Culture
SNL Honors Catherine O’Hara, a Former Cast Member Who Left the Show After Just 1 Week
SNL Honors Catherine O’Hara with a Tribute Card Following Her Death at 71
Saturday Night Live honored Catherine O’Hara with a tribute card after her passing.During the January 31 episode which was hosted by Alexander Skarsgård and Cardi B was the musical guest, a tribute card for the actress was displayed on the screen just before the curtain call.
Catherine O’Hara passed away on Friday, January 30, at the age of 71 following what has been reported as a “brief illness”. Initially, she was planned to be in the sixth season of SNL, however, she left after only one week quitting before she had a chance to appear in any episodes because she chose to continue with the Canadian sketch series SCTV. However, O’Hara returned to Studio 8H a few times over the years, making a guest appearance in October 1998 and hosting the show in April 1991 and October 1992.
Catherine O’Hara’s Legacy Spans Film and TV as More Personal Details of Her Last Moments Come to Light
O’Hara, who has had a very long career, is perhaps best known for her leading roles in major studio productions such as Beetlejuice and Home Alone, as well as Christopher Guest’s satirical mockumentary Best in Show and other such films. On the TV screen, she won the highest honors for her role in Schitt’s Creek, including an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a SAG Award.
After the news about the death of Catherine O’Hara, a spokesperson for the LAFD told People that the fire department unit was sent at 4:48 a.m. on January 30 to a call concerning a “approximately 70-year-old” female who was not named at the location of O’Hara’s house. The woman being the main suspect for O’Hara—was put in the ambulance and taken to the hospital in “serious condition.”
Audio from the LAFD dispatch suggested that the person at the property was suffering from “breathing difficulty.”
Catherine O’Hara Reflects on Her Decision to Leave SNL to Go Back to Her SCTV “Family”
During a chat with People in 2014, Catherine O’Hara went back to that time and remembered her decision to quit Saturday Night Live after one week. What she said was that as soon as she found out that SCTV was going to be another season, she was drawn back to her original comedy roots.
‘Basically, I told the SNL crew, “Look, I’m sorry, I have to go back to my [comedy] family,”’ said the two kids’ mum recalling the moment.
SCTV, which kept going till 1984, was a spinoff of Toronto’s Second City comedy troupe—the same place that gave SNL legend Gilda Radner to the world. Seeing the past, O’Hara confessed that she felt she had been a “fool” for going to take the SNL job without waiting to see if SCTV would get a renewal. “Yeah, it’s not a nice thing to do, you take a job and then leave it. You know what I mean?” she added.
Saturday Night Live is back on the air February 28 with Heated Rivalry star Connor Storrie hosting the show and Mumford & Sons performing as the musical guest.
