Catherine O’Hara, Canadian actor and ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star, dead at 71
She was 71.
O’Hara was born in Toronto in 1954, the second oldest of seven siblings. After graduating from high school, she got a job as a waitress at the Second City Theater.
After auditioning for the cast, then-director Joe Flaherty advised, “Keep up the day job. Keep up the waitressing,” according to the Second City website. However, O’Hara eventually joined the company in 1974 and was cast in a TV show called Second City Television, where she became known for both her impressions of celebrities and original fan-favorite characters.
O’Hara made her film debut in 1980’s Double Negative, which also featured future Schitt’s Creek co-star, Eugene Levy. O’Hara then took on roles in Martin Scorsese’s 1985 black comedy After Hours and 1986’s Heartburn.
In 1988, she had a role in Beetlejuice as Delia Deetz, the stepmother of Winona Ryder’s Lydia. O’Hara later reprised her role in the 2024 sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice. She also hosted Saturday Night Live twice in 1991 and 1992 but opted to leave the show to return to Second City Television.
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One of her most well-known roles was in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York as the forgetful mother of Macaulay Culkin’s Kevin, which has gone on to be one of the most beloved movie franchises.
She would team up with Levy and his son Dan for Schitt’s Creek in 2015, as the show grew from only streaming in Canada to being picked up by Netflix.
Actors Annie Murphy, from left, Catherine O’Hara and Jennifer Robertson attend the 11th Annual New York Television Festival “Schitt’s Creek” screening at the SVA Theatre on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP).
(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Actor and comedian Catherine O’Hara of Toronto and Los Angeles is invested as an Officer of the Order of Canada by Governor General Julie Payette during a ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Justin Tang.
THE CANADIAN PRESS IMAGES/Justin Tang
Dan Levy, from left, Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy and Eugene Levy participate in the Pop TV “Schitt’s Creek,” panel during the Winter 2020 Television Critics Association Press Tour, Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, in Pasadena, Calif. The CBC series “Schitt’s Creek” and “Anne with an E” were the top winners at the ACTRA Awards in Toronto. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP-Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP.
THE CANADIAN PRESS/ AP-Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
More to come.
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