Martin Short's Wife, Nancy Dolman, Dies at 58

By PopEater Staff Posted Aug 23rd 2010 07:04PM

Martin Short's wife of 30 years, Nancy Dolman, died Saturday at the couple's Pacific Palisades home in California, the couple's representative announced late Monday. She was 58.

The family has not disclosed the cause of death, but a coroner official told PEOPLE on Tuesday that Dolman was "under the care of a private physician for a natural disease" when she died. "There will be no coroner involvement, L.A. County Coroner Chief Craig Harvey noted.

On Saturday morning, the Los Angeles City Fire Department went to their home in response to an emergency call. The response unit was on the scene for 30 minutes before departing without taking anyone to the hospital. It's believed Dolman passed away at their house. RadarOnline.com was first to report the news.

Dolman was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and underwent surgery at that time though it's not immediately clear if her passing was related to her illness.

Dolman, best known for a recurring role as Annie Selig Tate on the TV sitcom 'Soap,' met Short in 1972 while both were working on a stage production of 'Godspell.' She was Gilda Radner's understudy, but quickly caught the attention of Short. They married in 1980 and five years later she retired from acting to raise their family.

The couple has three children: Katherine Elizabeth, 27, Oliver Patrick, 24, and Henry, 20.

Short as "Ed Grimley" during a sketch on 'SCTV.' Dolman plays the princess at 3:30:

Short, known for guarding his private life, has dealt with great family tragedy before. In a 1984 interview with PEOPLE, the actor spoke of losing his oldest brother in an auto accident when Martin was only 12, and of the deaths of both his parents before he was 21.

"It sounds like a tragic family, but it really isn't," he said. "My mother had cancer, and she had been ill and then in remission since I was 13. She was a remarkable person; both my parents were. So I never looked at it as if it was a tragedy – that I didn't have them my whole life. You learn some sense of priorities. Our whole family took the attitude that if you have wonderful moments, don't second-guess them, just enjoy them."

Short, famous for his time on 'Saturday Night Live' and his character in the 'Father of the Bride' film franchise, was nominated for an Emmy in the Best Supporting Actor For A Drama category for his stint on 'Damages.'

Tags: martin short, Nancy Dolman

Comments

(128)

Tuesday 24 August

By Heyes

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seems fishy to me... kinda like william shatners wife that died.... very odd

Monday 23 August

By emma

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heyes you're an idiot

By SUE

Idiot! What rock did you crawl from under.

By CC

Don't be stupid. A 40-year-old woman being found dead in the bottom of a swimming pool IS fishy. The death of a 58-year-old woman who had cancer is NOT fishy.

By Nicole

Shame on you, Heyes!

By Peach

How stupid! WOW the things people will say without even knowing what they are writing about? Hope you never have to have a love one die in your house!!!!!!!!! Then your neigbors and people who know you can write such things about you.

By Dan

OMG! People in their 50s die of natural causes everyday and this creep responds to this tragedy with "seems fishy to me." Do us all a favor, Heyes, and go play armchair detective elsewhere.

By patty

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Are you sick or something!! We are thinking of you and your family at this time Martin.

By Tom

My condolences to Martin and his entire family. That is a tragic loss.
That out of the way...people drop dead all over the world every day and it's just as tragic to their loved ones. How about posting some of them??? How about all the soldiers that have dropped dead from a bullet? How about dedicating some space for them?? Guess they don't make enough money to warrent recognition.

By Frank

Go Away you insensitive nimrod!

By tom

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Hey Frank.....screw you

By Clifford Scharff

Such shocking and terrible news. Martin and his family will be in my prayers tonight.

By barbara

I am so sorry to hear of your loss
its so hard to understand
we are here one minute and absolutely gone the next
and if we are problem solvers we are really lost

please look for your strength in the Lord
He is what helped me to get thru a similar situation
had to be God
what else could have held me up and he will hold you and your family up too

By gv

ITS ABSOLUTELY DISPICABLE THAT INSTEAD OF READING SYMPATHY MESSAGES ON THIS SITE THERE ARE PIGS PUTTING UP 'HOOKUP' SITES. INSENSITIVE ANIMALS.

MY HEART GOES OUT TO MARTIN AND HIS FAMILY. THE GRIEF MUST BE OVERWHELMING.

By chuck

just saw him on ellen...we lost another one to cancer...so sad!

By Jan

How tragic! My deepest condolences to the family!

By wavaxa2

Ha ha ha, looks good on you, you unfunny prick.

By Cindy Stauffer

hey wavaxa2, you were looking in the mirror when the phrase "unfunny prick" popped into your pea sized brain, weren"t you?

By HsouixZ

Cindy:

The poster "wavaxa2" is a troll. Ignore it. It won't go away, because it hasn't got a life; however, ignore it anyway.

Condolences to your family Mr. Short. Remember the best of the best of the 30 years you and your wife shared,

By Tina

My prayers are with your family Mr.Short.

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