Katherine O'Hara: Simply The Best

Katherine O'Hara passed away yesterday at the age of 71. She brought a ton of joy to so many people over the years. I just want to take a moment to honor her.

My dad passed away when I was young. Before he died he introduced me to some very funny, and quite inappropriate, sources of humor. One of these was SCTV. This was one of the funniest shows ever. That is where I first saw Katherine O'Hara.

I started watching the show in the early 80s. Her most famous character on SCTV was Lola Heatherton, a washed up disco lounge singer. O'Hara played her beautifully. She was the cockiest terrible singer you'd ever meet. Imagine her as the way overdressed has been at a local karaoke night. She was hilarious! I am guessing that she drew from this character later in life when she played Moira Schitt.

Her portrayal of Molly Earl on the show was a perfect satire of the over the top perky morning show hosts of the time... or really any time. As one of the few women on the show, she had to impersonate a lot of popular women of the time. This included an awesome Lucille Ball and Joan Collins. But her impersonation of poor Brooke Shields was unforgettable. She also did several versions of soap opera actresses (sound familiar) each was equally funny. O'Hara also wrote for the show and even won an Emmy for her writing in 1982. From the very start she was brilliant!

When we talk about her films, everyone seems to remember her as the worst mother in the history of time... Kevin McCallister's mother form Home Alone. Only O'Hara could have played this role in a way to make you forget that she FREAKING FORGOT her child on another continent. She seemed so desperate to get back to him but always played it with enough zany comedy that you never really truly thought about how tragic this could have been.

But she played an even better role in 1986s Beetlejuice. With out her over the top zany stepmother Deelia Deetz, the movie would not have been the same. Her facial expressions alone should have won her some awards.

While these were both iconic, my absolute favorite roles were those in the mockumentaries Waiting for Guffman and Best in Show (she was also incredible in A Might Wind and For Your Consideration) but those first two are some of the finest films I have ever seen. If you have not seen her work in Waiting for Guffman or Best in Show, do yourself a favor and sit down to watch their genius. Keep in mind that much of the dialogue is improv and you will truly appreciate her genius.

In addition to those movie roles, she also did some amazing TV work. I challenge you to find anything she wasn't simply awesome in. This includes, Six Feet Under, the Last of Us and The Studio.

While she is truly brilliant in every thing she does, there is one role that will stand out for the rest of time. Her portrayal of Moira Schitt is quite simply one of the funniest and heart-filled performances ever. While she starts out as an absolute farce, as the show progresses you see she is really an incredibly loving matriarch of a very quirky... but ultimately nice family. FWhile many remember her darker side with quotes like "What you did was impulsive, capricious, and melodramatic…and but it was also wrong." "This wine is awful. Get me another glass." or "You are blind to reality, and for that, I am most proud." One should never forget the incredible heart she showed:

"One must champion oneself and say, ‘I am ready for this.’" "My darling, it’s okay to be scared. But you mustn’t let fear dictate your actions." "Take a thousand naked pictures of yourself now. You may currently think, ‘Oh, I’m too spooky.’ But believe me, one day you will look at those photos with much kinder eyes and say, ‘Dear God, I was a beautiful thing."

But for me, Moira can be summed up in two scenes.

Her pep-talk to Stevie when she needed it the most...

And her reaction to Patrick serenading her son David (watch for her to touch David's shoulder)...

"My boy is being serenaded by his butter-voiced beau."

Katherine O'Hara, you are simply the best.