2 hours ago
5
Tributes have poured in from the world of showbiz and politics for Catherine O’Hara, with the Canadian prime minister, Mark Carney, and Schitt’s Creek’s co-creator Dan Levy mourning the loss of a “legend” after the actor died at the age of 71.
O’Hara, who won an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her role in the TV comedy series, died on Friday at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, according to her agency CAA.
The Canadian-American actor was also known for roles in Home Alone and the Beetlejuice films. In a post on Instagram, Levy said he would “cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her”.
He added: “What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years.
“Having spent over 50 years collaborating with my dad [Schitt’s Creek co-star and co-creator Eugene Levy], Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family.
“It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it.”
Richard E Grant, who starred in 2006’s Penelope with O’Hara, called the actor’s death an “incalculable loss”. In a post on Instagram, he said: “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.”
In 2024, O’Hara reprised her role as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, having starred in the first film in 1988. Her co-star Michael Keaton said: “We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”
Alec Baldwin, who also starred in the original film, described O’Hara as “one of the greatest comic talents in the movie business” who possessed “a quality that was all her own”.
Seth Rogen, her co-star in the Apple TV comedy series The Studio – for which O’Hara received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations – called the news of her passing “devastating”.
He said in a post on Instagram: “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.”
The Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers described her death as “a very sad day for comedy and for Canada”, describing O’Hara as “one of the greatest comedy artists in history”.
The former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau called her a “beloved Canadian icon”, while the country’s current leader, Mark Carney, said Canada had “lost a legend”.
In a statement, Carney said he joined all Canadians in mourning, adding: “Over five decades of work, Catherine earned her place in the canon of Canadian comedy.”
O’Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke. The statement said her family would hold a private celebration of her life.
