Catherine O’Hara’s Actor Awards Win Reminds Us Why We Need To Celebrate Our Heroes

Chances are that if you know comedy, you know Catherine O’Hara. The Canadian actress and comedian built a decades-long career on bringing love, joy, — and a bevy of perfectly coiffed if unusual wigs to the world on-screen. She’s a woman who made black and red en vogue, gave a whole new levity and meaning to the name “Kevin!” (not to mention made her a pop-culture legend) and made many of us question what exactly it means to “fold in” cheese when we’re cooking. 

And she’s continuing to give us the best moments even now that she’s not here to see them— most recently at The 32nd Annual Actor Awards (formerly the Screen Actors Guild Awards). 

On March 1, O’Hara posthumously received the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her work as studio executive Patty Leigh in Apple TV+’s The Studio. It was an incredibly well-deserved moment, but one that felt bittersweet in its timing. The Canadian actress, known for her iconic roles in Beetlejuice, Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek, The Last of Us, and, — most recently, — The Studio, died in January of this year at the age of 71.

Accepting the award on her behalf, The Studio creator Seth Rogen took to the stage to pay tribute to his co-star, reflecting on his experience knowing O’Hara and marveling at the actresses’ ability to be kind, generous, and gracious throughout her career without minimizing her immeasurable talent. Talking about working with her on the hit series, Rogen said: “She knew she could destroy, and she wanted to destroy everyday on-set,” before going on to urge those watching in the audience and at home to share O’Hara’s work with others, advising: “Show them O’Hara dancing to Harry Belafonte in Beetlejuice, show them O’Hara hurting her knee in Best In Show and doing that amazing thing where she hobbles around. And tell the people, as they are laughing, that that’s Catherine O’Hara and we were lucky that we got to live in a world where she so genuinely shared her talents with us.” 

Excuse us while we — and every A-list actor in that auditorium — sobbed. 

It was a touching and incredibly fitting tribute for an actress who has had such an impact on film and TV, and a stand out in the typical awards show circuit that can often feel monotonous and unnecessary. 

And to be clear, in many ways this awards season has felt that way. Among increasing political chaos across the United States; including the unlawful and inhumane detainment and deportation of immigrants and citizens by ICE, the murder of citizens at the hands of the very same agents, and the country engaged in numerous attacks globally, it can feel like hell to be a person existing right now. And this chaos, not to mention the literal life and death stakes people are facing day-to-day, makes concerns over whether or not Timothee Chalamet is going to take home an  his much-anticipated Oscar award for Marty Supreme feel pretty trivial. Because when citizens are literally being murdered in the streets by government officials, a singular “ICE OUT” pin and bids for “prayers for peace” from some of the most wealthy and privileged people in society, feels pretty lame and inconsequential. 

Which is one of the reasons why O’Hara’s win, and touching tribute from Rogen and those in the auditorium, felt so special. As a much-needed reminder that art — and the people who share it with audiences — can be impactful, and bring people together in a very special way. The way that O’Hara, and now her legacy, does. 

"Catherine was an honor to be around," The Studio co-star Chase Sui Wonders told Refinery29 on the red carpet at the Actor Awards. "We're so luck that we had that experience with her, to be in Vegas drinking martinis at The Sphere. It's honestly nice to be together and to be able to trade stories and laugh about the crazy things she did and how amazing she was. She was one of one."

Another reason O’Hara’s win felt monumental? The fact that, after an already illustrious career, she was really just getting started. At the time of her death, O’Hara was having a much-deserved renaissance of sorts; still actively working and opening herself up to a whole new younger generation of fans with her work in the Beetlejuice franchise, her epic turn as Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek and her most recent satirical role in The Studio.

Like actor Harrison Ford spoke of his own career while accepting the Actor Award’s Lifetime Achievement Award, O’Hara too was at what only felt like the halfway point of her career. She was at a point that all greats inevitably come to, often much too late in their careers, where they’re finally celebrated and given their flowers; their footprint only fully understood in hindsight. Which serves as a reminder, in a year that has brought the loss of so many of our legacy Hollywood greats, including Diane Keaton, Robert Redford, Graham Greene and Rob Reiner, that it’s important and meaningful to celebrate these artists, their work, and their impact while they’re still here to receive it.