By BERNICE FOX
Palisadians and so many others are paying tribute to Catherine O’Hara. O’Hara passed away Friday. She was 71. It’s being said that her death comes after “a short illness.”
O’Hara and Eugene Levy made a huge comedic impact together on Schitt’s Creek, playing husband and wife. Levy made this statement about the passing of his friend and longtime collaborator: “Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years.
“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.”
Levy’s real son, Dan, played the son of the married couple played by Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara on Schitt’s Creek.
Dan Levy posted this on Instagram: “What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years. Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. 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. My heart goes out to … every member of her big, beautiful family.”
Catherine O’Hara played Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek.
Photo: SCHITT’S CREEK -CBC
As of posting time, we hadn’t seen comments from Martin Short. Short, Eugene Levy and O’Hara bonded together at the Second City Theatre in the 1970’s and on the Canadian sketch comedy show, SCTV, in the early1980’s. It aired in the US on NBC.
Between those early years and Schitt’s Creek, Levy and O’Hara starred together in several of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries.
In A Mighty Wind, Levy and O’Hara played a troubled folk duo getting back together for a concert. A song from that film, A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow, was nominated for an Oscar. The two sang it in character on the 2004 Academy Awards on ABC click here.
Soon after O’Hara’s death was announced Friday, Palisadian Christopher Guest issued this statement: “I am devastated. We have lost one of the comic giants of our age. I send my love to her family.”
Palisadian Michael Keaton, who posted on Instagram, is hurting over O’Hara’s death: “We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”
Catherine O’Hara playing Brooke Shields on SCTV.
O’Hara made good fun of Brooke Shields on SCTV. Former Palisadian Shields now has posted on X: “What an honor it was to be spoofed by Catherine O’Hara. What an unfathomable loss. We love you, Catherine. Comedy won’t be the same without her. Sending love to Catherine’s family, friends, castmates, and fans today. Truly beloved.”
O’Hara lived in Brentwood. She was named honorary mayor of Brentwood around the same time that Levy was named honorary mayor of Pacific Palisades.
Another former honorary Palisades mayor has paid tribute to O’Hara. Kevin Nealon posted: “Catherine O’Hara changed how so many of us understand comedy and humanity. From the chaos and heart of Home Alone to the unforgettable precision of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, she created characters we’ll rewatch again and again.”
Palisadian Rita Wilson says “our deepest sympathies” in her comment, which could mean her comment also is coming from husband Tom Hanks: “Catherine O’Hara – a woman who was authentic and truthful in all she did. You saw it in her work, if you knew her you saw it in her life, and you saw it in her family. Bo, Luke and Matthew, our deepest sympathies. May Catherine rest in peace. May her memory be eternal.”
(This story was updated January 31, 2026.)