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Martin Short has postponed upcoming comedy tour dates with Steve Martin following the death of his daughter, Katherine Hartley Short, a loss the family confirmed in a public statement on Tuesday. Katherine Short was 42.
In a statement carried by multiple outlets, the family said it was acting with “profound grief,” adding that the Short family was “devastated by this loss” and asking for privacy.
Entertainment Weekly, People, ABC News, and the Los Angeles Times all reported the same family confirmation and statement language.
The immediate professional impact was visible on the tour calendar within hours. Official event pages for Milwaukee and Minneapolis now list the affected performances as postponed, with ticket holders told to keep their tickets for a future rescheduled date.
The Pabst Theater Group page for the Feb. 27 Milwaukee stop shows the event as “POSTPONED,” while Hennepin Arts states that the Feb. 28 Minneapolis shows were postponed and that tickets will be honored when a new date is set.
Ticketmaster’s Minneapolis listing similarly notes that the organizer postponed the event and advises fans to hold onto tickets for the new date.
Local reporting in Milwaukee also confirmed the postponement, with FOX6 citing the Pabst Theater Group’s notice and saying ticket holders would receive updates when more information becomes available.
Katherine Short was a licensed clinical social worker in Los Angeles, and coverage across major outlets described a career focused on mental health work, including private practice and work connected to Amae Health.
Reports also noted her academic background, including degrees from New York University and the University of Southern California.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Los Angeles Fire Department responded to Katherine Short’s Hollywood Hills home on Monday evening and that paramedics pronounced her dead shortly afterward.
The newspaper also reported, citing a law enforcement source, that her death was an apparent suicide. People reported that the Los Angeles coroner confirmed the death as suicide, and ABC News reported law enforcement and fire department response details from the scene.
Short, one of the most recognizable comic performers of his generation, has remained a major touring draw in recent years through his long-running stage partnership with Steve Martin, a collaboration that has also been reinforced by their work on Only Murders in the Building.
Entertainment Weekly noted that the duo were in the middle of a nationwide comedy run, with Milwaukee and Minneapolis among the next scheduled stops.
For fans, the practical message is straightforward. The Milwaukee and Minneapolis performances are postponed, not canceled, according to the official venue and ticketing notices now posted. Ticket holders should monitor venue and ticketing communications for the rescheduled dates.
What remains, beyond the scheduling fallout, is a deeply personal loss that has moved quickly from private grief into public view because of Short’s profile. The family’s statement has been consistent across outlets, and so has the central request: privacy.
