Tributes poured in following the death of Canadian actress Catherine O’Hara, with filmmakers and longtime collaborators across film and television remembering the Home Alone actress.
O’Hara, celebrated for her distinctive comic style and memorable performances in films and series such as Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek and Beetlejuice, died on Friday in Los Angeles after a brief illness at the age of 71.
Macaulay Culkin, who played her son in the first two Home Alone films, shared a photo of himself with O’Hara on Instagram. “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,” he wrote in the caption.
Dan Levy, the co-creator and star of Schitt’s Creek, described O’Hara as “extended family” in an Instagram post, recalling her decades-long collaboration with his father Eugene Levy. “It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it,” he said.
Actor Meryl Streep, who co-starred with O’Hara in Heartburn, said in a statement that O’Hara “brought love and light to our world through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed”. She called O’Hara’s death a loss “for her family and friends, and the audience she graced as friends”.
Michael Keaton, her co-star in Beetlejuice, wrote on Instagram that O’Hara had been his “pretend wife,” “pretend nemesis” and “real life, true friend,” adding, “This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her”.
Andrea Martin, a fellow original cast member of SCTV, said in a statement, “Catherine. She is and will always be the greatest. It is an honor to have called her my friend.”
Actor Seth Rogen said on Instagram that O’Hara was “the funniest person I’d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen,” crediting Home Alone as the film that inspired him to pursue movies. “This is just devastating,” he wrote. Rogen starred alongside O’Hara in Apple TV’s comedy Emmy-winning comedy series The Studio.
Pedro Pascal, who worked with O’Hara on the second season of The Last of Us, described her as a genius in an Instagram post and said her loss had dimmed the world.
The Last of Us showrunner Craig Mazin said on Instagram that O’Hara might have preferred people to keep laughing, but the loss was profound, particularly for her husband and sons. “Goodbye, you legend,” he wrote.
Actor and director Ron Howard called the news “shattering” in a post on X, praising O’Hara as an artist who “was simply growing more brilliant with each year,” and extended condolences to her family.
Actor Alec Baldwin, her Beetlejuice co-star, said in a statement that O’Hara was “one of the greatest comic talents in the movie business,” and expressed condolences to her family.