Culkin, Murphy and Levy Honour Catherine O'Hara at 2026 Emmys

Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy took the Emmy stage together to honour Catherine O'Hara, the actor who played a mother to all three of them on screen.

The tribute came ahead of the In Memoriam segment at the 2026 Emmy Awards, the part of the ceremony that remembers television figures who have died, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The three speakers each knew O'Hara from a different defining role. Each spoke briefly before the lights lowered.

Culkin starred opposite O'Hara in the first two Home Alone films, where she played Kate McCallister, mother to his Kevin McCallister. He described O'Hara as encouraging, warm and funny. The word he thinks of for her, he said, is "mama".

Then came his closing line. "She may have forgotten me, twice, but we will always remember her." It was a direct nod to the films, in which his character is twice left behind by his family.

Murphy and Levy knew O'Hara from Schitt's Creek, where she played Moira Rose, mother to their characters Alexis and David Rose. Levy created the comedy series, for which O'Hara won one of her two Emmys. O'Hara died at age 71, according to Al Jazeera.

Murphy remembered O'Hara's laugh. "Catherine's laugh was a perpetual yes and" that challenged others to join in and be delighted, she said. Levy said the greatest lesson he learned from O'Hara, professionally and personally, was to always say yes.

Levy had earlier described the moment as "bittersweet" during NBC's official preshow on TikTok. The tribute itself stayed simple. Three co-stars, one stage, no clips to carry it.

Singer Noah Kahan followed with "Bridge Over Troubled Water" for the In Memoriam segment. The performance closed the remembrance that O'Hara's tribute had opened.