Catherine O’Hara shared a special bond with her ‘SCTV’ castmate John Candy and even had a crush on him.
The actress, whose death was announced on Friday, spoke emotionally at Candy’s funeral. The “Uncle Buck” star died in 1994 at the age of 43.
O’Hara said the two first met in 1974 when she auditioned for Candy, who hired her to join his Second City improv group.
“Of course I was crazy about him,” she recalled. “But he loved Rose (Candy’s wife) deeply.”
O’Hara, who worked with Candy for 10 years on the groundbreaking comedy series SCTV, said the last time they worked together was on the 1990 hit Home Alone.
“He only had one day, so they had him improvise for 17 hours,” she said of the role of Gus Polinsky.
The “Schitt’s Creek” star also revealed that Candy passed away on her 40th birthday.
In her book John Candy: A Life in Comedy, O’Hara recalled receiving a “strange mix of calls” from people wishing her a happy birthday while also wanting to pay tribute to the actor.
“Someone would call and say, “Happy Birthday,” and I’d be like, “Oh, thank you.” Then they’d get quiet and say, “Oh, John,” so of course I talked about John. It was just horrifying, horribly sad,” she said.
“After he passed away, I dreamed about him a lot, and I still dream about him sometimes. A few years ago, I had a dream, and we were just hanging out and doing little things, and when I said something about his death, he said, ‘Oh, I had to say that out loud,'” she told writer Paul Myers.
“And I said, ‘Oh, I’m sorry, I thought you knew.’ It was very, very sad. ”
O’Hara remembered her friend fondly in a 2024 interview with People magazine.
“He was always willing to improvise with me after the show. We’d do a show, and then after the show, we’d improvise. That’s how we put together the next show at Second City Theater, and he was always willing to try out any ideas,” she said.
She said: “I’m so glad we don’t have to make up a bull because people loved him.”
“So when people ask, ‘What was he like?’ they want to hear what they think he’ll be like. And it’s so nice to be able to validate their guesses about what he’s actually like.”
O’Hara died Friday at the age of 71 after a short illness.
