Actor Catherine O’Hara, best-known for legendary comedy roles in “Schitt’s Creek,” “Home Alone,” “SCTV” and other TV and film productions, has died at age 71, according to her representative.
O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles’s Bentwood area “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her agency, CAA. More details were not immediately available.
The Canadian actor, writer and comedian rose to fame as one of the original cast members on the comedy sketch show SCTV. She starred in several Tim Burton-directed films, Beetlejuice (1988), The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993) and Frankenweenie (2012).
O’Hara also delivered laughs in mockumentaries like “Best in Show” (2000) and “A Mighty Wind” (2003).
More recently, she earned two Canadian Screen Awards for Best Lead Actress for her work on “Schitt’s Creek.” Her role as eccentric former soap opera actor and family matriarch Moira Rose earned O’Hara an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy Television Series.
O’Hara also portrayed a psychotherapist in the second season of HBO’s “The Last of Us” and a producer in “The Studio” alongside Seth Rogen.
O’Hara grew up in the Toronto area and took a job at the improvisational comedy club Second City Theatre. She became a member of the company in the mid-1970s when the group launched what would become the hit comedy TV show “SCTV.” The show was picked up for late-night viewing in 1981 in the United States.
The series featured a who’s-who list of comedic stars, including O’Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy, Martin Short, Rick Moranis and more. O’Hara won an Emmy Award and earned four Emmy nominations for her writing on the show.
She was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2017.
O’Hara is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
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