“Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later,” said Macaulay Culkin in a Friday social media post dedicated to Catherine O’Hara, who died yesterday at age 71.
O’Hara, played Culkin’s mother in the “Home Alone” films. In her long and prolific career, O’Hara often played mothers – always unique and always hilarious.
There’s her iconic dance to Harry Belafonte’s “Day-Oh” as the renovation-obsessed stepmother in “Beetlejuice”, and of course her award-winning turn as Moira Rose on “Schitt’s Creek”. She’s also a regular feature in Christopher Guest mockumentary films like “Best in Show” and “A Mighty Wind”.
Before O’Hara became a film star, she started her career at The Second City improv theater in Toronto, Canada. On the cast of “Second City Televison”, she worked alongside John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Eugene Levy, Andrea Martin, Harold Ramis, Dave Thomas and Martin Short.
“What an honor it was to be spoofed by Catherine O’Hara. What an unfathomable loss. We love you, Catherine,” said Brooke Shields in a post that included video of O’Hara playing her in “SCTV” skits. “Comedy won’t be the same without her. Sending love to Catherine’s family, friends, castmates, and fans today. Truly beloved.”
Redditors shared video of Martin Short and comedian Steve Martin toasting to O’Hara during their live show this weekend. Other friends and colleagues also shared tributes to the beloved actress.
Levy, 79, who frequently collaborated with O’Hara – starring as her husband on “Schitt’s Creek” and multiple Guest films – shared a statement with US Weekly.
“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years,” he said. “From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on “Schitt’s Creek”, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship.”
His son Dan, who created “Schitt’s Creek” also paid tribute to O’Hara in an Instagram post.
“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” he said. “Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”
Both also send love to her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and her sons Matthew, 32, and Luke, 29.
From the “Home Alone” crew, director Chris Columbus also shared his memories of Catherine on Instagram.
“I’m stunned and heartbroken, along with the rest of the world,” he said. “I was an obsessive fan of Catherine’s brilliant comedic work on SCTV and was thrilled when she agreed to play Kevin’s Mom in ‘Home Alone’. What most people don’t realize is that Catherine carries the weight of 50% of that film. The movie simply would not work without her extraordinary performance. Catherine grounds the picture with a profound emotional depth. I will miss her greatly. Yet there is a small sense of comfort, realizing that two of the finest human beings I’ve ever known, Catherine and John Candy, are together again, brilliantly improvising, making each other laugh.”
Candy, who also appeared in “Home Alone”, died in 1994.
From the “Beetlejuice” world, actress Geena Davis said: “I’m just heartbroken to learn of Catherine’s passing. I’m one of the lucky people who got to observe a true comic genius in action. She gave us so much… but how can we not yearn for much, much more? Bless you, dear Catherine.”
Michael Keaton, who played the title character, also posted about O’Hara.
“We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend,” he said. “This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”
In addition to appearing in “Beetlejuice” and its sequel, “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice”, by director Tim Burton, O’Hara also provided the voice for Sally in his film “A Nightmare Before Christmas” and multiple characters in “Frankenweenie”. People magazine reported in 2024 that he even helped her get together with her husband, who was a production designer on the “Beetlejuice” set.
“He talked to me all the time,” O’Hara said of Welch. “We’d hang out on the set, and we’d have some laughs. I thought, ‘He’s going to ask me out.’”
When he didn’t, she told Burton about it and he said “Let me see what I can do.” The rest is history.
“Catherine, I love you,” Burton said in a Friday Instagram post. He added: “You were a special part of my life and after life.”
O’Hara’s co-stars from the 2006 film “Penelope” – Christiana Ricci and Richard E. Grant – also posted about her on Instagram.
“Was so lucky to work with this icon, one of my hero’s, the great Catherine O’Hara. So sad she’s gone. She was the most wonderful, warmest, kind, hilarious human being and the most talented and brilliant actress. What a loss. Rest in peace, Catherine,” said Ricci.
“The death of my great friend Catherine O’Hara is an incalculable loss. We played a couple in PENELOPE (2006) & instantly bonded. She & her husband Bo were the first people we called when we were in LA, stayed with us in the Cotswolds shared dinners in London & never stopped yakking & laughing,” said Grant.
Adam Scott, who starred alongside O’Hara in 2013’s “A.C.O.D.” said: “I love Catherine so much. Just the very, very best.” He added: “Everyone who was lucky enough to do so felt that way. The coolest, the funniest, the kindest. The very best.”
Fellow Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds also paid tribute to O’Hara on X, as well as former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and current Prime Minister of Canada Mark Carney.
“She made people laugh across generations and helped bring Canadian storytelling to the world in a way only she could,” said Trudeau.
Recently, O’Hara appeared on HBO’s “The Last of Us” and her co-stars Melanie Lynskey and Pedro Pascal mourned her on Instagram. She also received accolades for her performance in “The Studio”, created by Seth Rogen. This year, she was nominated for a Golden Globe and other awards for her work on the show.
“I am completely devastated today upon hearing of this great lady passing away,” said Bryan Cranston, who is on the show too. “Catherine O’Hara was a genius comedic actor, and a beautiful human being. I adored her. We worked together as husband and wife I think three or four times… I’ve lost count. And then again just last year as rivals on The Studio. Working with Catherine was like playing tennis with Venus Williams. She never let you feel it - but you just tried to volley the ball back to her, hoping that you can come close to her level of talent. She was brilliant, and joyful. I think back on all the years where I laughed so much at what she did on screen… I have to. I need to, because now all I can do is cry. I’ll miss you. Make ‘em laugh in heaven.”
Rogen, also a fellow Canadian, shared: “Really don’t know what to say… I told O’Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I’d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen. Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour. She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.”