Catherine O’Hara’s “Schitt’s Creek” co-stars are mourning the sudden death of the Hollywood icon at the age of 71.
“What a gift it has been to dance in the warm light of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for so many years,” Dan Levy, who created the show and played O’Hara’s son David, wrote on Instagram on Friday, along with two photos of himself and Catherine O’Hara.
“I’ve worked with my father for over 50 years, and Duchess Kate was part of my extended family even before she played my family,” he said. “It’s hard to imagine a world without her. I will cherish all the funny memories I was lucky enough to make with her.”
She added that her heart goes out to Ms O’Hara’s husband of 33 years, Beau Welch, her sons Matthew, 31, and Luke, 29, and the rest of her family.
Eugene Levy, Dan’s father and O’Hara’s “Schitt’s Creek” husband, issued a statement to Page Six, writing, “Words seem insufficient to express the sense of loss I feel today. I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for more than 50 years.”
“From my beginnings on stage in The Second City, to SCTV, films with Chris Guest, and six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I have cherished our working relationships, but above all our friendships. And I will miss her dearly. My heart goes out to Beau, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O’Hara family.”
Jennifer Robertson, who played Jocelyn Schitt on the sitcom, also told Page Six, “I’m so sad to hear that we’ve lost Catherine. It was a beautiful, magical gift to be in Catherine O’Hara’s orbit. She was absolutely amazing. She was a huge star and I couldn’t understand why people were making such a fuss about her. Her death is a loss to everyone who knew and loved her. My deepest condolences to Beau, her sons, and the O’Hara family.”
Dan’s sister Sarah Levy, who played a Café Tropical waitress on the show, posted a photo of O’Hara in character on Instagram, writing, “This is deep stuff. It was an honor to know, work with, and love Catherine O’Hara. Cheers to all you brought to this world. You will be sorely missed.”
O’Hara’s other legendary co-stars, including Beetlejuice and Home Alone, also mourned his death.
O’Hara appeared on “Schitt’s Creek” for six seasons from 2015 to 2020. The sitcom follows a wealthy couple, Johnny (Eugene Levy) and Moira (O’Hara), and their two children, Alexis (Annie Murphy) and David (Dunn), who lose all their money and are forced to live in a motel in a small town.
In 2020, this popular project took the Emmys by storm, and in 2021, the entire cast was once again Golden Globe winners.
For years, there have been rumors of a Schitt’s Creek movie or reboot.
Asked about the possibility of reuniting the Roses on screen in 2024, O’Hara told PEOPLE, “I would love to do that. After the show ended, we did a little tour and it was a lot of fun.”
“I want to be with everyone again,” she added. “It would be great to be in a movie. Yeah, I hope so.”
Dan has previously spoken about reuniting the gang in 2022.
“My hope is that someday we’ll all get together. I see these guys all the time. We’re always in touch,” he told People magazine at the time.
“There’s love there. There’s a desire to work together and a desire to tell more stories.”
CAA confirmed O’Hara’s death on Friday, posting a statement to Page Six saying, “Catherine O’Hara, a prolific, award-winning actress, author, and comedian, passed away today at her home in Los Angeles after a short illness.”
The Los Angeles Fire Department exclusively said they responded to a call at the Home Alone star’s home at 4:48 a.m. local time and later transported him to the hospital in “serious” condition.
The cause of death has not yet been determined, but audio of the 911 call obtained by Page Six shows that she was experiencing “difficulty breathing” in her final hours.
She also suffered from inverse sitting, a rare condition in which the arrangement of internal organs is a mirror image of normal anatomy, which led to her untimely death.
