Years before her death, Dan Levy said it was a “dream come true” to work with family friend Catherine O’Hara in an interview with Page Six.
The “Schitt’s Creek” actor exclusively told us in March 2018 — midway through the hit comedy’s fourth season — that he had written the character of Rose family matriarch Moira Rose specifically with O’Hara in mind.
“We wrote the character with the intention of Catherine playing the part,” he said at the time, noting that they were “crossing our fingers, crossing our toes” before she officially signed on.
Dan — who played Moira’s son David Rose — said when they found out she was taking on the role, they sat down “over breakfast.”
“She came with references in terms of how she wanted the character to look, and pitched the accent,” he said, referencing Moira’s distinctive accent and outrageous sense of fashion.
“Catherine has really shaped that character herself,” he explained. “All we’ve really done is serviced what she’s laid out for us. That is the brilliance of Catherine O’Hara.”
Dan, 41, gushed over her “incredible insight” and comedic “impulses,” as well.
“Once she sort of laid the blueprints of what this character was, the challenge for us was just living up to what she created,” he shared. “Writing for Moira is one of the most hysterically rewarding experiences we can have in the writers room.”
Dan’s father Eugene Levy was his writing and producing partner on the show, which ultimately garnered O’Hara a 2021 Golden Globe for her role — which, she revealed in a 2019 interview with Vulture, she nearly turned down after feeling some “trepidation.”
Dan also recounted the “Home Alone” star — who died suddenly on Friday — being in his life in “a very peripheral way” since he “was born.”
“My dad has worked with Catherine since they were, I don’t even know … at Second City in Toronto in the 70s,” he said, referencing Canada’s iconic improv and sketch comedy group — and O’Hara and Eugene’s longtime friendship and working relationship.
“I’ve grown up around some incredibly funny people, which has been a blessing and curse because now I’ve been completely spoiled in terms of what I find funny. I guess that’s a good thing.”
He added at the time, “Now I get to see her everyday and she gets to play my mom. That’s sort of a dream come true for most people.”
Following the beloved actress’s death, Dan took to Instagram on Friday with an emotional tribute to the “Beetlejuice” star.
“What a gift to have gotten to dance in the warm glow of Catherine O’Hara’s brilliance for all those years,” he wrote.
“Having spent over fifty 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.”
He continued, “I will cherish every funny memory I was fortunate enough to make with her.”
Dan also sent his sympathies to O’Hara’s husband of 33 years, Bo Welch, and their sons, Matthew and Luke.
O’Hara died at the age of 71 on Friday, her agency CAA confirmed to Page Six following TMZ’s initial report. “Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer, and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness,” they said in a statement.
The Los Angeles Fire Department told Page Six exclusively that they responded to a call at the “Best in Show” actress’s Brentwood, Los Angeles, home at 4:48 a.m. They transported her to a local hospital in “serious” condition.
911 dispatch audio obtained by Page Six on Friday indicated that O’Hara had “breathing difficulty” prior to her death.
A cause of death remains unclear, though the actress dealt with a rare condition called dextrocardia with situs inversus — a rare birth defect in which the chest and abdomen organs are positioned as a mirror image of typical anatomy.
The Emmy Award-winning actress leaves behind her husband and two grown sons — and an unforgettable career.
