Los Angeles: Catherine O'Hara was honoured at the 78th Emmy Awards on Monday night, with her former on-screen children Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy paying tribute to the late ‘Schitt's Creek’ star, according to Variety.
O'Hara, who died in January at the age of 71, received a special tribute from the three actors. Culkin opened the tribute, describing his ‘Home Alone’ mother 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 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’, was the last to speak, sharing that the "greatest lesson" he learned from her was to "always say yes", embracing opportunities in both his professional and personal life.
"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 died at her Los Angeles home following a brief illness.