Fears for Martin Short as A-list inner circle rush to his side after daughter’s sudden death: Read haunting letters left at her LA home

Martin Short’s closest friends have rallied around him in the wake of an unimaginable tragedy, as insiders reveal the depth of his heartache following the death of his daughter.

Katherine Hartley Short, 42 – the oldest of Short’s three children – was found dead at her Hollywood Hills home on Monday evening from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the LAPD confirmed.

On Tuesday evening, a stream of his closest friends, including Steven Spielberg, Kurt Russell and Eugene Levy, arrived at his son Henry’s home to offer comfort and support as the family grieved.

‘Short is inconsolable,’ one source close to the family told the Daily Mail.

‘This is as much of a horror to Martin and his sons, her brothers, as humanly possible,’ the insider said. Short has two sons, Henry, 36, and Oliver, 39

‘For someone who brings so much joy to so many, who is always trying to lift others up and make them laugh, this loss has completely shattered him. He is gutted, and as you would expect, his closest friends are surrounding him with love and support.’

A visibly weary Short was dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans as he arrived around 5pm at his son Henry’s home. The actor was later seen deep in thought walking through the rose garden.

Shortly afterward, Kurt Russell pulled up in his gray Genesis G90 luxury sedan, dressed in a gray T-shirt, black sweatpants and gray sneakers, to offer his condolences before departing roughly ten minutes later.

Another wave of close friends soon followed, with Steven Spielberg and Schitt’s Creek actor Eugene Levy arriving shortly afterward. 

Levy, wearing a navy suit, retrieved bags of food from the back seat of his car before heading inside.

Close behind him was legendary director Spielberg, who wore a navy varsity jacket layered over a vest and button-up shirt, paired with light-wash jeans, as the two joined Short and his sons for an intimate dinner.

The Los Angeles Coroner’s Office has completed Katherine’s autopsy, and her body is ready to be released, the Daily Mail can confirm.

Insiders told the Daily Mail that Short’s other two closest friends, Steve Martin and Meryl Streep, are also giving him all the comfort they can as he mourns the loss of his daughter.

‘Both Steve and Meryl are going to make sure to be there for him throughout this heartbreaking time,’ the source said.

They also referenced his wife Nancy’s tragic passing from cancer in 2010 and how that has added onto the weight of his loss. 

‘Bringing his children into his world through adoption with his wife, Nancy, who passed away, was the greatest thing he has ever done, and to lose Katherine is just as bad and sad as it was to lose Nancy. 

‘It is just a terrible time for Martin right now, but that is to be expected.’   

Neighbors showed up to support the family, leaving letters and flowers in front of Katherine’s Hollywood home. 

One neighbor wrote: ‘Last night a light went out here on Earth, but one turned on in the sky. Today that light has a name: Katherine Short.’

Another touching letter spoke in length about their regret in not texting Katherine when they noticed her packages had been left untouched on her front porch before they realized she had passed away.

‘Now I’m wondering if texting you first could have made a difference. I very much regret not texting you back last, not following up about your 1st edition, not being a better neighbor… but no-one could have been a better neighbor than you.’

Another heartfelt letter read: ‘To whom it may concern, Katherine was an incredible neighbor who comforted my family and I in our grief. 

‘If there is a public service, we would love to attend,’ the letter added before finishing off the letter with multiple ways to contact the writer.

Short’s daughter had quietly battled mental health issues for years and had checked herself into treatment facilities multiple times before her suicide, a close friend revealed on Tuesday. 

Katherine was a licensed clinical social worker, therapist and charity volunteer, who ‘loved to laugh’ despite a years-long 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.’  

‘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.

Katherine was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at her Hollywood Hills home on Monday evening, the LAPD confirmed.

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.

‘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 around her famous father, star of hit series Only Murders in the Building, 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.

‘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’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.

‘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