a very strange dream for the comedian but ultimately helped him.
"I had a dream.... It was in Technicolor," he said. "I was sitting by a stream in the woods, and David came up. He was handsome, he was wearing this beautiful Ban-Lon shirt. And he said, 'I'm fine. Everything is wonderful. And I'll see you in a minute.' And I woke up, and a cloud had lifted."
Sadly, it wouldn't be the last tragedy that Short faced. Just a few years later, the comedian lost his father and mother.
"Do I become defeated forever?" Short asked. "Or learn that life is short and have a glass of wine and laugh and appreciate these people and never let them go. That's the great secret. If you never let them go from your life, then they're always with you. Because before you know it, you'll be with them."
It's a philosophy that he's tried to hold onto for most of his life. Short and his other four siblings maintain a close relationship.
"My family adores each other to this day," Short says. "The four of us get together, we have hilarity, drink rum and Cokes, laugh, insult each other like nothing's changed. Very close family."
