Catherine O’Hara, who played the actor’s mother in “Home Alone,” died in January following a “brief illness.”
Catherine O’Hara’s 2023 speech on Macaulay Culkin
Catherine O’Hara, the legendary actress known for “Home Alone,” “Best in Show” and “Schitt’s Creek,” has reportedly died. She was 71.
Four months after Catherine O’Hara‘s death, Macaulay Culkin is opening up about the loss of his “Home Alone” costar.
O’Hara, who played Culkin’s mother in the 1990 Christmas comedy, died on Jan. 30 at age 71 following a “brief illness,” which was later revealed to be a pulmonary embolism. Following news of her death, Culkin paid tribute to O’Hara in an emotional Instagram post, writing, “Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. … I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you.”
Culkin, 45, detailed his grief for O’Hara in an interview with Gentleman’s Journal published Tuesday, May 12.
“When Catherine passed away in January, that hit me. That hit me pretty good, ’cause, you know, it was just too soon,” Culkin told the magazine. “And I felt that we had unfinished business. I definitely feel like I had unfinished business with her, you know? I feel like I owed her a favor — and I don’t like having an outstanding debt.”
Following the breakout success of “Home Alone,” which earned Culkin a Golden Globe nomination at 11 years old, he and O’Hara joined artistic forces again on the film’s 1992 sequel “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York.”
In 2023, more than 30 years after the movie’s release, O’Hara paid tribute to Culkin and his pop cultural legacy during the actor’s induction for the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“Macaulay — this beautiful, dear little 10-year-old boy — was called a superstar, a moneymaker, one of the hottest leading young men in Hollywood by the world over. How does anyone survive that?” O’Hara said at the time.
“Well, I believe you’d have to possess a certain quality, a gift that dear [writer-producer] John Hughes obviously recognized in you, Macaulay: your sense of humor,” she continued. “It’s a sign of intelligence in a child and a key to surviving life at any age. And from what I see, you have brought that sweet, yet twisted, yet totally relatable sense of humor to everything that you have chosen to do since ‘Home Alone.'”
While speaking to Gentleman’s Journal, Culkin reflected on the ongoing grief that comes with his upbringing as a former child star. John Heard, who played Culkin’s father in “Home Alone,” died in 2017, while several of his other costars – John Candy, Burt Lancaster and Farrah Fawcett – have also died.
“I’m bringing up some of that old Hollywood guard kind of thing,” Culkin said. “I’m going to be one of the last people standing when it comes to that kind of stuff.
“But my life is unique to me,” Culkin added. “I don’t really have that many contemporaries when it comes to this stuff. I can’t look left and right and think: ‘Oh, those people have had a similar experience to me.’ But I try to cherish that as much as I can. I feel like I’m living a really uniquely wonderful life.”
Contributing: Anthony Robledo and KiMi Robinson, USA TODAY
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
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