Remembering Catherine O'Hara: A Canadian Comedy Legend
The entertainment world continues to mourn the loss of Catherine O'Hara, the Toronto-born actress who passed away last week at age 71. Despite spending her later years in Los Angeles, O'Hara remained a proud Canadian icon whose career spanned decades and left an indelible mark on comedy.
From SCTV Beginnings to Hollywood Success
O'Hara first captured audiences' attention in the 1970s and 1980s through her groundbreaking work on the Canadian sketch comedy series SCTV. Her brilliant parody work became legendary, particularly her portrayal of druggie music star Lola Heatherton in the memorable episode Bouncing Back to You. This performance masterfully blended comedy, pathos, and showbiz melodrama while maintaining genuine sympathy for the Judy Garland figures destroyed by fame.
In interviews, O'Hara revealed that her parody work on SCTV eventually became unfulfilling "monkey work," leading her to pursue more substantial creative opportunities. She transitioned successfully to film, most famously playing Macaulay Culkin's panicked mother in Home Alone and Winona Ryder's pretentious mother in Beetlejuice and its 2024 sequel.
Versatile Voice Work and Improvisational Genius
O'Hara's talents extended far beyond live-action performances. Her extensive voice work in animated films included standout roles such as:
- Sally in A Nightmare Before Christmas, where her performance of Sally's Song created a poignant gem of romantic melancholy
- Shock in the same film, allowing her to voice both romantic longing and anarchic mania
Her improvisational skills, honed during her Second City days, made her a natural fit for Christopher Guest's improvised comedies including Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, A Mighty Wind, and For Your Consideration.
The Perfect Partnership with Eugene Levy
Among all her SCTV co-stars, O'Hara developed particularly remarkable chemistry with Eugene Levy. Their collaboration reached new heights in Best in Show (2000), where they played married couple Cookie and Gerry Fleck navigating the Mayflower Dog Show with their Norwich terrier Winky.
This successful partnership culminated in their starring roles as Moira and Johnny Rose in Schitt's Creek (2015-2020). The show's six seasons provided what many consider the perfect capstone to O'Hara's career, with her portrayal of Moira Rose earning critical acclaim and numerous awards.
Award-Winning Legacy and Canadian Pride
O'Hara's performance as Moira Rose won her an Emmy and six Canadian Screen Awards, one for each season of Schitt's Creek. The character represented perhaps her ultimate parody creation—an actress who loses touch with reality until forced to confront it through misfortune.
Armed with an array of mad wigs and an inflated sense of privilege, Moira remained a largely positive character whose eccentric orbit around Johnny's steady presence was always bound by love. This final major role perfectly demonstrated O'Hara's ability to create characters that were simultaneously outrageous and deeply human.
Though she lived in Los Angeles during her later years, Catherine O'Hara never stopped being a Canadian icon. Her career trajectory—from Canadian sketch comedy to Hollywood success and back to Canadian television triumph—demonstrates the enduring power of Canadian talent on the global stage. Her legacy continues to inspire new generations of comedians and actors across Canada and beyond.
