Catherine O’Hara sadly passed away at the age of 71 this week, but she had previously spoken about how she wanted to die in an interview almost 13 years ago.
Catherine O’Hara Wanted to Be ‘Surrounded by Her Grandchildren’
Getty“Laughing, surrounded by my old grandchildren, who are telling me to ‘let go, already, Grandma!’” the “Home Alone” star told Vanity Fair in an article published on October 2, 2013.
News of O’Hara’s passing broke on Friday, January 30, and TMZ reported that the two-time Emmy Winner had been rushed to the hospital via ambulance hours earlier in “serious condition.” Page Six also reported that O’Hara had suffered from a “brief illness” shortly before her death.
Tributes Began Pouring In Honoring Catherine O’Hara
It didn’t take long for tributes to the beloved comedic actress to begin flooding social media from fans and many of her costars she worked with over the years, including Eugene Levy, Michael Keaton, Pedro Pascal and more.
O’Hara was well-known for her close friendship with Levy, 79, and the two had starred in multiple projects over the years. Most recently, they played Johnny and Moira Rose on the popular sitcom “Schitt’s Creek.”
Levy spoke out about O’Hara’s death shortly after the news broke.
“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today,” the “American Pie” actor said in a statement shared with People. “I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years.”
He continued, “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 son, Dan, who played O’Hara’s son in “Schitt’s Creek,” wrote a sweet tribute as well.
“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” he wrote via Instagram. “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.”
Macaulay Culkin, who played O’Hara’s son in the classic Christmas movie “Home Alone,” posted a heartbreaking tribute to his onscreen mom as well.
“Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more,” Culkin, 45, wrote alongside a side-by-side photo of him and O’Hara in a scene from “Home Alone” next to one of the two of them when he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “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.”
No cause of death for O’Hara has been released, and her representative told People that her family would celebrate her life with a private ceremony.
