Kathie Lee Gifford once asked Martin Short about his wife on live TV — not realizing she was no more
Kathie Lee Gifford is a celebrated name in TV hosting, but even veterans aren’t immune to occasional hiccups. In one memorable moment, she forgot a deeply painful detail about Martin Short's life, leading to one of the most awkward live TV blunders. While the slip-up was unintentional, the conversation took a drastic turn, leading the host to apologize.
The slip-up took place during Short's appearance on 'Today', back in May 2012. The interview took an awkward turn when Gifford asked Short about his marriage. For the unversed, Short’s wife, Nancy Dolman, died of ovarian cancer in 2010, as per The Hollywood Reporter. Talking about Short and his late wife's marriage, Gifford said, "You and Nancy have got one of the greatest marriages of anybody in show business,” while adding, "How many years for you guys?" Short, without correcting her, replied, "36 years."
kathie lee gifford asked martin short about his wife, not realizing she'd died: pic.twitter.com/nT6yb07EZm
— popculturediedin2009 (@pcd2009) June 8, 2022
Gifford continued, noting "but you're still like in love." Short agreed with her, saying, "Madly in love." Continuing, Gifford next asked, "Why?, to which Short shook his head, and said, 'I'm cute!'" It was after the commercial break that Gifford was informed about her mistake, and she wasted no time in apologizing. The host said she felt "so badly" for the error after Short informed her backstage. "My apologies to him and his family for not realizing that," she said. Later, Gifford also shared an apology to the actor on Twitter.
I send my sincerest apologies to @MartinShort and his family. He handled situation w/enormous grace and kindness and I'm so grateful.
— Kathie Lee Gifford (@KathieLGifford) May 30, 2012
The internet was also in awe of Short's response and agreed with their opinions under a Reddit thread. A Redditor commented, "What, A. Champ. That was handled extremely graciously," while another said, "Goddamn. Martin Short is such a classy motherf****r. He could've easily embarrassed her life but chose not to." A fan wrote, "Jesus Christ, Martin Short is an absolute saint. Not to mention the truthfulness of his answers." While another said, "What a f****g champ. Seriously. I would've flipped my shit. I have a lot of maturing to do and this is a great example of how one does it."
On the other hand, some fans didn't hold back as they slammed Gifford, "For some reason, I've seen three videos over the past two days of Cathy just being an awful human being. I refuse to watch anything she's in. She needs to just go ahead and retire already." A Redditor added, "Just a testament to how great Martin Short is and how horrible their prep work is for guests. That being said, I don't think it had any malintent, but they should've known better." While another asked, "Can we collectively hate her now?"
Recently, Short has been at the center of heartwarming romance rumors with Meryl Streep. However, in January 2024, he denied the speculation, stating they are "just very close friends." Despite this, their handholding at the 'Only Murders in the Building' Season 4 afterparty left fans speculating, according to Town & Country. In mid-October 2023, the pair were seen having dinner together at Giorgio Baldi in Santa Monica, which only fueled the dating rumors.
