Martin Short’s daughter Katherine found dead at 42

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.”

The Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Katherine Short’s Hollywood Hills home on Monday at about 6 p.m. Paramedics pronounced her dead shortly after. A law enforcement source told The Times that she died by apparent suicide.

After news broke of his daughter’s death, Martin Short postponed a trio of shows on his joint comedy tour with Steve Martin.

Milwaukee’s Miller High Life Theatre, the venue that was slated to host the duo Friday, in a notice on its website attributed the postponement to “unforeseen circumstances.” A new show date wasn’t given, but the venue said tickets will be honored for a future date.

The “Only Murders in the Building” co-stars’ Feb. 28 shows at Minneapolis’ Orpheum Theatre were also postponed, per the venue’s website. The next scheduled tour date without a postponement notice is on March 13 in Washington, D.C.

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.

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 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.”

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.