The actors were comedy partners in “Schitt’s Creek,” “SCTV,” “Waiting for Guffman,” “Best in Show,” and more.

Eugene Levy pays tribute to lifelong costar Catherine O’Hara after her death: ‘Words seem inadequate’

The actors were comedy partners in "Schitt's Creek," "SCTV," "Waiting for Guffman," "Best in Show," and more.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

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January 31, 2026 12:13 p.m. ET

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Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on March 8, 2024. Credit:

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty

- Eugene Levy remembered his lifelong costar Catherine O'Hara after her death at 71.

- "Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today," Levy said.

- Across five decades, the actors costarred in *SCTV*, *Waiting for Guffman*, *Best in Show*, *A Mighty Wind*, *Schitt's Creek*, and more.

Eugene Levy is mourning his lifelong costar and friend Catherine O'Hara.

The *American Pie* actor shared a statement with ** on Saturday paying tribute to the late actress following her death at 71.

"Words seem inadequate to express the loss I feel today," Levy said. "I had the honor of knowing and working with the great Catherine O'Hara for over 50 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."

Levy went on to express his sympathy with O'Hara's husband, production designer Bo Welch, and the couple's two sons. "I will miss her," he said. "My heart goes out to Bo, Matthew, Luke, and the entire O'Hara family."

Levy and O'Hara have been inextricably linked since their early days in Toronto's comedy scene in the 1970s. The duo met when she was a waitress at Second City improv theater and Eugene was in the cast.

Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara in 2003's 'A Might Wind'.

Warner Brothers/courtesy Everett Collection

In a 2014 Buzzfeed interview, Levy recalled O'Hara's first attempt to join the Second City cast. "I remember the audition, and it was a really good audition, and I think the general feeling was she was just a little young," he said.

O'Hara ultimately joined the Second City cast six months later after Gilda Radner departed the troupe to join *Saturday Night Live* in 1975.

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From there, the two comedians costarred on the sketch series *SCTV* alongside John Candy, Rick Moranis, Martin Short, Joe Flaherty, Harold Ramis, Andrea Martin, and Dave Thomas. The show aired in various iterations from 1976 to 1984, though O'Hara left the show for a period in the middle of its run and subsequently returned. O'Hara and Levy also appeared in supporting roles in the 1980 films *Nothing Personal*, which also starred Suzanne Somers and Donald Sutherland, and *Deadly Companion*, starring Candy and Anthony Perkins.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, O'Hara and Levy costarred in four comedies helmed by director Christopher Guest: 1996's *Waiting for Guffman*, 2000's *Best in Show*, 2003's *A Mighty Wind*, and 2006's *For Your Consideration*. Co-written by Levy and Guest, the mockumentary films allowed the actors to show off their ad-libbing skills, as most of their dialogue was improvised.

Eugene Levy and Catherine O'Hara on 'Schitt's Creek'. PopTV

After playing estranged folk-singing couple Mitch and Mickey in *A Mighty Wind*, Levy and O'Hara performed the fictional duo's signature song, "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow," written by their costar Michael McKean and his wife, Annette O'Toole, at the 2004 Academy Awards. Levy and O'Hara also voiced a pair of porcupines in the 2006 DreamWorks animated film *Over the Hedge*.

The pair experienced career renaissances with the success of their sitcom *Schitt's Creek*, which ran from 2015 to 2020. Both earned Emmys for their lead performances in the show's final season in 2020. That same year, they lent their voices to the documentary *Canada Far and Wide*, which played at the Canada Pavilion in Epcot at Walt Disney World.

Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, and Eugene Levy on 'The Tomorrow Show' in 1981.

Gary Gershoff/Getty

Levy's son, Dan Levy, who co-created and starred on *Schitt's Creek*, also remembered O'Hara after her death on Friday. "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 50 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."

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Levy and O'Hara reflected on their comedic chemistry while speaking with Buzzfeed. "Your ideas are always really great," Levy told his frequent costar. "Your ability to come up with lines and ideas for your character are things you just can't find when you're hiring just somebody who can't do this kind of thing."

"There have been times where we had discussions that verged on some tension," O'Hara admitted. "But with Eugene — this is the lovely thing about working with a friend who you love and respect, and I really love and respect Eugene — he is really funny, he's very thoughtful in his work, he's a great writer, and a great actor. So even when it gets into an argument, I believe that there's no other crap in the way. It's all about making this the best it can be. And I hope he believes the same of me."**

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