Tributes have poured in across the globe following the death of Catherine O’Hara, with Canada’s prime minister, Mark Carney, and Schitt’s Creek co-creator Dan Levy among those mourning the loss of a “legend” after the actress died aged 71.
O’Hara, who won both an Emmy and a Golden Globe for her work on the television comedy series Schitt’s Creek, died on Friday at her home in Los Angeles after a brief illness, according to her agency, CAA.
The Canadian-American actor was also well known for her roles in Home Alone and the Beetlejuice films. In an Instagram post, 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.”
Levy also issued a statement, saying, “Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honour of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over 50 years.
“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. And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”
Actor Richard E Grant, who starred alongside O’Hara in the 2006 film Penelope, described her death as 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 first appeared in the 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 appeared 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 death “devastating”.
He wrote 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.”
Canadian actor and comedian Mike Myers described her death as “a very sad day for comedy and for Canada”, calling O’Hara “one of the greatest comedy artists in history”.
Former Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau referred to O’Hara as a “beloved Canadian icon”, while Carney said the country 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 their sons, Matthew and Luke. Her family said they would hold a private celebration of her life.
Images: Instagram
