- - Steve Martin and Martin Short Honor ‘Sweetest Angel’ Catherine O’Hara During Comedy Show Hours After Her Death

Desiree AnelloJanuary 31, 2026 at 7:50 PM

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Steve Martin; Catherine O'Hara; Martin Short

Daniel Knighton/Getty;Mike Marsland/WireImage;Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty

Catherine O’Hara died on Jan. 30 at age 71 “after a brief illness,” a rep confirmed to PEOPLE

Steve Martin and Martin Short paid tribute to the late actress during their comedy show in Texas, just hours after her death

“She had been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with,” Short said onstage before toasting O'Hara alongside his Only Murders in the Building costar

Steve Martin and Martin Short are remembering their late friend and colleague Catherine O’Hara.

Hours after news broke that the Home Alone actress died on Jan. 30 at age 71, the two Only Murders in the Building costars shared a toast in her memory while onstage during their “The Best of Steve Martin and Martin Short” comedy show in Austin, Texas.

“Catherine O’Hara, I met when she was 18 years of age,” Short, 75, said while holding up his glass, as seen in a video shared on TikTok. “And all these years later, she had been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with.”

He and Martin, 80, then clinked their glasses as the audience erupted into cheers in honor of the late actress.

Catherine O'Hara and Martin Short in 2017

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O’Hara — known for her roles in Beetlejuice, Schitt’s Creek, Best in Show and more — died on Jan. 30 in Los Angeles “after a brief illness,” a rep confirmed to PEOPLE.

In addition to her husband, Bo Welch, and her two sons, Matthew and Luke, many remembered the Emmy winner as a legendary comedian, talented actress and dear friend — including Macaulay Culkin, who portrayed her onscreen son in both Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.

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Catherine O'Hara with Steve Martin in 'A Simple Twist of Fate' (1994)

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“Mama. I thought we had time,” Culkin wrote on Instagram alongside photos of himself and O'Hara in the 1990 classic film and another of the pair reuniting in 2023. “I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later."

While Culkin, 45, met the late actress when he was just 10 years old, Eugene Levy and Dan Levy had the privilege of being part of O’Hara’s onscreen family when she joined the cast of Schitt’s Creek in 2015, playing matriarch Moira Rose. But before that, O’Hara and Eugene, 79, shared a 50-year bond.

“Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today," Eugene — who played her onscreen husband, Johnny Rose, in Schitt's Creek — said in a statement to PEOPLE. "I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O'Hara for over fifty years."

"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," he continued. "And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O'Hara family."

For his part, Dan, 42, echoed his father’s sentiment in a tribute of his own.

"What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years," he wrote on Instagram. "Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. 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,” he added. “My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke and every member of her big, beautiful family."

on People

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”