Icon Catherine O’Hara died at 71; stream her best films and series
Icon Catherine O’Hara died at 71; stream her best films and series
A comedy icon for over four decades, O’Hara’s impact on film and television will never be forgotten.
It is a sad day across Hollywood, Canada, and the entire world as one of the most enduringly funny performers of the last four decades has passed away. On Friday, Jan. 30, two-time Emmy Award-winning comedy icon Catherine O’Hara passed away at the age of 71, reportedly following a brief illness.
After starting her career as a writer and performer on “SCTV” (for which she won her first Emmy Award), O’Hara gained her first wide acclaim as Delia Deetz in the original “Beetlejuice” film. From there, she became a beloved — if not forgetful — mother in the first two “Home Alone” and then a regular repertory player in Christopher Guest’s mockumentary masterpieces, beginning with “Waiting for Guffman.”
Perhaps her career-defining role came in 2015, when she reunited with her longtime SCTV and Christopher Guest comedy partner, Eugene Lev,y to play Johnny and Moira Rose in “Schitt's Creek.” She won her second Emmy for the show, as well as a Golden Globe and two SAG Awards. Most recently, O’Hara has been seen on the Emmy-winning meta comedy “The Studio,” for which she is currently nominated for two SAG-AFTRA Actor Awards.
No doubt the world will miss one of the most multi-talented performers of the past half-century, but at least we will always have her shows and movies to remember her by.
Stream some of Catherine O’Hara’s best performances:
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Beetlejuice
March 30, 1988A newly dead New England couple seeks help from a deranged demon exorcist to scare an affluent New York family out of their home.
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Dick Tracy
June 15, 1990The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice’s united mob.
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Home Alone
November 16, 1990Eight-year-old Kevin McCallister makes the most of the situation after his family unwittingly leaves him behind when they go on Christmas vacation. When thieves try to break into his home, he puts up a fight like no other.
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Home Alone 2: Lost in New York
November 15, 1992Instead of flying to Florida with his folks, Kevin ends up alone in New York, where he gets a hotel room with his dad’s credit card—despite problems from a clerk and meddling bellboy. But when Kevin runs into his old nemeses, the Wet Bandits, he’s determined to foil their plans to rob a toy store on Christmas Eve.
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The Nightmare Before Christmas
October 9, 1993Tired of scaring humans every October 31 with the same old bag of tricks, Jack Skellington, the spindly king of Halloween Town, kidnaps Santa Claus and plans to deliver shrunken heads and other ghoulish gifts to children on Christmas morning. But as Christmas approaches, Jack’s rag-doll girlfriend, Sally, tries to foil his misguided plans.
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Wyatt Earp
June 24, 1994From Wichita to Dodge City, to the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, Wyatt Earp is taught that nothing matters more than family and the law. Joined by his brothers and Doc Holliday, Earp wages war on the dreaded Clanton and McLaury gangs.
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Waiting for Guffman
January 31, 1997Aspiring director Corky St. Clair and the marginally talented amateur cast of his hokey small-town musical production go overboard when they learn that Broadway theater agent Mort Guffman will be in attendance.
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Best in Show
September 29, 2000The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across America prepare to take part in what is undoubtedly one of the greatest events of their lives — the Mayflower Dog Show. The canine contestants and their owners are as wondrously diverse as the great country that has bred them.
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A Mighty Wind
April 16, 2003Three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the death of their manager to put on an reunion concert in his honor, at the request of his son.
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Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
December 16, 2004Three wealthy children’s parents are killed in a fire. When they are sent to a distant relative, they find out that he is plotting to kill them and seize their fortune.
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For Your Consideration
November 17, 2006The possibility of Oscar gold holds the cast and crew of an independent film in its grip after the performance of its virtually unknown, veteran star generates awards buzz.
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Schitt's Creek
January 13, 2015Formerly filthy rich video store magnate Johnny Rose, his soap star wife Moira, and their two kids, über-hipster son David and socialite daughter Alexis, suddenly find themselves broke and forced to live in Schitt’s Creek, a small depressing town they once bought as a joke.
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The Last of Us
January 15, 2023Twenty years after modern civilization has been destroyed, Joel, a hardened survivor, is hired to smuggle Ellie, a 14-year-old girl, out of an oppressive quarantine zone. What starts as a small job soon becomes a brutal, heartbreaking journey, as they both must traverse the United States and depend on each other for survival.
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Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
September 4, 2024After a family tragedy, three generations of the Deetz family return home to Winter River. Still haunted by Betelgeuse, Lydia’s life is turned upside down when her teenage daughter, Astrid, accidentally opens the portal to the Afterlife.
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The Studio
March 25, 2025Desperate for celebrity approval, the newly appointed head of a movie studio and his executive team at Continental Studios must juggle corporate demands with creative ambitions as they try to keep movies alive and relevant.
