Actor Catherine O’Hara passed away due to a blood clot in her lung, as per the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office. The report, confirmed by The Associated Press, cited pulmonary embolism as the immediate cause of death, with an underlying condition of rectal cancer. O’Hara, aged 71, died on January 30.
The oncologist who had been treating O’Hara since March of the previous year and last saw her on January 27 signed the certificate. She breathed her last at a hospital in Santa Monica, California.
Recognized for numerous memorable roles in TV and film, O’Hara starred in the sketch-comedy series SCTV, blockbuster movies like Beetlejuice and Home Alone, and the acclaimed sitcom Schitt’s Creek, for which she earned an Emmy Award. Her career commenced when she was a waitress at Second City Theatre in Toronto, where she aspired to perform after watching the actors on stage.
She became part of the touring company at the theater and later joined the cast of the SCTV TV show, working alongside other Canadian comedy icons such as Eugene Levy, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas, and Martin Short.