Martin Short has experienced a lot of tragedies throughout his life. Most recently, his daughter passed away in February.
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The comedian recently opened up to CBS News about the passing of his daughter Katherine. Katherine died by suicide at just 42.
"It's been a nightmare for the family," Short said. "But the understanding [is] that mental health and cancer, like my wife's, are both diseases, and sometimes with diseases they are terminal. And my daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the best she could until she couldn't."
"So, Nan's last words to me were, 'Martin, let me go.' And what she was just saying [was], 'Dad, let me go,'" he said.
Martin Short on Wife's Passing
The past few years have been full of tragedies for Short. In 2010, his wife, Nancy, of 30 years, passed away after battling ovarian cancer. "She was funny. She had lots of edge," he said. "It was an equal ping pong match. ... although Tom Hanks would go up to Nancy, 'Aren't you tired of laughing at his jokes?'"
Short said when his wife got sick that he withdrew from acting. It was too hard for him to focus on the gig.
"I didn't work as much," he said. "But I remember I was doing 'Damages' at the time. This was the last five months, but I went for a month to shoot, and I remember getting to set, and no one knew. And Glenn [Close] would go, 'Marty's here, yay!!" And I'd go, 'Okay. Let me just go to the dressing room for a second [and compose myself]. ... Okay, then.' You know, that's what you have to do."
Short said he had to just keep moving forward after his wife passed away.
He explained, I don't know if it helped. You know, it didn't help, but you had to do it, you know? I mean, people have to do things in difficult times. And the mark of the man is: Can you do it?"
It's something he has had to do in the wake of his daughter's passing as well.
"Well, it's something that, I've just been in that situation many times," he said. "You head for the light."
