Catherine O’Hara, a beloved and iconic actor known for her roles in several Christopher Guest films, Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek, and The Studio died on January 30 at the age of 71 in her home after a brief illness, a rep confirmed.
O’Hara got her start at the Second City theater in Toronto, becoming an original cast member of SCTV in 1976 alongside John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Dave Thomas, Harold Ramis, and longtime collaborator and frequent co-star Eugene Levy. She won Emmys for her performances in both SCTV and Schitt’s Creek, and she’d most recently been nominated for her work on The Studio playing Patty Leigh, the former head of the titular studio and mentor to Seth Rogen’s hapless Matt. She met her husband, Tim Burton’s acclaimed production designer Bo Welch, on the set of Beetlejuice, and they married in 1992.
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O’Hara worked consistently across her 50-year career in both film and television, best known for playing beloved kooks and amiable wackos, though her range was boundless. “I say this a lot, but I love playing people who have no real sense of the impression they’re making on anyone else. But the more I say it, the more I realize that’s all of us,” she told Vulture.
