Catherine O'Hara was part of the comedy group Second City in Toronto in the early 1970s, but now she's better known as the mom in Home Alone (1990) and as a familiar cast member of Christopher Guest's "mockumentaries." O'Hara was one of the original founders (along with John Candy and others) of the satirical TV show SCTV in 1976. In the 1980s she went into the movies and appeared in a variety of Hollywood comedies. Her notable roles include: the neurotic wife in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice (1987); the mother in Home Alone and its sequel (1990 and 1992); the voices of Shock and Sally in Tim Burton's A Nightmare Before Christmas (1993); and the kooky ladies in Waiting for Guffman (1996), Best in Show (2000), A Mighty Wind (2003) and For Your Consideration (2006) . Her other films include The Paper (1994), Penelope (2006) and Where the Wild Things Are (2009).
She frequently appears in movies paired with fellow SCTV alumnus Eugene Levy.
Catherine O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario, though her heritage may or may not be a contributing factor to the strange quality she brings to her dry comedic style on the Hollywood screen. While the inspiration for O'Hara's forthright straight-faced demeanor is unknown, she is arguably a one-of-a-kind presence in many American films.
O'Hara began acting in her hometown in 1974, when she first appeared on Second City Television, where she distinguished herself through impersonations. She performed on the program regularly during the mid-'70s, and also wrote for it beginning in 1976. Later that decade, she continued her television experience with voice-overs for cartoons, an endeavor she would revisit throughout her career in some notable roles.
By this point, O'Hara was well established in American popular culture, and she continued to take on creative roles. Revisiting the bizarre darkness of Tim Burton's imaginative projects, she performed the character voices of both Sally and Shock in his animated feature The Nightmare Before Christmas in 1993. Two years later, her voice-over credentials increased when she played Calamity Jane in Walt Disney's Tall Tale: The Unbelievable Adventures of Pecos Bill. Her voice work continued throughout the 1990s, and in 1996, O'Hara expanded her appeal to include the indie-film world when she starred in what became a revered independent feature, Waiting for Guffman. In Home Fries (1998) with Drew Barrymore, she played the role of Mrs. Lever.
Satiric and campy, 2000's Best in Show showcased numerous strong performances, allowing for flamboyant and unique characterizations from all cast members, including O'Hara, whose pursed-lipped matter-of-factness instilled personality into Southern dog-owner Cookie Guggelman Fleck. In 2001, O'Hara appeared on the television shows Committed and Speaking of Sex, and she returned to the big screen in 2002 with a role in Orange County. ~ Sarah Sloboda, Rovi
O'Hara was born in Toronto, Ontario, into a large Irish family,[1] and was raised Roman Catholic.[2] She attended Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute, where she first met Robin Duke, who went on to her own comedy career.
Career
Catherine started her comedy career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in her native Toronto.[3] She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until Radner left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the sketch comedy show SCTV, for which O'Hara became a regular performer. Her memorable characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen, and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.
In the late 1970s, O'Hara also provided voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 1980s when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without ever appearing on air, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC.[4][5] Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.
O'Hara began her career on television, apart from SCTV, in the mid-Seventies. She has appeared in the 1976 television film The Rimshots, the children's television series Coming Up Rosie for a year, and television specials, such as Witch's Night Out and Intergalactic Thanksgiving. But it was her performances on SCTV that earned her fame in Canada, which is why she returned to the show, not only as an actress, but as a writer for both SCTV and SCTV Network 90, which earned her an Emmy Award for outstanding writing and two Emmy Award nominations. She also has written for SCTV Channel. O'Hara has appeared in a number of television series and television films, and continues to work in television. During the Nineties, she made guest appearances on Tales from the Crypt, Oh Baby, Morton & Hayes and The Larry Sanders Show. She served as actress and director on Dream On and The Outer Limits, the revival of the Sixties series of the same name. In the past decade, O'Hara has guest-starred on top-rated television series including Six Feet Under and Curb Your Enthusiasm. In May 2008, it was announced that she had signed on to star in the upcoming ABCdramedyGood Behavior.[6] Her role on the 2010 television film Temple Grandin earned her three award nominations: a Primetime Emmy Award, a Satellite Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
A naturalized U.S. citizen,[7] O'Hara married production designerBo Welch in 1992, with whom she has two sons, Matthew (b.1994) and Luke (b.1997).[2] She is the sister of critically acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, though she is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in Guest's film A Mighty Wind. She has a condition known as situs inversus, a congenital condition in which the major visceralorgans are reversed or mirrored from their typical positions.[8]
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