Saturday Night Live recently honored Catherine O’Hara, who sadly passed away at the age of 71.
During the latest episode, hosted by Alexander Skarsgard, a tribute card with an old photograph of O’Hara appeared on screen just before the show’s curtain call.
The card simply carried her name. NBC’s social media also shared a memorial photo that included a heartfelt note, “Catherine O’Hara,” accompanied by an X and a heart emoji.
O’Hara passed away at her home in Los Angeles on Friday, following a “brief illness,” as confirmed by her representatives.
Audio from a 911 call indicated that the “Schitt’s Creek” star struggled with “difficulty breathing” and was subsequently taken to a hospital in a “serious” condition, where she sadly died a few hours later.
Though O’Hara was not an official cast member of SNL, she had a near association with the show. Back in 1981, she briefly joined the sixth season but left after a week due to her involvement with Second City Television (SCTV).
She later reflected on her experience, mentioning, “I was asked to be on ‘Saturday Night Live,’ and of course I said, ‘Yes.’ Who wouldn’t want to do that?” However, when SCTV was renewed for another season, O’Hara had to regretfully inform the SNL producers that she couldn’t stay.
“Well, it’s not cool to take a job and then quit,” she remarked, expressing her thoughts to a publication.
O’Hara had hosted SNL two times—first in April 1991 with R.E.M. as the musical guest and again in October 1992 with 10,000 Maniacs.
After her passing, many former co-stars took to social media to pay tribute, including Macaulay Culkin from “Home Alone” and the cast of “Schitt’s Creek.”
O’Hara is survived by her husband Beau Welch and their two sons, Matthew and Luke.
Her most recent public appearance was on September 14 at an Apple TV+ Emmy party, where she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in “The Studio.”
