Actor Martin Short’s daughter had quietly battled mental health issues for years and had checked herself into treatment facilities multiple times before her tragic suicide at age 42, a close friend has revealed.
Katherine Hartley Short – whose death was confirmed by her family on Tuesday – was a licensed clinical social worker, therapist and charity volunteer, who ‘loved to laugh’ despite a yearslong struggle with her mental health, the pal told the Daily Mail.
‘She was such a wonderful, giving, loving human being. I’m picturing her face right now, laughing,’ said Rande Levine, founder of Karma Rescue, a dog charity on whose board Katherine served.
‘It’s just so devastating to find out she took her own life,’ Levine added, reacting to the tragic news.
‘I knew she was battling with that stuff. But she put her soul into helping others that were experiencing the same things she was.’
Katherine was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her Hollywood Hills home on Monday evening, the LAPD confirmed.
Martin Short’s daughter, Katherine Hartley Short, 42, quietly battled mental health struggles for years before her suicide, according to a close friend
The licensed therapist was remembered as ‘giving, loving’ and devoted to supporting those facing mental health issues – and had battled some herself
A neighbor told the Daily Mail: ‘Katherine pretty much kept to herself. She had been sick, struggling with some sort of physical illness.
‘She must have been in so much anguish to have done this. It’s just so sad.’
Katherine had been living in the quaint Hollywood Hills neighborhood for about six years.
Levine said her late friend and colleague helped countless patients with mental struggles as a clinical social worker, and still found time to work on animal and mental health charities too.
But the charity founder said that there were several times during the 2010s when Short took time off her charity work to check into an inpatient mental health facility when she was at a severe low point.
‘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 told the Daily Mail.
In addition to being a licensed social worker, Katherine served on the board of dog rescue charity Karma Rescue and was passionate about animal welfare
On her website, Katherine credited her service dog, Joni, with helping her navigate her own mental health struggles
‘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.
‘She always was smiling, always a pleasure to be around. Every experience or connection I had with Katherine was always positive.
‘She was so soft spoken. She was calm, she laughed a lot.’
Levine said Short even brought her famous father, star of hit series Only Murders in the Building, round to loving pit bulls as part of her work for Karma Rescue.
‘I’ll never forget a funny story she told me. When she adopted her dog Charlie she told her dad, “I just adopted a pit bull.”
‘He was like, “I think I would rather you told me you are dating somebody in ISIS”.
‘But she introduced Charlie to Martin and he fell in love. She showed me a video of him and the dog lying in bed together cuddling.’
Levine said Katherine was close with her doting dad, who was very involved in her life.
‘I feel so sad for her dad. They were so close. He was so supportive of her and a big part of her life,’ she said.
Close friend Rande Levine, the founder of dog rescue charity Karma Rescue, told the Daily Mail that Katherine would occasionally step away to seek treatment
Emergency responders were called to Katherine’s Hollywood Hills home on Monday
‘When we’d talk on the phone or email, he was always involved with her, being a supportive dad.’
Levine said that when Charlie died, Katherine got another pit bull, Joni.
The late mental health counselor wrote about how Joni helped her through difficult times, on her now-defunct counseling website.
‘Joni (named after the legendary singer Joni Mitchell) is my incredible service dog, who has been assisting me with my own struggles with mental illness for the past 5 years,’ a 2024 archive of the site said.
‘Joni will often be in the office with me, cuddled up on her bed. 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.’
Levine said she is ‘praying somebody will step in’ to take care of the dog left behind after Katherine’s death.
Katherine was said to be extremely close with her father, actor Martin Short, who was ‘very supportive’ and deeply involved in her life
Short and his late wife Nancy Dolman, pictured in 1989 with their children Katherine and Oliver
Katherine’s old website also lists some inspirational quotes and advice that has taken on a new tragic light following her reported suicide.
‘If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading,’ the front page of the website says, quoting Chinese philosopher Lao Tsu.
‘Do you feel as though your life is not going in the direction you want? Do you feel things could be better, but aren’t clear how to get there?’ Short wrote on the site to her prospective patients.
‘If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are not alone.
‘At any given moment you have the power to say: “This is not working for me. This is not how my story needs to unfold.”
‘With effort and energy, you can learn how to achieve your goals and enact lasting, positive changes in your life. I am here to help you along that path.
A Canadian flag could be seen Tuesday flying outside the property where Katherine’s body was found
‘You are a unique individual, with your own story, personality, and strengths. I use a tailored approach to help cultivate these distinctive strengths while assisting you in finding an understanding of how to cope with life’s inevitable challenges.’
As well as giving counseling as a licensed clinical social worker, Katherine also volunteered for mental health charity Bring Change 2 Mind, founded by actress Glenn Close and her family.
Her site says she previously worked for UCLA’s Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital for four years, then at the dual-diagnosis outpatient program Camden Center, and part-time at community clinic Amae Health.
Katherine is one of three adopted children of Martin Short, 75, and his late wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, who died in 2010 of ovarian cancer.
The Short family confirmed Katherine’s death Tuesday in a statement, saying: ‘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.’
Canadian-American actor Short told the Guardian in a 2012 interview that his wife’s death hit the kids hard.
‘It’s been a tough two years for my children,’ Martin told the newspaper.
‘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.’
If you are struggling, please contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline on 988 for help and support
