Hollywood and the Comedy world lost a legend on Friday, Jan. 30th after the sudden death of Catherine O’Hara. As with most memorial articles, we will discuss the Comedienne’s life and vast career.

Catherine Anne O’Hara was born in March of 1954 in Ontario, Canada to an Irish Catholic family. Her comedy career took off when joining the sketch series “Second City TV” alongside other Canadian comic legends such as John Candy and Eugene Levy. Though ultimately overshadowed by Saturday Night Live, the show was considered amusing by fans. O’Hara later starred as Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s Horror comedy “Beetlejuice” (1988) as well as its eventual legacy sequel “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” (2024). As I discussed in my review of the latter, one of my first articles for The Ionian, Catherine, was a great source of comic relief in that film. Keeping up with Micheal Keaton was no easy task. Upon hearing of her death, the actor added “We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis, and my real-life friend. This one hurts.”

Two years after the original “Beetlejuice”, O’Hara took on what is arguably her most iconic role, that of Mrs. McAllister in the first two “Home Alone” films. These are two of my favorite Christmas movies of all time and the fact that I have watched them since first grade is in part why this death hit so hard. The scene where O’Hara’s character reunites with Kevin at the end of the original film will forever have a heavier emotional weight. Speaking of Kevin, Macaulay Culkin also released a statement on the actress’s passing, writing “Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later.” Tell me you did not get teary-eyed reading that.

Also, the scenes of both films (the faint in “Home Alone 2” really sells it) in which O’Hara screams “KEVIN!” were hysterically spoofed in various ads, with the likes of Brian Baumgartner (who famously portrayed Kevin Malone in “The Office”), comedian Kevin Hart, and NBA powerhouse Kevin Durant.

Moving into the twentieth century, O’Hara had the gut-busting role of Cindy, a drunken mother who inadvertently sabotages her son’s attempt to attend Stanford University in the underrated comedy “Orange County” (a must-watch for college students, in my opinion). However, it was not until roughly a decade later that O’Hara became massively popular with contemporary audiences. Reuniting with “Second City TV” co-star Eugene Levy (who also opined a heartfelt statement), she took on the role of financially upended, aging actress in the lauded “Schitt’s Creek.” Moira Rose was an absolutely hysterical character (“fold the cheese”) and is, by most accounts, an icon. O’Hara also guest-starred on series such as “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, a favorite of mine.

The actress is survived by her husband Bo Welch, and two sons.