“Saturday Night Live” honored Catherine O’Hara following her passing at age 71. During the January 31 episode hosted by Alexander Skarsgård, the show displayed a tribute card featuring a vintage photo of O’Hara before the closing credits. NBC also shared the memorial image on X with the caption “Catherine O’Hara” and a heart emoji.
O’Hara died at her Los Angeles home on January 30 after a brief illness, as confirmed by Creative Artists Agency to Page Six. According to 911 dispatch audio, she had been hospitalized earlier that day in serious condition due to breathing difficulties.
Though never a full cast member, O’Hara had deep connections to SNL. She initially joined the show’s sixth season in 1981 but departed after one week when her Canadian sketch series “Second City Television” (SCTV) was renewed. “I gotta go be with my [comedy] family,” she recalled telling producers, later acknowledging to People magazine: “Not cool to take a job and leave it.”
O’Hara ultimately hosted SNL twice – first in April 1991 with musical guest R.E.M., and again in October 1992 with 10,000 Maniacs. Her work on SCTV (1976-1984) earned her a 1982 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Writing alongside collaborators including John Candy and Martin Short.
Following her passing, tributes poured in from co-stars like Macaulay Culkin and the “Schitt’s Creek” cast. O’Hara last appeared publicly at Apple TV+’s Primetime Emmy party on September 14, 2025, where she was nominated for “The Studio.” She is survived by husband Bo Welch, 74, and sons Matthew (31) and Luke (29).