Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian comic actor and SCTV alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two Home Alone movies and created the dramatically ditzy character of Moira Rose in the Emmy-winning comedy Schitt’s Creek, died Friday (Jan. 30).
The Canadian-born O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her agency, CAA. Further details were not immediately available.
O’Hara’s career was launched at the Second City in Toronto in the in 1970s. It was there that she first worked with Eugene Levy, who would become a lifelong collaborator — and her Schitt’s Creek costar. The two would be among the original cast of the sketch show SCTV, which spawned a legendary group of esoteric comedians including Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Joe Flaherty.
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Schitt’s Creek would be a career-capping triumph and the perfect personification of her comic talents. The small show created by Levy and his son Dan about a wealthy family forced to live in a tiny town would dominate the Emmys in its sixth and final season. It brought O’Hara, always a beloved figure, a new generation of fans and put her at the center of cultural attention.
It also brought a career renaissance that led to a dramatic turn on HBO’s The Last of Us and a straitlaced role as a Hollywood producer in The Studio, both of which earned her Emmy nominations.
She was also famed for her roles in both Beetlejuice and its sequel, The Nightmare Before Christmas, A Mighty Wind, Best in Show and much more.
She is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.
