Catherine O'Hara's tribute to her Home Alone co-star, John Candy, has resurfaced following her death at age 71 on Friday (30 January).
Whether it's one of her iconic on-screen moments as the inimitable Moira Rose in Schitt's Creek or as the panicked mother in Home Alone, O'Hara left an impression on many people.
The star passed away following a 'brief illness', her manager told Variety. While no other details have been released, reports have said she was rushed to the hospital in a 'serious condition' before her death.
Now, in the wake of tributes to her, the kind words she shared about another actor who passed have resurfaced.
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She shared a heartfelt eulogy for Candy, who was paid just $414 (£325) for his appearance in Home Alone.
Candy passed away in 1994 after having a heart attack while asleep. Catherine shared the eulogy in March 1994, after the two met more than 20 years earlier.
She began by saying that everyone has their own John Candy story, with his memory looming larger than life because of the impression he left on people.
"I have my own story," she told those gathered at the memorial to pay their respects. "In 1974, I auditioned for John Candy, director of the Second City Touring company, and he hired me... The main cast, he drove us all the way to Chicago to play their Second City stage, and I had a crush on him, of course, but he was deeply in love with Rose.
"So, I got to be his friend and I closed the Chicago bars with him just to be with him. We did SCTV together when we all tried to come up with opening credits that would somehow tell the audience exactly what we were trying with the show to say about TV. It was John who said, 'Why don't we just throw a bunch of TVs off a building?' "
She recalled that the last time she got to work with Candy was on Home Alone, adding that he 'gave himself so completely to every role, big or small' and had a distinctive laugh.
"No, not the Johnny LaRue laugh. No, not the William B. William laughs. The real John Candy laugh." O'Hara said.
Adding that she hadn't realised how much Candy had impacted her life, she said: "I realise when I think of John, it's not in terms of details. I think of John in terms of the big picture. That is why we so mourn our loss, but we treasure it as well.
"John's life had meaning... He was a protector. He cared if he felt you've been wronged in any way; he risked everything to make it right, to make you know you were worth something, too.
"In a business that indulges the weaker souls, where the insecure lend others’ words far too much meaning, John was a humble, sensitive man, full of faith, who seemed forever grateful for his gifts and his time on this earth."
She described his movies as a 'safe haven' for all sorts of people, calling him the 'patron saint of laughter'.
O'Hara concluded: "I will miss him, but I hope and pray to leave this world too someday. And to have a place near God as near as any other soul, with the exception of John."
Topics: Entertainment, Celebrity, Home Alone
Jen Thomas