A Collective Farewell to a Comedy Icon
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, held on September 14, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, became the stage for a poignant tribute to the late Catherine O’Hara. Nine months after her passing in January 2026 at age 71, three of her most prominent on-screen children—Macaulay Culkin, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy—united to honor a career that spanned five decades of transformative comedic performance.
O’Hara, who passed away due to a pulmonary embolism linked to an underlying diagnosis of rectal cancer, left an indelible mark on both film and television. Her collaborators used the Emmy platform to highlight not just her professional brilliance, but the deeply personal mentorship she provided to her younger costars.
The “Mama” and the “Yes, And” Philosophy
Macaulay Culkin, who famously starred alongside O’Hara in the Home Alone franchise, offered a moving reflection on their enduring bond. “She wasn’t just a wife and mother to Bo and Matthew and Luke, she was my mom,” Culkin said during the broadcast, as reported by People. He recalled how O’Hara consistently “showed up” for him throughout his life, framing their relationship as one that transcended the screen.
For the cast of Schitt’s Creek, the tribute focused on O’Hara’s creative methodology. Annie Murphy described O’Hara’s infectious laughter as a “perpetual ‘yes, and’”—a reference to the foundational improv principle that drove O’Hara’s work from her early days on SCTV to her Emmy-winning role as Moira Rose. Dan Levy emphasized the professional lessons learned from her, urging creators to “always say yes” to O’Hara’s radical instincts, whether it involved eccentric character choices like wig walls or complex, unintelligible accents.
Industry-Wide Legacy
The tribute transitioned into the evening’s In Memoriam segment, underscored by a performance from Noah Kahan. The industry-wide segment honored O’Hara alongside other notable figures who passed in the preceding year. According to ABC-7, the segment also recognized icons such as Dolly Parton and costume designer Bob Mackie, highlighting the collective loss felt across the entertainment landscape.
Beyond her specific roles, O’Hara’s influence is seen in the generation of performers she mentored. Her career, which included collaborations with director Christopher Guest in films like Best in Show and Waiting for Guffman, redefined character comedy. As Levy noted, the experience of working with her was “a gift,” and the industry’s formal recognition at the Emmys served as a final, public validation of her enduring impact on the craft of acting.