Macaulay Culkin remembered Catherine O’Hara as more than the actor who played his mother in the “Home Alone” films.
To him, she was simply “mama.”
Culkin joined O’Hara’s “Schitt’s Creek” co-stars Annie Murphy and Dan Levy on stage at Monday night’s Emmy Awards for an emotional tribute to the acclaimed comic actor, who died Jan. 30 at age 71.
“She wasn’t just a wife to Bo (Welch) and mother to Matthew and Luke,” Culkin said. “She was my mom. She was our mama, and by extension, she’s all of our mama.”
Culkin urged viewers to call their mothers and recalled how O’Hara remained supportive of him decades after they worked together in two “Home Alone” films.
O’Hara played Kate McCallister, the mother of Culkin’s Kevin, in the 1990 original and its 1992 sequel. Both became popular holiday films and regular television favorites.
“This is the best that we can do for her tonight. We’re showing up for her,” Culkin said. “She may have forgotten me twice, but we will always remember her.”
O’Hara died from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer listed as an underlying cause. Her five-decade career included the Canadian sketch comedy series “SCTV,” the “Home Alone” films, Christopher Guest’s mockumentaries and her Emmy-winning role as Moira Rose on “Schitt’s Creek.”
Singer-songwriter Noah Kahan performed during the in-memoriam segment, which honored O’Hara and other television industry figures who died over the past year. The tribute also remembered entertainment icon Dolly Parton, actor and filmmaker Rob Reiner, actor Isiah Whitlock Jr. and costume designer Bob Mackie, who died earlier Monday.
Murphy, who played O’Hara’s daughter Alexis Rose on “Schitt’s Creek,” remembered her co-star’s distinctive laugh and the happiness she brought to audiences.
“Catherine’s laugh was a perpetual ‘yes, and,’” Murphy said. “It challenged anyone who heard it to join in and be as delighted as she was, and she spread that delight everywhere.”
Murphy said strangers across Canada shared their grief with her following O’Hara’s death. She recalled receiving a note from a passenger on an Air Canada flight, getting a hug from a gas station attendant and meeting a woman who performed a combination of O’Hara’s characters while Murphy was buying wine.
“These are only a very few of the interactions I’ve been lucky enough to have that remind me how profoundly Catherine has impacted the world,” Murphy said. “And it’s because she brought us joy.”
Levy, who co-created “Schitt’s Creek” and played O’Hara’s onscreen son David Rose, said one of the most important lessons he learned from her was to “always say yes,” especially when it came to her creative ideas.
He recalled how O’Hara helped develop Moira Rose into an unusual television character over the age of 60 who wore leather miniskirts and high heels and spoke in an unusual, sometimes difficult-to-understand accent.
Levy also remembered her creative ideas, including Moira’s large collection of wigs.
“Say yes to the concept of a wig wall. Say yes to her asking to wear a wig as a hat. Say yes to her naming that wig,” Levy said. “Say yes to giving her space to experiment and create. It will amaze you on a daily basis, and it will change your life.”
Levy also spoke about O’Hara’s kindness and generosity away from the set.
“Say yes to her dinner invites and her stories and her wisdom and her generosity,” he said. “Those are the things you will hold on to the tightest. Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness.”