The actor, 76, dated Radner in the early '70s after starring in the Toronto production of the musical 'Godspell'
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NEED TO KNOW
- Martin Short met Gilda Radner in a 1972 Toronto production of Godspell alongside Eugene Levy and Andrea Martin
- Short and Radner dated during the production
- Short also met his future wife, Nancy Dolman, during Godspell, where she was Radner’s understudy
Martin Short recalls Gilda Radner being warm, funny and instantly likable.
Short, 76, reflected on meeting the late Saturday Night Live star in a 1972 production of Godspell while chatting with David Letterman and Paul Shaffer at the Netflix Is a Joke Presents: This Better Be Funny with David Letterman event on Thursday, May 7.
"Godspell had opened off-Broadway and become a huge hit, so they were mounting a Toronto production," Short explained. "I was still in university. Gilda Radner was there. Eugene Levy. Andrea Martin. Victor Garber."
He noted that the "callbacks were chaos — like American Idol. Hundreds of people, and somehow we all got cast together.”
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Short told Letterman that none of the would-be stars knew each other beforehand, and they were “just kids.”
“We were just thrilled to be out of school and doing something creative," Short shared.
When asked about his relationship with Radner, who died of ovarian cancer in 1989 at age 42, the Emmy award winner said she was “exactly as wonderful as you’d hope.”
“Every woman wanted to be her best friend and every guy wanted to date her because she was just hilarious and alive and warm," Short shared. "The first rehearsal, she came over and said, ‘Hi, I’m Gilda. I’m really excited to meet you.’ She was instantly funny."
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During that same production, however, Short also met his future wife, Nancy Dolman, as she was cast as Radner’s understudy.
"She was an incredible singer. Huge talent," Short said of Dolman.
In 2024, the Only Murders in the Building actor opened up to Ted Danson about the entanglement between him and the two women.
Danson asked if he ever had a “glimmer in your eye” for Dolman before they got together, and while Short said he thought she was “out of my league,” he added that he also “loved Gilda.”
He and Radner “always were breaking up,” he remembered. Once Short felt like he and Radner were broken up for good, he made plans to play tennis with Dolman.
“I remember Gilda phoning up and saying, ‘You're with Nancy… we're supposed to get back together,' ” he confessed to Danson. “It was fast. One day. One day, I was single. That's crazy."
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Short and Dolman went on to get married in 1980. In 1985, they adopted three children: Katherine, Oliver, and Henry. However, Dolman died in 2010 from ovarian cancer. They were married for 36 years.
In February 2026, the Short family announced that Katherine had died at the age of 42.
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