Seth Rogen is celebrating Catherine O’Hara’s legacy more than one week after her shocking death.
“Honestly, there’s no one we wish we could thank in person at this moment more than we would love to thank Catherine O’Hara,” Rogen, 43, said during his speech on Saturday, February 7, while accepting the trophy for Best Comedy Series Director at the DGA Awards.
Rogen and creative partner Evan Goldberg were honored for The Studio episode titled “The Magic Hour.” (The series, created by Rogen, centers around the new studio head of the fictional Continental Studio as he tries to keep the company afloat. (O’Hara starred as Patty Leigh, a veteran film producer and Rogen’s fictional mentor.)
“We grew up in Canada, and she is and was quite literally our idol since we were children,” Goldberg said, while Rogen added, “Yeah. I mean, Home Alone, honestly, is like the movie that made me want to make movies in a lot of ways. In that movie, she’s always yelling ‘Kevin! Kevin!’ and on set we would be yelling ‘Evan! Evan!’ Every time she did, we were like, ‘It’s like, Home Alone.’”
Goldberg noted that “the best part” of watching and working alongside O’Hara was that “she showed that you can be an utter genius and also the nicest person in the entire world” as Rogen continued to pay tribute to the late actress.
“It was an honor to get to direct her every day and we worked very hard to make the show good enough to warrant her time and her presence,” Rogen shared. “So, ultimately, we would like to thank the DGA for this, but we would mostly like to thank Catherine O’Hara for being such a wonderful person and for blessing us with your presence.”
News broke on January 30, that O’Hara died at age 71 after a “brief illness.” The Los Angeles Fire Department confirmed to Us Weekly at the time that paramedics were dispatched to her home early in the morning. The actress was then transported to the hospital in “serious condition.”
Hours later, Rogen paid tribute to O’Hara via Instagram with a photo of the twosome.
“Really don’t know what to say …” he wrote at the time. “I told O’Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I’d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen. Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour.”
He continued, “She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.”
One day later, Deadline reported that The Studio team would not be attending Apple TV’s press day on February 3.
“We are all heartbroken by the loss of Catherine O’Hara,” Apple and Lionsgate wrote in a joint statement shared by the outlet. “An undeniable legend, icon, and incomparable talent, Catherine elevated every project she was a part of, including the singular genius she brought to her role on The Studio, and every transcendent performance she gifted to us.”
The statement concluded, “Her artistic accomplishments will forever bring humor, light, and love for generations to come, and her brilliance and generosity of spirit touched everyone around her. We will hold her in our hearts, always.”
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