Eugene and Dan Levy, the late Catherine O’Hara’s co-stars in the hit TV series Schitt’s Creek, have shared poignant tributes.
The Home Alone actor died aged 71 on Friday in Los Angeles after a ‘brief illness’, her reps confirmed. New reports are emerging that she was rushed to hospital with breathing difficulties in the early hours of Friday morning.
Tributes have flooded in from across Hollywood for the Emmy-winning screenstar, who has also featured in Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice and its 2024 sequel, and, most recently, in the Apple TV series The Studio.
One of the highlights of her TV and film career was her role as the snooty and chaotic Moira Rose in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek, for which she won the Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award.
She starred in the six-season comedy – about a rich family forced to live in the rundown titular town after going bankrupt – alongside Canadian father-and-son duo Dan and Eugene (David and Johnny), as well as Annie Murphy (Alexis), who made up her fictional family.
Taking to Instagram to remember his TV mum, Dan shared two pictures, a selfie with Catherine and a snap of David and Moira in the show.
He wrote in the caption: ‘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 Bo, Matthew, Luke and every member of her big, beautiful family.’
As mentioned by Dan, Eugene and Catherine’s personal and professional relationship stretches back half-a-century, first meeting in the 1970s and starring in sketch comedy Second City (later known as SCTV) together.
Since then, they’ve starred in projects like Best in Show and A Mighty Wind together – before eventually playing married couple Johnny and Moira.
In a statement, Eugene said: ‘Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today. I had the honour 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 the entire O’Hara family.’
Her other co-stars on Schitt’s Creek have also shared their own heartfelt messages, commemorating the late actor’s mammoth legacy on and off screen.
Eugene’s daughter, Sarah, who featured as waitress Twyla, simply said: ‘This one cuts deep’.
‘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,’ Jocelyn Schitt actor, Jennifer Robertson, wrote.
Chris Elliot (who played Roland Schitt) called her ‘such a warm-hearted, generous and humble human being’.
CBC, the network that aired the award-winning show, added: ‘Catherine brought unmatched talent and a rare and radiant spirit to everything she touched.’
Elsewhere, Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, who remained close with Catherine after playing her on-screen son, Kevin, shared his heartwrenching tribute on social media.
‘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 said.
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