Martin Short’s 30-year marriage to his wife, Nancy Dolman, was one of the most wholesome relationships in Hollywood, with Martin and actor Nancy meeting back in 1972 when they starred in the Toronto production of Godspell.
They got married in 1980, and Nancy retired from showbiz five years later to be a stay-at-home mom and raise their family, with she and Martin adopting three children over the years.
Tragically, Nancy died of ovarian cancer in August 2010, and Martin has been open about how his wife’s passing impacted him over the years.
And speaking to The Hollywood Reporter just last year, Martin said of Nancy’s death: “It was absolutely horrible, obviously, and as sad as anything. I will tell you what I said to my kids at the time: ‘I believe Mom has zoomed into our souls.'”
Now, Martin has won widespread praise for the “classy” way he handled Kathie Lee Gifford discussing his marriage with Nancy unaware that she had died during an awkward interview on the Today Show.
It all started when Kathie asked: “You and Nancy have one of the greatest marriages of anybody in show business, how many years now for you guys?”
At the time, Kathie acknowledged her misstep after a commercial break, telling viewers: “I felt so badly for my question. Marty very kindly came up to me and told me what I had done, and I want to say my sincerest, sincerest apologies to him and to his family for not realizing what I was doing on live television.”
And Martin was just as gracious about Kathie’s blunder off-screen as he was on. The star was asked about the incident in a subsequent interview with E! News, where he said: “I think that it’s live television and people make mistakes and there’s no ill will intended.”