Catherine O’Hara Honored By Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy During Emotional Emmys In Memoriam: ‘She Was Our Mama’

Catherine O’Hara, who died in January at 71, was honored Monday night at the 78th Emmy Awards by her three former on-screen children Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy.

Culkin opened the tribute, describing his “Home Alone” mom as “encouraging,” “warm” and, of course, “funny.”

“She wasn’t just a wife and mother to Bo and Matthew and Luke. She was my mom. She was our mama,” he said. “And by extension, she’s all of our mama. By the way, call your mother tonight. Give it up for moms. But like a good mama, she always showed up when I asked her to. Because that was Catherine. That’s what she did. She showed up. And this is the best that we can do for her tonight.”

Murphy then took the mic. She played O’Hara’s daughter, Alexis, in “Schitt’s Creek.” Murphy described O’Hara’s laugh as a “perpetual ‘yes’,” adding that it “challenged anyone who heard it to join in and be as delighted as she was.” She went on to recall all the affection she received from strangers after O’Hara died.

“After we lost Catherine, I was passed a note on an Air Canada flight that said, ‘She was so special. I hope you’re doing okay,'” Murphy recalled. “On a drive up north, I was hugged by an extremely gruff-looking gas station attendant who was also grieving her loss. While buying wine at the LCBO, I was treated to a very lively Catherine mashup, which was a woman saying, ‘Ew, David, where’s the baby?’ while doing what I can only assume was Catherine’s exquisite hobble from ‘Best in Show.’ These are only a very few of the interactions I’ve been lucky enough to have that remind me how profoundly Catherine has impacted the world.”

Levy, who played O’Hara’s son David on “Schitt’s Creek,” went last. He said that the “greatest lesson” her learned from O’Hara was “to always say yes” to everything “both professionally and personally.”

“Say yes to her naming that wig,” Levy said. “Say yes to giving her space to experiment and create. It will amaze you on a daily basis, and it will change your life. Say yes to her dinner invites and her stories and her wisdom and her generosity. Those are the things you will hold onto the tightest. Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness.”

O’Hara’s death was announced by her agency, CAA. She died in her Los Angeles home following a brief illness.

Her five-decade career in Hollywood began on the Canadian sketch comedy series “Second City Television.” The show, which she co-created with her future “Schitt’s Creek” co-star Eugene Levy, earned her an Emmy in 1982. She went on to star in films like O’Hara went on to star in films such as “After Hours,” “Beetlejuice” and the first two “Home Alone” movies.

O’Hara also starred in several of Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries, including “Best in Show,” “For Your Consideration,” “Waiting for Guffman” and “A Mighty Wind.”