{"id":464739,"date":"2026-02-10T00:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T00:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/464739\/"},"modified":"2026-02-10T00:37:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T00:37:12","slug":"catherine-oharas-cause-of-death-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/464739\/","title":{"rendered":"Catherine O\u2019Hara\u2019s cause of death revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Catherine O\u2019Hara\u2019s<\/a> cause of death has been released, one week after the Canadian comedic actor died at the age of 71<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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The\u00a0Schitt\u2019s Creek star died on Jan. 30 from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as an underlying cause, according to O\u2019Hara\u2019s death certificate, which was obtained by Rolling Stone<\/a> and People<\/a> on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

According to the death certificate released by the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner\u2019s Office and viewed by Global News \u2014 first secured by TMZ<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 O\u2019Hara died at a Santa Monica, Calif., hospital and her body was cremated.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t2:31
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIconic Canadian actor, \u2018Schitt\u2019s Creek\u2019 star Catherine O\u2019Hara dead at 71\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how long O\u2019Hara had been battling cancer. Her agency, Creative Artists Agency, previously said the actor died at her home in Los Angeles \u201cfollowing a brief illness,\u201d but didn\u2019t provide any further details at the time.<\/p>\n

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O\u2019Hara\u2019s career was launched with the Second City comedy group in Toronto in the 1970s. It was there that she first worked with Eugene Levy<\/a>, who would become a lifelong collaborator and her Schitt\u2019s Creek co-star. The two would be among the original cast of the sketch show SCTV, short for Second City Television.<\/p>\n

The series, which began on Canadian TV in the 1970s and aired on NBC in the U.S., spawned a legendary group of esoteric comedians that O\u2019Hara would work with often, including Martin Short, John Candy, Andrea Martin, Rick Moranis and Joe Flaherty.<\/p>\n

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She won her first Emmy for her writing on the show.<\/p>\n

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Her second, for best actress in a comedy series, came four decades later for the role of Moira Rose in Schitt\u2019s, a career-capping triumph and the perfect personification of her comedic talents. The series, created by Levy and his son, Dan, about a wealthy family forced to live in a tiny town, would dominate the Emmys in 2020<\/a> for its sixth and final season.<\/p>\n

The unexpected news of O\u2019Hara\u2019s death was met with shock around the world.<\/p>\n

Macaulay Culkin<\/a>, who played O\u2019Hara\u2019s son in two\u00a0Home Alone\u00a0movies, wrote, \u201cMama. I thought we had time. 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\u2019ll see you later.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Eugene Levy, who played O\u2019Hara\u2019s on-screen husband in Schitt\u2019s Creek, said words seem \u201cinadequate to express the loss I feel today.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O\u2019Hara 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\u2019s Creek, I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship. And I will miss her. My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O\u2019Hara family,\u201d he said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t0:39
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLegendary Canadian actor Catherine O\u2019Hara dead at 71\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O\u2019Hara\u2019s brilliance for all those years. Having spent over fifty years collaborating with my Dad, Catherine was extended family before she ever played my family. It\u2019s hard to imagine a world without her in it. I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her,\u201d Dan Levy<\/a>, star and co-creator of\u00a0Schitt\u2019s Creek, wrote on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Seth Rogen<\/a>, who worked with O\u2019Hara on The Studio, wrote, \u201cReally don\u2019t know what to say\u2026 I told O\u2019Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I\u2019d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHome Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour. She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous\u2026 she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We\u2019re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u2014 With files from The Associated Press<\/p>\n

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