Catherine O’Hara, icon and The Studio, Schitt’s Creek star, dead at 71
Absolutely devastating news has come out from the world of Hollywood today — comedy icon Catherine O’Hara, known for generations across film and TV, has died. She was 71 years old.
TMZ was the first to report news of O’Hara’s death, and the specific cause remains unclear. What we know is that she leaves a huge legacy behind as one of the most important comic actresses of the past half-decade. Her original claim to fame for many was SCTV, but she then parlayed that into so many other memorable roles. She was Kevin’s mother in two Home Alone movies, appeared in a number of Christopher Guest films, and then eventually found yet another TV life as one of the stars of Schitt’s Creek. More recently, she had a major role in The Studio season 1, which premiered last year on Apple TV.
There are a number of tributes pouring in as of right now, but we want to highlight in particular what Macaulay Culkin wrote in a post on Instagram:
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.
We know that so many more tributes are going to pour in, and we would not be surprised if there is some sort of acknowledgment on tomorrow night’s Saturday Night Live episode. She had an unusual history with the show, briefly being cast for the sixth season before walking away after a week. She explained to People that her signing on originally had to do with SCTV being on a break:
“Our producer would get a deal with a network, and we’d have a show for a season or two, and then that deal would go away. There’d be a break, then we’d do the show again … [During a break] I got asked to be on Saturday Night Live. And of course I said yes. Who doesn’t want to do that?”
O’Hara went on to explain that once SCTV was picked up again, she departed — but she did go on to later host SNL down the road.
Our thoughts go out to O’Hara’s family, friends, and all who loved her in this difficult time.