A little over a week ago, we lost one of the funniest, most talented comediennes of our lifetime. Catherine O’Hara passed away January 30th at the age of 71. I was so glad to have soaked in her talent since the 1970s.
While most people will remember her as the mother in the Home Alone film series, as well as her Emmy-winning role as Moira Rose in the sitcom Schitt’s Creek, I will always think about her early roles doing sketch comedy for the SCTV program.
She began working with the Second City Comedy Troupe in the mid 1970s in Toronto. The main cast became so popular that they developed a television show for CBC starting around 1976. This is where I was fortunate to witness her talent long befor many others in the US. Being in Detroit, my television viewing included Channel 9 out of Windsor, Ontario. The Second City crew, which included O’Hara, John Candy, Eugene Levy and Joe Flaherty, parodied many commercial and cable television shows. The humor was perfect for a teen like me. O’Hara had some amazing characters, including Las Vegas singer Lola Heatherton, Brooke Shields, Meryl Streep, as well as dozens of housewife roles in commercial spoofs. It was fantastic that NBC picked up the program and aired it as a 90-minute comedy on Friday nights.
O’Hara was supposed to join the Saturday Night Live cast in the late 1980s, but passed because she did not want to live in New York City. She instead moved into film. Along with her Home Alone work, she was in Beetlejuice as well as a few of the Christopher Guest mockumentaries. These were I loved her the most. In Best in Show, she played a dog owner that seemed to have had previous sexual relationships with almost every man she comes across during a Westminster-type dog show. In A Mighty Wind, she plays Mickey Crabbe, the female member of the “famous” 1960s folk duo Mitch & Mickey. In For Your Consideration, she plays Marilyn Hack, an actress who is being considered for an Oscar nomination.
In all of her roles, O’Hara exaggerated the human character, which made them all the familiar to the viewer. She was beautiful, talented, and made each role memorable. The internet exploded with tributes to her, which was well deserved. However, the most beautiful quote that she uttered when asked what her favorite role she has ever performed was “the mother of my children.”
Ms. O’Hara, you brought so much joy into my life with your comedy. You have taken a piece of my heart with you.
Last weekend I attended an antique radio swap meet in Waterford, Michigan. I go each year, looking for vintage microphones, 60s-era transistor radios, and any music stuff that is interested AND cheap. Most of the items I was interested in was way out of my budget range, but I did find a dealer selling some as-is transistor radios for $2.00 each. I grabbed six of tem, with one being of great interest. Made for Radio Shack and its Realistic brand, it is an AM radio with additional bandwidth to tune in airplane traffic if you are near a large airport. I always wanted one as a kid, but never got one for a gift. I grabbed it, with the intent to just put it on my display shelp of radios. When I got it home, YES, it actually still works! Only one other of the group is working, but I am completely satisfied with that find.
There was also a dealer there selling some guitar-related items. Again, most of it was either not interesting to me or way too pricey. However, I was able to get a Yamaha bass guitar practice amplifier for $15.00. The speaker grille cloth is torn, and whoever previously used it actually poked a few small holes in the speaker cone to get a more ratty sound, probably to use it for guitar. The amp works, although a bit low in volume at regular setting, but when the Drive switch is engaged, it seems to boost the volume considerable. I will probably take the front apart and replace the cloth when I get a chance.
Chew on it and comment.
Luegra 