Catherine O’Hara’s cause of death revealed two weeks after actress died following ‘brief illness’
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Catherine O’Hara’s official cause of death has now been disclosed, two weeks after she died following a “brief illness.” The Schitt's Creek star was 71 at the time of her death on January 30. Hours before her death, she was rushed to the hospital in “serious condition.”
Pulmonary embolism listed as cause of death
On Monday, February 9, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner's Office released O’Hara’s death certificate, which stated that she lost her life due to a pulmonary embolism, a blood clot in her heart. It also listed rectal cancer as the underlying cause.
Additionally, according to the 'Home Alone' actress’ death certificate, she was cremated, and her husband, Robert 'Bo' Welch, received her remains.
Catherine O’Hara's colleagues feel 'eternally grateful' to work with her
The 'Beetlejuice' star’s death devastated her colleagues, with filmmaker Tim Burton sharing on Instagram, “Catherine, I love you . This picture shows how much light you gave to all of us. You were a special part of my life and after life.”
Macaulay Culkin, who played O’Hara’s son in 'Home Alone', wrote, “Mama. 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’ll see you later.”
Pedro Pascal, who worked with O’Hara in 'The Last of Us', posted, “Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always ♥️ The one and ONLY #CatherineOHara.”
Seth Rogen called Catherine O’Hara 'a wonderful person'
On February 7, Seth Rogen also paid tribute to O’Hara while accepting the trophy for Best Comedy Series Director at the DGA Awards. During his speech, he said, “Honestly, there’s no one we wish we could thank in person at this moment more than we would love to thank Catherine O’Hara.”
The 43-year-old further noted that the late star’s 'Home Alone' “made me want to make movies in a lot of ways. In that movie, she’s always yelling ‘Kevin! Kevin!’ and on set we would be yelling ‘Evan! Evan!’ Every time she did, we were like, ‘It’s like, Home Alone.’”
“It was an honor to get to direct her every day, and we worked very hard to make the show good enough to warrant her time and her presence. So, ultimately, we would like to thank the DGA for this, but we would mostly like to thank Catherine O’Hara for being such a wonderful person and for blessing us with your presence,” Rogen added.
