Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘SCTV’ fame, dies at 71

Catherine O’Hara, Emmy-winning comedian of ‘Schitt’s Creek’ and ‘SCTV’ fame, dies at 71 1 of 5 | Catherine O’Hara, a cast member in the Apple+ series “The Studio,” poses for a portrait on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) 2 of 5 | This image released by Pop Tv shows Catherine O’Hara in a scene from “Schitt’s Creek.” (Pop TV via AP) 3 of 5 | Former cast members of SCTV, from left, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. (AP Photo/E Pablo Kosmicki, File) 4 of 5 | Catherine O’Hara poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) 5 of 5 | Eugene Levy, left, and Catherine O’Hara appear at the 76th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles. on Feb. 29, 2004. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch, File) 1 of 5 Catherine O’Hara, a cast member in the Apple+ series “The Studio,” poses for a portrait on Thursday, March 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 2 of 5 This image released by Pop Tv shows Catherine O’Hara in a scene from “Schitt’s Creek.” (Pop TV via AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 3 of 5 Former cast members of SCTV, from left, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O’Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. (AP Photo/E Pablo Kosmicki, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 4 of 5 Catherine O’Hara poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK premiere of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. 5 of 5 Eugene Levy, left, and Catherine O’Hara appear at the 76th annual Academy Awards in Los Angeles. on Feb. 29, 2004. (AP Photo/Laura Rauch, File) Add AP News on Google Add AP News as your preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Updated [hour]:[minute] [AMPM] [timezone], [monthFull] [day], [year] Los Angeles (AP) — Catherine O’Hara, a gifted Canadian comic actor and “SCTV” alum who starred as Macaulay Culkin’s harried mother in two “Home Alone” movies and created the dramatically ditzy character of Moira Rose in the Emmy-winning comedy “Schitt’s Creek,” died Friday.O’Hara died at her home in Los Angeles “following a brief illness,” according to a statement from her agency, Creative Artists Agency. Further details were not immediately available.O’Hara’s career was launched at the Second City in Toronto in the in 1970s. It was there that she first worked with Eugene Levy, who would become a lifelong collaborator — and her “Schitt’s Creek” costar. The two would be among the original cast of the sketch show “SCTV,” short for “Second City Television,” which spawned a legendary group of esoteric comedians including Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Joe Flaherty. “Schitt’s Creek” would be a career-capping triumph and the perfect personification of her comic talents. The small show created by Levy and his son Dan about a wealthy family forced to live in a tiny town would dominate the Emmys in its sixth and final season. It brought O’Hara, always a beloved figure, a new generation of fans and put her at the center of cultural attention. It also brought a career renaissance that led to a dramatic turn on HBO’s “The Last of Us” and a straitlaced role as a Hollywood producer in “The Studio,” both of which earned her Emmy nominations. She is survived by her husband, Bo Welch, and sons Matthew and Luke.___Noveck reported from New York. AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr contributed reporting.