Catherine O'Hara (1954 - 2026)

[Grand Wazoo]

Catherine O'Hara

Goddamn.

[flyonthewall2983]

Michael McKean said he saw her blush on cue, filming one of the Christopher Guest movies

[mfunk9786]

Horrible. The only silver lining here is how much well deserved attention her career has gotten since Schitt's Creek, but it's profoundly cruel to take anyone away at the age of 71. Hope her family has some peace.

[domino harvey]

One of the greats, there really was something in the water up there when SCTV came together - even the second wave of cast members still ended up legends

[beamish14]

Catherine O'Hara

Goddamn.

Like Eugene Levy, she lived primarily in the West Los Angeles area, and I used to see her around Venice. Just a remarkable presence in everything. One of the most gifted actresses we had.

[jazzo]

This is a heartbreaker.

She and all of the SCTV cast were heroes to most of us Toronto kids in the early to mid eighties, but Catherine especially, since she was an alumni of my grade school in Etobicoke, Ontario.

[The Curious Sofa]

She was one of the great comedic actors of all time. I recently rewatched Beetlejuice, and although Michael Keaton received most of the praise, she stole the movie from right under him and is the funniest thing in it. Those facial expressions during the Banana Boat Song! The only actor I can compare her to is Madeline Kahn, who could catch you equally unaware with her gonzo inflections and offbeat timing. I'm at the age where 71 strikes me as way too young to die; she could have given us another decade of wonderful work.

[knives]

She was one of the great comedic actors of all time. I recently rewatched Beetlejuice, and although Michael Keaton received most of the praise, she stole the movie from right under him and is the funniest thing in it. Those facial expressions during the Banana Boat Song! The only actor I can compare her to is Madeline Kahn, who could catch you equally unaware with her gonzo inflections and offbeat timing. I'm at the age where 71 strikes me as way too young to die; she could have given us another decade of wonderful work.

She was also a very effective dramatic actress. Sally’s Song is such a powerful performance and her live take from a few years ago is excellent.

[The Curious Sofa]

She was also very good in a dramatic role in the 2nd season of The Last of Us.

[Lowry_Sam]

This one hit me hard. Lucky enough to have cable tv in the seventies (and growing up in both the NY & Philadelphia metro areas), I started watching SCTV (along with other offbeat comedy programs like The Kenny Everrett Video Shoe, Monty Python's Flying Circus, Benny Hill) from its inception in the mid/late 70s. It was easily my favorite of the lot. The ability of the cast to both caricature well-known celebrities and create their own characters was unparalleled. The women on the show (Catherine & Andrea) seemed to get second fiddle when the show aired, despite being the most consistent at perfecting their imitations. This only seemed to increase when John Candy (the other genius on the show) and Martin Short garnered attention in film outside the show. However, Catherine's dedication to her craft really paid off over time with particular thanks to the Christopher Guest mockumentaries and now the legacy of her career (and perhaps John Candy's) is the reason that SCTV finally receives the credit it was due (it was always overshadowed by SNL in popular culture and it took an active campaign to finally get at least some shows on dvd and later, complete seasons

When NBC picked it up, I was a bit disappointed at first (most notably for airing it after SNL, which I've never been able to sit through in its entirety), but extending its run time (from 30 minutes when it was in syndication to 90 minutes) and its late airtime, probably allowed the cast to continue with their boundary-pushing comedic genius, which probably would have been heavily censored had it appeared in prime time. The one alteration to the show that did make a big difference was the seasons when Catherine left the show, Robin Duke was just not able to fill her shoes and the show suffered as a result.

My favorite Catherine O'Hara moments (all from SCTV): Lola's Love Spirit (Lola Heatherton Christmas Special), The Dusty Towne Sexy Holiday Special (Another Christmas comedy special that predates Home Alone), Katherine Hepburn ad for Twillings Tea, Leave Ullman in Burgman's Whispers Of The Wolf, Brooke Shields singing Devo's Whip It on The Brooke Shields Show, a Swedish flight attendant in Dr. Tongue's 3D House Of Stewardesses (where she uncharacteristically can't contain herself while trying to stifle laughter after John Candy rips her blouse off), & "I'm Taking My Own Head, Screwing It On Right, And No Guy's Gonna Tell Me It Ain't" ( a parody of a feminist community theater production that predates Waiting For Guffman).

My favorite of her non-SCTV work that is overlooked (because it's never been made available since broadcast), was her role in "Get A Job" on the PBS series Trying Times where she plays a hiring manager that reconnects with Steven Wright when he's on the hunt for a new job (also features Tim Matheson).

[domino harvey]

I think I’ve had her Steve and Eydie parody with Dave Thomas in my head for well over a decade now

[flyonthewall2983]

Her cameo in Ron Howard’s The Paper was memorable