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Actor Catherine O’Hara died of a blood clot in her lung, according to the Los Angeles Medical Examiner’s Office.
The Associated Press has confirmed the report, which listed pulmonary embolism as the immediate cause of death, with underlying rectal cancer.
O’Hara died Jan. 30 at the age of 71.
The oncologist who signed off on the certificate indicated that he had been treating O’Hara since March of last year, and last saw her on Jan. 27. She died at a hospital in Santa Monica, Calif.
There is shock and sorrow across Canada and in Hollywood with news that Canadian comedy legend Catherine O’Hara died suddenly at 71. No cause of death has yet been released.
She was known for dozens of iconic roles on TV and in movies, including in the sketch-comedy show SCTV, the hit movies Beetlejuice and Home Alone, and in the popular sitcom Schitt’s Creek, for which she won an Emmy Award.
She got her first break while working in Toronto as a waitress at Second City Theatre, where she watched the performers on stage and thought to herself, “I’d love to do that.”
She joined its touring company, and went on to become a cast member of its TV show, SCTV. O’Hara performed with fellow Canadian comedy legends, including Eugene Levy, John Candy, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, Harold Ramis, Rick Moranis, Dave Thomas and Martin Short.
