Appreciation: Catherine O’Hara remembered as an onscreen benediction after passing at 71
Catherine O’Hara, the comedy legend whose career spanned from the improv stages of Toronto to the cultural phenomenon of Schitt’s Creek, has died at the age of 71. Her passing on Friday was confirmed by her agent, sparking a wave of tributes that characterize her not merely as an actress, but as a creative force whose presence in a project served as an “onscreen benediction.”
O’Hara’s career trajectory defied the typical Hollywood scramble for billing. Critics and collaborators often noted that she was not a “careerist” in the traditional sense; rather, she operated with a distinctively grounded sensibility, often prioritizing trusted relationships over sheer star power. This approach was most evident in her lifelong professional partnership with Eugene Levy, which began in the 1970s at Second City and culminated in her Emmy-winning turn as Moira Rose. While she eventually became a household name, industry observers frequently argued that her genius was underutilized or pigeonholed into “eccentric mother” roles—such as in Home Alone or Beetlejuice—long before Schitt’s Creek finally allowed her to showcase the full spectrum of her capabilities as a lead.
Born in Toronto in 1954, O’Hara broke out as a key member of SCTV (Second City Television), where her shapeshifting ability to embody characters like Lola Heatherton established her as a peerless sketch performer. Despite this early success, her path was not without its detours; she famously quit Saturday Night Live after just one week in 1981 to return to SCTV, a decision she later jokingly called “stupid” but one that preserved the creative environment where she thrived. This loyalty to her “comedy family” became a defining trait of her work.
Her filmography reads like a history of modern comedy, yet her roles were often supporting ones that she inevitably stole. In Beetlejuice (1988) and its 2024 sequel, she played Delia Deetz, a character that balanced the grotesque with the hilarious. In Home Alone (1990), she brought emotional depth to a slapstick blockbuster. However, it was her portrayal of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek (2015–2020) that cemented her legacy. As the vocabulary-obsessed, wig-wearing matriarch, O’Hara created a character that became an instant cultural touchstone, earning her a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
At the time of her death, O’Hara remained a vital presence in television, recently starring in the Apple TV+ satire The Studio and appearing in HBO’s The Last of Us. Her seamless transition between broad comedy and dramatic nuance challenged the industry’s tendency to sideline older actresses.
Eugene Levy, her collaborator of over 50 years, expressed that words were inadequate to process the loss, describing their six years on Schitt’s Creek as “glorious.” The sentiment was echoed by critics who observed that O’Hara’s casting was often a signal of a project’s quality—a guarantee that, regardless of the material, her performance would offer a spark of humanity and wit that elevated the entire production. She is survived by her husband, production designer Bo Welch, and their two sons.
economictimes.com
latimes.com
latimes.com
latimes.com
celebitchy.com
wikipedia.org
oreateai.com
