Catherine O'Hara Honored at Emmys In Memoriam by Culkin, Levy & Murphy

Monday night's Emmy Awards ceremony in Los Angeles carried the particular emotional weight that only a well-crafted In Memoriam segment can produce — the kind that reminds a room full of industry professionals why storytelling matters in the first place. Among those remembered were Catherine O'Hara, Rob Reiner, Hayden Panettiere, Tim Curry, James Van Der Beek, and several others whose work left durable marks on the culture.

A Farewell Fit for a Comic Genius

Few performers in the history of North American comedy have demonstrated Catherine O'Hara's range with such apparent effortlessness. From her early days at SCTV to the iconic Home Alone franchise and the celebrated ensemble of Schitt's Creek, she built a body of work defined by precision, warmth, and a rare willingness to fully inhabit a character without vanity. Her death in January prompted an outpouring of grief that spoke to how deeply she had embedded herself in the popular imagination.

At the Emmys, that grief took personal and eloquent form. Macaulay Culkin, who famously played opposite O'Hara in the Home Alone films, offered perhaps the evening's most quietly devastating tribute. Rather than cataloguing her credits or achievements, he reached for something more intimate: calling her, simply, "mom." He acknowledged the running joke of her character's legendary forgetfulness — leaving young Kevin behind not once but twice — before delivering the line that landed like a gut punch: "She may have forgotten me twice. But we will always remember her."

Annie Murphy, who worked alongside O'Hara throughout the run of Schitt's Creek, described the encounters she has had since O'Hara's passing — strangers approaching her to quote lines, to share memories, to express love for a performer they never personally knew. Murphy framed these moments as evidence of something larger than celebrity: O'Hara, she said, had "brought joy" to the world in a way that reverberates long after a final curtain call. Meanwhile, Dan Levy recalled O'Hara's creative restlessness, including her habit of sending late-night script revisions and her tendency to float concepts — he mentioned, with evident affection, something she called a "wigwall" — that defied easy categorization. His conclusion was characteristically direct: "Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness."

Rob Reiner's Record-Setting Posthumous Win

The evening also served as a second occasion to honor Rob Reiner, who had already been recognized at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in September following his death in December. According to Rolling Stone, Jamie Lee Curtis delivered a tearful tribute, describing Reiner as a "cherished legend" and invoking his beloved All in the Family nickname, "our beloved meathead." Curtis noted that Reiner had received a posthumous Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance in the fourth season of The Bear, with presenter Wendi McLendon-Covey accepting on his behalf to a standing ovation.

The award carried an extraordinary statistical footnote: the gap between Reiner's wins in 1974 and 1978 — for his role as Mike "Meathead" Stivic — and his posthumous recognition represented a 48-year span, setting a new record for the longest interval between Emmy wins. In a fitting twist, the previous record had been held by his father, Carl Reiner.

A Ceremony That Honored the Full Spectrum

The In Memoriam segment's musical accompaniment came from Noah Kahan, who performed Simon and Garfunkel's "Bridge Over Troubled Water" — a selection that leaned into the elegiac without becoming maudlin. The list of those honored also included Robert Carradine, Eric Dane, Isiah Whitlock Jr., and Dolly Parton, among others, reflecting a year of significant loss across multiple generations of television history.

As the industry continues to evolve — with streaming platforms reshaping distribution, new faces entering the conversation (see the recent news about Jenna Ortega being invited to join the Film Academy in 2026), and established stars reinventing themselves in projects like Sandra Bullock's return in Practical Magic 2 — evenings like this one serve as essential counterweight, anchoring the present to the performers who built the foundation.

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