Not long after news broke about Catherine O’Hara’s sudden death, the late actress’ Schitt’s Creek co-stars publicly spoke out.
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Annie Murphy, who played Alexis Rose, the daughter of O’Hara’s character, Moira Rose, on the show, shared sweet throwbacks. “Ha-ha-HAAAAA?!?!” the post’s caption reads. “Her laugh was a perpetual Yes, And… it challenged anyone who heard it to join in, and be as delighted as she was. Gosh were we ever to have her.”
Murphy then used the hashtag #goodbyetoagreatactress with a smiley with shades emoji.
In the post, Murphy also shared lessons she learned from O’Hara over the years.
“She would have never presumed to call herself a teacher (too self-deprecating, too Canadian),” Murphy pointed out. “But holy f—, was I ever a student. Here are a few Coles Notes for those who always want to study.”
The lessons were:
- “Giggle always Jokes first. As long as they feel right in your bones.”
- “When you find the people you love and make you laugh, stick with your lovers and laughs.”
- “Everybody on set is a part of the community who (ideally) wants to make something great – treat them as such.”
- Make suggestions, even if that means overstepping sometimes. Acknowledge if it doesn’t work. Be appreciative to those who appreciate it when it does.”
Other ‘Schitt’s Creek’ Co-Stars Emotionally Pay Tribute to Catherine O’Hara
Along with Annie Murphy, other members of the Schitt’s Creek cast paid an emotional tribute to Catherine O’Hara.
Noah Reid, who played Moira’s son-in-law on the show, admitted he was at a loss about the devastating news. “Meeting Catherine was surreal, like meeting a painting or a hologram or a saint,” he wrote. “Working with Catherine was an elevation, an understanding that there was collaboration in competition, that there were secret ways of knowing and doing that she was willing to share, and that there was humour and magic in everything.”
He further pointed out that knowing O’Hara was a gift he still couldn’t believe he had received. “How lucky we all were. We knew it then, and boy, do we feel it now. Love you COH.”
Dan Levy, who played David on Schitt’s Creek, had the same reaction, stating it was a gift to have “gotten to dance in the warm glow” of Catherine O’Hara’s “brilliance” over the years.
“Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family,” he noted. “It’s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”
Dan Levy’s father, Eugene, released a statement to PEOPLE about Catherine’s death.
“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today,” the actor and O’Hara’s longtime friend said. “I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O’Hara for over fifty years.”
He then shared, “From our beginnings on the Second City stage, to SCTV, to the movies we did with Chris Guest, to our six glorious years on Schitt’s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her.”