As you’ve likely heard about by now, Catherine O’Hara passed away on Friday at the age of 71.
The beloved actress was best known for roles in Best of Show, Home Alone, The Studio and, to some, most notably, Schitt’s Creek.
In the wake of this very sad news, Dan and Eugene Levy have issued statements that pay tribute to O’Hara.
“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today,” said Eugene Levy, who appeared in multiple projects with O’Hara. “I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years.”
Continued the actor:
“From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”
On Schitt’s Creek, O’Hara portrayed Moira Rose opposite Eugene Levy, who played her husband, Johnny Rose, and her on-screen kids Dan Levy (David Rose) and Annie Murphy (Alexis Rose).
For his part, Dan echoed his father’s sentiment in his own tribute on Instagram.
“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” he opened.
“Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family,” he continued. “It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”
Dan Levy also said his “heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and every member of her big, beautiful family.”
Jennifer Robertson, who played Jocelyn Schitt on the sitcom, also told The New York Post:
“I am deeply saddened to hear we have lost Catherine. Being in Catherine O’Hara’s orbit was a beautiful, magical gift. She was an absolute star who never understood why people made such a fuss about her. Her passing is a loss for everyone who knew and loved her. My deepest condolences to Bo, her sons and the O’Hara family.”
In 2020, Schitt’s Creek swept the Emmys and in 2021, all of the cast once again went home winners at the Golden Globes.
The role won O’Hara her second Emmy Award in 2020 after she’d previously won in 1982 for her role on SCTV Network.
Prior to these heartfelt messages, Macaulay Culkin had lovely words for the woman who played his mother in the iconic film Home Alone.
“Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote alongside a photo of himself and O’Hara in the movie (both stars reprised their roles for 1992’s Home Alone 2).
“I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say,” he continued, adding, poignantly:
“I love you. I’ll see you later.”