Career
O'Hara was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario to a large Irish Catholic family. She started her acting career in 1974 as a cast member of The Second City in Toronto. She was an understudy for Gilda Radner until she left for Saturday Night Live. Two years later, this theatre troupe created the television series SCTV, on which she became a regular performer. Memorable O'Hara characterizations on the show included Las Vegas scorcher (I wanna bear your children!) Lola Heatherton, buzzer-happy game show contestant Margaret Meehan, raunchy nightclub comedian Dusty Towne, soap opera seductress Sue Ellen and stage actress Sue Bopper Simpson.
In the late 1970s, she did various voice-overs for a number of cartoons, which would continue throughout her career. During a short time in the early 80's when SCTV was in between network deals, she was hired to replace Ann Risley when Saturday Night Live was being retooled in 1981. However, she quit the show without ever having made an appearance on it, choosing to go back to SCTV when the show signed on with NBC and was back on the air. Her SNL position was then given to fellow Canadian Robin Duke, who had also replaced O'Hara for a season on SCTV.
She had roles in many films over the years, including Martin Scorsese's After Hours in 1985, as well as parts in two Tim Burton films, Beetlejuice and The Nightmare Before Christmas. She played Kate McCallister in the first two Home Alone films. In 2006, she starred in her fourth Christopher Guest film, For Your Consideration (following Waiting for Guffman, Best in Show, and A Mighty Wind).
On June 9, 2007, she was inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame. In May 2008, it was announced that she has signed on to star in the upcoming ABC dramedy Good Behavior.
Personal life
A naturalized U.S. citizen, she married production designer/director Bo Welch in 1992 and has two sons, Matthew (b.1994) and Luke (b.1997). She is the sister of critically-acclaimed singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara, though she is a singer-songwriter in her own right, having written and performed songs in the 2003 film A Mighty Wind. She has a condition known as Dextrocardia with situs inversus.
Films
Year Film title Character or Role
1983 Rock & Rule Aunt Edith
1985 After Hours Gail
1988 Beetlejuice Delia Deetz
1990 Home Alone Kate McCallister
1990 Betsy's Wedding Gloria Henner
1990 Dick Tracy Texie Garcia
1990 Little Vegas Lexie
1992 Home Alone 2: Lost in New York Kate McCallister
1992 There Goes the Neighborhood Jessie Lodge
1993 The Nightmare Before Christmas Sally and Shock (both speaking and singing)
1994 Little Giants Young Boy's Mother
1994 A Simple Twist of Fate Mrs. Simon
1994 Wyatt Earp Allie Earp
1994 The Paper Susan
1995 Tall Tale Calamity Jane
1996 The Last of the High Kings Cathleen
1996 Waiting for Guffman Sheila Albertson
1997 Hope (TV) Muriel Macswain
1997 Pippi Longstocking voice of Mrs. Prysselius
1999 Late Last Night (TV) the Shrink
1998 Home Fries Mrs. Lever
1999 Bartok the Magnificent voice of Ludmilla
1999 The Life Before This Sheena
2000 Edwurd Fudwupper Fibbed Big voice
2000 Best in Show Cookie Guggelman Fleck
2001 Speaking of Sex Connie Barker
2001 Committed (TV Series)
2002 Orange County Cindy Beugler
2003 A Mighty Wind Mickey Crabbe
2004 Surviving Christmas Christine Valco
2004 The Wool Cap Gloria
2004 Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events Justice Strauss
2005 Chicken Little Tina
2006 For Your Consideration Marilyn Hack
2006 Monster House DJ's Mother
2006 Brother Bear 2 Kata
2006 Over The Hedge Penny
2008 Penelope Jessica Wilhern
2009 Farlanders TBA
2009 Where the Wild Things Are Judith
Reprise
Catherine O'Hara Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He's all right, let's shout, make a fuss, scream it out
Jack is back now, everyone sing in our town of Halloween
What's this? What's this I haven't got a clue?
What it's completely new, must be a Christmas thing
It's really very strange, this is Halloween, this is Halloween
Where we can gaze into the stars and sit together now and forever
For it is plain as anyone can see we're simply meant to be
The first two lines of this verse speak to the fact that Jack, a central character in the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas, has returned and is alright. The repetition of “okay” and “all right” reinforces this sense of relief and joy that he is back safely. The next line is a call to celebrate the return of Jack - to shout and scream in excitement. This is followed by a reminder of what town they are in: the town of Halloween. The final line encourages everyone to join in and sing in celebration of Halloween.
The next two lines, “What’s this? What’s this I haven’t got a clue? What it’s completely new, must be a Christmas thing,” reference a moment in the movie where Jack stumbles upon the concept of Christmas, which is entirely foreign to him and the Halloween-centric town he lives in. The confusion in these lines reflects Jack’s initial bewilderment and sets the stage for the rest of the movie’s plot, as Jack tries to capture the essence of Christmas and make it his own. The last line of this verse repeats the familiar refrain of “This is Halloween,” which emphasizes the stark contrast between Halloween and Christmas.
The final verse is a touching and romantic one, expressing a desire for two characters to be together forever. The sense of longing in this verse is underscored by the previous verses’ focus on celebration and confusion. The two characters “gaze into the stars” together, suggesting a closeness and intimacy that transcends their surroundings. The last line is a powerful statement that they are meant to be together, a concept that echoes the overall theme of the movie.
Line by Line Meaning
Jack's okay and he's back okay
Jack has returned and is doing well now
He's all right, let's shout, make a fuss, scream it out
Let's celebrate his return and make some noise
What's this? What's this I haven't got a clue?
I don't understand what's happening
What it's completely new, must be a Christmas thing
It's something different that's related to Christmas
It's really very strange, this is Halloween, this is Halloween
It's strange to see something related to Christmas in the Halloween season
My dearest friend if you don't mind I'd like to join you by your side
I want to be with you and share the moment
Where we can gaze into the stars and sit together now and forever
Let's sit together and enjoy each other's company for eternity
For it is plain as anyone can see we're simply meant to be
We are meant to be together forever
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
k41en
His smile tho
des
THEIR SMILES ARE SO CUTE WTF
Highland804
Saw this three times this past weekend at the Hollywood Bowl. NEVER gets old.
Juanboricua
uuuuf I almost cried. I felt their chemistry thru my body and senses
justin es de piscis
NAAAA WN,LLORE MUCHO
Anthony Guevara
Omg I would love to go to something like this!!!
DJAC
So lucky!
loki2240
Almost time to watch it (November 1st).
Eleonora's Music Lab
So lovely ❤
caden forbes
SO CUTEEEEEE!!!!!!!