Beloved actor Martin Short confirmed the passing of his daughter, Katherine Hartley Short, at just 42 years old on Wednesday, February 25. And with details of her final days emerging, the picture of what was going on behind the scenes that’s emerging is a devastating one for her family and friends.
Katherine had reportedly struggled with mental health issues for years. She was a therapist and licensed clinical social worker, but that doesn’t mean she didn’t face her own challenges, all while she tried to help others. The Blast reported that a close friend, Rande Levine, explained that there were periods during the 2010s when Katherine got inpatient treatment.
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“She’d say, I won’t be around, I’m going away. She’d go check into some place to boost her up again,” Levine said.
And according to her friends, she was always open about her struggles—while maintaining a façade for the world. “I knew she was battling with this. She would talk about it. But you would never know based on how she presented herself, and how funny she was,” Levine added.
Katherine was found dead with a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her Hollywood Hills home on Wednesday, February 25, according to the LAPD. A neighbor told the Daily Mail, that she was a private person and had been dealing with a physical illness. “She must have been in so much anguish to have done this. It’s just so sad,” they said.
Levine remembered her as the kind of person you want in your life. “She was such a wonderful, giving, loving human being. I’m picturing her face right now, laughing,” they said. “It’s just so devastating to find out she took her own life,” she added.
Katherine reportedly had a service dog to assist her in the years prior to her death. In her since-deleted professional website, she shared a photo and bio of her service dog, Joni, named after singer Joni Mitchell.
“Joni is my incredible service dog, who has been assisting me with my own struggles with mental illness for the past 5 years,” the website read. “Joni will often be in the office with me, cuddled up on her bed,” Katherine continued. “She is an absolute sweetheart and just LOVES people, so don’t be surprised if she greets you with a smile, a wagging tail…and maybe even a kiss.”
A rep for Martin Short released a statement about Katherine’s death, which read, “It is with profound grief that we confirm the passing of Katherine Hartley Short. 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.”
She and Short reportedly had a very close relationship. “I feel so sad for her dad. They were so close. He was so supportive of her and a big part of her life,” Levine said.
Katherine was one of three children Short shared with his late wife, Nancy Dolman, who died of ovarian cancer in 2010. Short once spoke to The Guardian about that loss and how hard it was for his kids.
“This is the thing of life that we live in denial about, that it will ever happen to us or our loved ones, and when it does you gain a little and you suffer a little. There’s no big surprise.”
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