Who Was Martin Short's Wife, Nancy Dolman, Subject Of Kathie Lee Gifford Gaffe? [VIDEO]

Martin Short's wife, Nancy Dolman, died of ovarian cancer in August 2010. In an uncomfortable moment on the Today show yesterday, host Kathie Lee Gifford asked Short how his marriage was going with Nancy, unaware that she died nearly two years ago.

Short was praised for his handling of the situation despite being caught off-guard when Kathie Lee Gifford asked how long he and Nancy have been married.

We uh . . . married 36 years, Short responded.

The interview, which can be seen below, just got more and more painful to watch, as Gifford said the couple is still madly in love and they still make each other laugh.

Martin Short informed Kathie Lee Gifford about her mistake during a commercial break.

I send my sincerest apologies to @MartinShort and his family. He handled situation w/enormous grace and kindness and I'm so grateful, Gifford tweeted after the interview, although @MartinShort is not the Canadian-born actor's Twitter handle.

The uncomfortable moment generated interest in Nancy Dolman, Martin Short's wife.

Dolman caught Short's eye in 1972, when they met on the set of the play Godspell in Toronto. The play, which previously was showcased in London, was then brought to Broadway in 1976 and revived on the Great White Way last year.

Dolman, who like Short was a native of Canada, had been the understudy of former Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner in the play.

Short and Nancy Dolman married eight years later and she retired in 1985 to take care of the couple's three children: Katherine Elizabeth, Oliver and Henry, according to PopEater.

The couple were actually married 30 years, not the 36 Short said in his deer-in-the-headlights moment on the Today show.

Dolman was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2007. She was 58 years old when she died.

The late actress had seven credits to her name during her eight-year career, including one as Susan Oliver in the 1985 television movie Martin Short: Concert of the North Americas.

Nancy Dolman also played herself in the 1993 television movie Friends of Gilda.

Dolman dabbled in stage acting as well. She performed in Jesus Christ Superstar at the Canadian Rock Theatre in the early 1970s. The show went on tour in Las Vegas and Los Angeles, and an album soundtrack was released, according to Dolman's IMDB page.

Other tidbits about Dolman from IMDB include:

• She owned Reflections of Ambrosine, an antique clothing store
• Enjoyed skiing, cooking and playing tennis
• Had an interest in politics and supported the Democratic Party. She donated $2,000 to then-Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in 2004.
• Her celebrity friends included couples Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn and Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw.
• Was a philosophy student at the University of Western Ontario