Martin Short says Catherine O’Hara was ‘like a sister,’ recalls late comic’s kindness

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Martin Short has talked about his bond with late Catherine O’Hara as he called her “like a sister.” 

The legendary comedian is now the subject of a new Netflix documentary, ‘Marty, Life Is Short’, premiering on May 12, and the film includes O’Hara among many familiar faces helping celebrate the ‘Father of the Bride’ star’s life.

On May 10, Short sat down for an interview with CBS Sunday Morning, where he reflected on facing tragedies and experiencing loss.

Martin Short says Catherine O’Hara was ‘like a sister’

When the interviewer said, “Seeing Catherine O’Hara in this documentary is such a treasure. What was it like for you to watch that? To hear her talking about you,” Short soon replied, “Well, Catherine was like a sister to me.”

“There was no one more brilliant. There was no one sweeter. And there was no one funnier. And she, more than anyone on ‘SCTV,’ would sit behind the camera and give you suggestions. ‘Marty, try that.’ ‘Oh, okay.’ And then you always just did it,” the Primetime Emmy Award-winning star said of the late actress, who died in January 2026.

Martin Short recalls Catherine O’Hara’s kindness on ‘SCTV’

He further recalled a story about the ‘Schitt's Creek’ star.

“I remember we did a piece ‘The Queen Haters’, a punk rock group and she had just seen a punk band where the guy just randomly did this dance, so she showed it to me and then I to do the take,” Short shared, before adding, “The rest of us were self-centered but not Catherine.”

Martin Short says he knew Catherine O’Hara since she was 18

This came months after Short had paid tribute to O’Hara during his ‘The Best of Steve Martin and Martin Short’ comedy show in Austin, Texas, hours after it was reported that she died at the age of 71 because of pulmonary embolism.

“Catherine O’Hara, I met when she was 18 years of age, and in all these years later, she has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with. So God bless Catherine,” he had said at the time.

Martin Short shares his late daughter fought with 'extreme mental health'

Meanwhile, during the recent interview, Short also talked about a very personal tragedy. He lost his daughter Katherine earlier this year.

The ‘Only Murders in the Building’ actor compared his wife Nancy Dolman’s 2010 death with his daughter’s as he said, “My daughter fought for a long time with extreme mental health, borderline personality disorder, other things, and did the best she could, until she couldn’t.”

“So, Nan’s last words to me were, ‘Martin, let me go.’ And what [Katherine] was just saying [was], ‘Dad, let me go,’” Short revealed.