Martin Short Compared Catherine O’Hara to ‘Paul McCartney in 1965’

Catherine O’Hara was a beloved actress who, according to Martin Short, dazzled in her personal life just as much as she did on screen. O’Hara, who died on Jan. 30, was good friends with Short. He said that nearly everyone he knew was in love with her, and said her effect on people was akin to Paul McCartney at the height of Beatlemania.

Martin Short spoke about the effect Catherine O’Hara had on people

When O’Hara was a teenager, her older brother began dating Gilda Radner. Radner inspired O’Hara to audition for a musical, and while she didn’t get a part, she began to spend time with the cast. She met future stars like Eugene Levy, Victor Garber, Andrea Martin, and Short. 

She became lifelong friends with Short, who said O’Hara’s humor and humanity drew people to her.

“Everyone has been in love with Catherine since she was 17,” he told Vanity Fair. “No one made me laugh like her onstage. And she always brought a humanity to her characters. They always had a bent reality, but they were never not kind.”

Short recalled a dinner party where he and O’Hara were both guests. As he was talking to Anjelica Huston and Tom Ford, O’Hara walked into the room. The effect of her presence was immediate. 

“Anjelica went completely still,” he recalled. “She said, ‘Oh my God, oh my God, I’ve got to meet her, I’ve got to meet her.’ It was like Paul McCartney walking in in 1965.”

O’Hara died on Jan. 30. She was 71.