Catherine O'Hara
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| Catherine O'Hara | |
 O'Hara photographed by Jerry Avenaim, 2006 |
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| Born | Catherine Anne O'Hara March 4, 1954 Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
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| Occupation | Actress/Comedienne |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Spouse(s) | Bo Welch (1992-present) |
Catherine Anne O'Hara (born March 4, 1954) is a Canadian-American Emmy- and Gemini Award-winning actress and comedienne. She is well known for her comedy work on SCTV and for her film roles as Delia Deetz in Beetlejuice, Kate McCallister in Home Alone, Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas and the series of mockumentary films written and directed by Christopher Guest.
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[edit] Biography
O'Hara was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario in a large Irish Catholic family.[1] She started her acting career at age 20 as a cast member of The Second City in Toronto.[2] She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until she left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the television series SCTV, on which she became a regular performer. Her memorable characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher (I wanna bear your children!) 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 did voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 80s 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. [3][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 had roles in many films over the years, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours in 1985, as well as parts in two Tim Burton films: Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas, which also co-starred O'Hara's fellow Whose Line Is It Anyway? castmate Greg Proops. She played Kate McCallister in the first two Home Alone films. In 1999 she did a voice over for Ludmilla, the main antagonist in Bartok the Magnificent. In 2006, she starred in her fourth Christopher Guest film, For Your Consideration (following Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind).
On June 9, 2007, O'Hara was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In May 2008, it was announced that she has signed on to star in the upcoming ABC dramedy Good Behavior.[6]
[edit] Personal life
A naturalized U.S. citizen,[7] she married production designer/director Bo Welch in 1992 and has two sons, Matthew (b.1995) and Luke (b.1997). 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 the 2003 film A Mighty Wind. She has a condition known as Dextrocardia with situs inversus.[8]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Celebrities impersonated by O'Hara on SCTV
[edit] Films
| Year | Film title | Character or Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Rock & Rule | Aunt Edith |
| 1985 | After Hours | Gail |
| 1986 | Heartburn | Betty |
| 1988 | Beetlejuice | Delia Deetz |
| 1990 | Home Alone | Kate McCallister |
| 1990 | Betsy's Wedding | Gloria Henner |
| 1990 | Dick Tracy | Texie Garcia |
| 1990 | Little Vegas | Lexie |
| 1992 | Home Alone 2: Lost in New York | Kate McCallister |
| 1992 | There Goes the Neighborhood | Jessie Lodge |
| 1993 | The Nightmare Before Christmas | Sally and Shock (both speaking and singing) |
| 1994 | Little Giants | Young Boy's Mother |
| 1994 | A Simple Twist of Fate | April Simon |
| 1994 | Wyatt Earp | Allie Earp |
| 1994 | The Paper | Susan |
| 1995 | Tall Tale | Calamity Jane |
| 1996 | The Last of the High Kings | Cathleen |
| 1996 | Waiting for Guffman | Sheila Albertson |
| 1997 | Hope (TV) | Muriel Macswain |
| 1997 | Pippi Longstocking | voice of Mrs. Prysselius |
| 1999 | Late Last Night (TV) | the Shrink |
| 1998 | Home Fries | Mrs. Lever |
| 1999 | Bartok the Magnificent | voice of Ludmilla |
| 1999 | The Life Before This | Sheena |
| 2000 | Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big | voice |
| 2000 | Best in Show | Cookie Guggelman Fleck |
| 2001 | Speaking of Sex | Connie Barker |
| 2001 | Committed (TV Series) | Liz Larsen |
| 2002 | Orange County | Cindy Beugler |
| 2003 | Six Feet Under | Carol Ward |
| 2003 | A Mighty Wind | Mickey Crabbe |
| 2004 | Surviving Christmas | Christine Valco |
| 2004 | The Wool Cap | Gloria |
| 2004 | Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events | Justice Strauss |
| 2005 | Chicken Little | Tina |
| 2006 | For Your Consideration | Marilyn Hack |
| 2006 | Monster House | DJ's Mother |
| 2006 | Brother Bear 2 | Kata |
| 2006 | Over The Hedge | Penny |
| 2006 | Barbie in the 12 Dancing Princesses | Duchess Rowena |
| 2006 | Penelope | Jessica Wilhern |
| 2009 | Away We Go | Gloria Farlander |
| 2009 | Where the Wild Things Are | Judith |
[edit] References
- ^ CBC.ca - Arts - Alternative Canadian Walk of Fame - Inductee: Mary Margaret O’Hara
- ^ Second City Toronto Alumni
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=2037 Catherine O'Hara on CBC's 'The Hour'
- ^ http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/article/220072 Catherine The Great
- ^ http://rickmoranisfanpage.com/Articles/secondcityshoots.html SCTV Shoots For First
- ^ http://www.tvsquad.com/2008/05/02/oh-good-catherine-ohara-to-star-in-abc-pilot/ Catherine O'Hara to star in ABC pilot
- ^ Catherine O'Hara Biography (1954-)
- ^ http://www.cbc.ca/thehour/video.php?id=2048 The Hour - 2 Minutes: Catherine O'Hara
[edit] External links
- Catherine O'Hara at the Internet Movie Database
- Catherine O'Hara at Northernstars.ca
