Dr. Fredric Brandt's Death: Does Martin Short Have Blood on His Hands?

Dr. Fredric Brandt, dermatologist to stars such as Madonna and Stephanie Seymour, was found dead in his Miami home yesterday. In an absurd twist, the work of Canadian comedian Martin Short has been implicated on social media.

Lesley Abravanel, Celebrity Columnist for the Miami Herald for over 15 years, posted these tweets about the circumstances of Dr. Brandt's death:

Breaking: reports in that dermo to the stars Dr. Fredric Brandt has committed suicide in Miami @miamiherald @HowardCohen
— Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) April 5, 2015

Dr. Brandt's publicist says he was suffering from an "illness". Sources close say that illness was depression.
— Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) April 5, 2015

Sources: Dr Fredric Brandt was "devastated" over comparisons to the protagonist on Tina Fey’s new Netflix show, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
— Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) April 5, 2015

@jenvillamere Yah, I made a mistake. It was the Martin Short character
— Lesley Abravanel (@lesleyabravanel) April 6, 2015

The facts

1. Brandt's publicist has confirmed his death but has not confirmed the cause
2. His publicist says he had been suffering from an illness
3. Unidentified sources say he was depressed and he committed suicide
4. Unidentified sources say he was devastated by comparisons to a minor character played by Martin Short on 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt'

Was Martin Short's character on 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt' really based on Dr. Brandt? 

Yes. It's nearly impossible to conclude otherwise.  Check out this article from Page Six, published last week, which compares Brandt to Short's character. Or log in to your Netflix and watch episode 4 of 'Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,' Kimmy Goes to the Doctor! Martin Short's character appears just after the 10 minute mark.
On the left, Dr. Fredric Brandt. On the right, Martin Short's character, Dr. Sidney Grant.

I just don't see it. RT @lesleyabravanel: "Friends..(say) he was devastated over..the character in @TheKimmySchmidt" pic.twitter.com/2PX7wT7Qyk
— rbdc (@rbrowndc) April 6, 2015

The character was a mean parody 

The Dr. Grant character (pronounced pretentiously as 'Framph') is lauded as the best plastic surgeon in Manhattan. “He built Mariah Carey from scratch.”  Martin Short plays him as equal parts goofy and grotesque, a marginally cross-eyed androgynousbuffoon with an unmoving face that makes his words unknowable because even his jaw has been Botoxed shut. He drinks from a rodent water bottle.
To an outsider with no knowledge of celebrity doctors, the character works as an overblown critique of the plastic surgery movement rather than a targeted bully attack on an individual. But once the individual is identified, it's easy to transfer the attack on the movement back onto a man who has dedicated his life's work to it.

But mean parodies don't kill 

Depression does.
Paired with the source's allegations, these quotes from a year-old New York Times profile of Dr. Brandt make it easy to imagine he was prone to depression:

"He was an honors student, a science geek, a swimmer and, as he explained, “more of a different child.”

"When he was 15, his father died from complications of juvenile diabetes; seven years later, his mother also died, unexpectedly, as he was entering his first year of medical school. “It was a lot to process, but you just have to forge ahead,” he said.

"He is a bachelor and lives alone — “I don’t seem to meet the right people” — with his adopted stray dogs, Benji, Surya and Tyler… His work life is so hectic, he said, that he is forced to schedule unassigned “me time” for dreaming up new products and techniques.

“I want people to feel they haven’t given up on life and are still in the game,” Dr. Brandt remarked … “The realistic thing is to look refreshed and happy, not sad, not fatigued."

What should Martin Short do now?

He probably feels terrible. He probably doesn't feel nearly as terrible as Dr. Brandt's friends and family.
Short hasn’t tweeted a response to the story, in fact he hasn't used Twitter since August 11, 2014.
Does he make a statement? If he does, he should personalize it with a story about how he or a loved one has suffered from depression. That puts the focus back on the illness and takes it away from his work.
Should he apologize?  It's tricky because it means you admit fault. But under the circumstances, yes, he should. He hurt the feelings of a dead man.
Should he make a donation to a mental health charity?  Throwing money at the problem today would probably come off as crass.
Should he check in on Matthew Broderick? Yes. Short roasted him last month when Broderick received a Guild Hall Academy of the Arts Lifetime Achievement Award. Short said he looked like a bouncer at a lesbian bar. I don't think we need to put Ferris Bueller on suicide watch but a phone call would be a nice touch.
What next? Short is due to perform on April 24 with Steve Martin at the Fox Theatre in Detroit. He had been busy with media appearances to promote his recently-released autobiography I Must Say: My Life As a Humble Comedy Legend. The book talks about the tragedy Short faced after losing his wife of 30 years:
"Whatever we think it's going to be, the sun will come up and you have to eat lunch," he said in a recent interview. "It's just life. We are all going to perish. I think we all naturally, understandably, live in denial of that."
No matter how taut we pull the skin on our face, it's eventually going to rot off our skull. Why ask why? Go eat lunch.