Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg paid a heartfelt tribute to the late Catherine O’Hara while accepting the Best Comedy Series award for The Studio at the Directors Guild of America Awards on February 7.
O’Hara’s Role in The Studio
Catherine O’Hara, who passed away on January 30 at the age of 71 following a brief illness, portrayed the high-powered Hollywood executive Patty Leigh in the series created by Rogen and Goldberg.
Rogen and Goldberg Reflect on Their Idol
During their acceptance speech, Rogen and Goldberg described O’Hara as “our idol since we were children,” highlighting her iconic performance as Kevin McAllister’s mother in the first two Home Alone films.
“Home Alone, honestly, is like the movie that made me wanna make movies in a lot of ways,” Rogen shared. “In that movie, she’s always yelling ‘Kevin, Kevin,’ and on set she would always be yelling, ‘Evan, Evan,’ and every time she did it we were like, It’s like Home Alone.”
Rogen added, “The best part of her is she showed that you can be an utter genius and also the nicest person in the entire world. Every day, we work very hard to make the show good enough to warrant her time and her presence. So ultimately we would like to thank the DGA for this, but we would mostly like to thank Catherine O’Hara.”
Tributes from Co-Stars
Macaulay Culkin, O’Hara’s on-screen son from Home Alone, expressed his grief, stating he “thought we had time.”
Dan Levy, creator and star of Schitt’s Creek where O’Hara played the eccentric Moira Rose, shared, “What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years. Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”
O’Hara also appeared in The Last of Us, with co-star Pedro Pascal among those offering condolences following her passing.
