"Catherine O'Hara made us laugh at women who, for the most part, were smart enough to know better. As an actress, she very rarely played dumb, but even when she did-she was a genius. The announcement of her death on Friday at the age of 71, after a reported brief illness, hits especially hard because there was no one else like her. Catherine O'Hara was one of one."
"Then there's Moira, O'Hara's Emmy-winning role on Schitt's Creek, who is frankly iconic. That character is a lot of things when we first meet her-a narcissist, for sure, but also shallow, petty and cold. But she is no dummy. Part of what makes her so funny is her perspicacity. Moira sees the foibles in those around her more clearly than anyone, and she never fails to find a five-dollar word to describe what she observes."
Catherine O'Hara died on Friday at age 71 after a reported brief illness. Over fifty years of performing, she created a pantheon of vividly distinct women across film, television and comedy. Her roles ranged from Delia Deetz's snooty modern-art poseur in Beetlejuice to Home Alone's stricken, disbelieving Kate McCallister and Christopher Guest's cringy community-theater Meryl Streep wannabe. Her Emmy-winning Moira on Schitt's Creek combined narcissism, petulance and deep perspicacity, evolving from vainglorious socialite to a warmer, more thoughtful person while retaining sharp intelligence. She rarely played truly dumb characters; when she did, the performances were comic genius.
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