Martin Short has spent decades proving that you can be both riotously funny and heartbreakingly gracious, and a resurfaced clip from 2012 just seals the deal.
While promoting Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted—where he voiced Stefano, a neurotic circus seal with the energy of your most anxious friend—Short stopped by the Today Show segment with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford.
What should’ve been a breezy morning segment instantly swerved into cringe territory when Gifford lobbed what she must’ve thought was a softball:
“You and Nancy have one of the greatest marriages of anybody in show business. How many years now for you guys?”
And here comes the gut punch: Nancy Dolman, Short’s beloved wife of three decades, had passed away from ovarian cancer in 2010.
But Dolman wasn’t just “Martin Short’s wife.” She was a whip-smart comedic actress in her own right, first meeting Marty in a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell—where, casual flex, the cast also included Gilda Radner, Eugene Levy, and Andrea Martin.
The couple married in 1980, adopted three children, and built the kind of marriage Hollywood rom-com producers would kill for. Dolman later retired from showbiz to focus on family, but remained her husband’s most cherished scene partner until the very end.
When she died, Short revealed on The Meredith Vieira Show her final wishes:
“She had once said to me: 'I don't want a funeral, and I don't want a memorial. Throw a party, or not.’ So I just followed her wishes."
"We went up. We had a party with all the family — about 30 close friends and family. The kids and I went into a boat. We sprinkled the ashes in the water, and we jumped into the ashes.”
You can view the emotional interview here:
- YouTubeThe Meredith Vieira Show/YouTube
So flash forward two years later, and there’s Short, being asked—live on national TV—how many blissful years he and his late wife had been married. The secondhand embarrassment was palpable, but Short didn’t even flinch.
With total devotion in his voice, he simply replied that they’d been married 36 years and that he is still:
“Madly in love. Madly in love.”
Oh, that sound you heard? Just me launching every single cry emoji into the atmosphere.
You can watch the awkward interview clip below:
- YouTubeWN Medias/YouTube
After the segment, Gifford realized her mistake and apologized publicly, noting that Short had kindly pulled her aside to explain. Consider it a gentle reminder that a quick Google before live TV never hurts.
His response in an interview with E! News:
“On live television, people make mistakes. There's no ill will intended.”
And this is why fans are madly in love with Short: he’s a class act.
On Reddit, fans chimed in on the interview:
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Fans continue to be charmed by Martin Short as he steals scenes in Hulu’s hit Only Murders in the Building. The cozy crime-comedy, which premiered in 2021, pairs him with longtime partner-in-laughs Steve Martin and a perfectly deadpan Selena Gomez as three neighbors-turned-podcasters unraveling murders in their Upper West Side building.
The show—equal parts whodunit, satire, and love letter to true-crime obsessives—has scooped up Emmys, fueled endless Reddit theories, and even roped in Meryl Streep, because apparently “already iconic” just wasn’t iconic enough.
And off-screen? Rumor has it Streep might be just as smitten with Short as the rest of us. The two have been spotted catching Broadway shows and turning up together at Saturday Night Live. Budding romance or flawless PR campaign? Either way, we ship it, we ship it hard.
Only Murders in this Building returns on September 9, and you can view the trailer here:
- YouTubeHulu/YouTube
