Catherine O’Hara’s Experience on SNL: Why She Left After Just One Week

A young Catherine O’Hara.
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NEED TO KNOW

• Catherine O’Hara briefly joined the cast of Saturday Night Live, but left before appearing in an episode.
• In a previous interview, she explained her decision to leave SNL in favor of returning to the Canadian comedy show SCTV.
• On January 30, O’Hara’s manager confirmed that the actress passed away at the age of 71.

O’Hara, who was cast in the sixth season of SNL in the early 1980s, departed after just one week. In an interview conducted in 2024, she recounted the circumstances surrounding her decision. “During one break, I got asked to be on Saturday Night Live. And of course I said yes. Who doesn’t want to do that?” O’Hara reflected.

Prior to her time with SNL, she was part of the cast of SCTV, which offered her intermittent work. “Our producer would get a deal with a network, and we’d have a show for a season or two, and then that deal would go away. There’d be a break, then we’d do the show again,” she explained.

Second City troupers, including Catherine O’Hara.

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When O’Hara learned that SCTV had been picked up again, she opted to leave SNL without having filmed a single episode. “Basically I said, ‘Oh, sorry, I gotta go be with my [comedy] family,’” she noted. In hindsight, she reflected on her decision, calling herself “stupid” for not waiting to see if SCTV would be renewed. “Yeah, not cool to take a job and leave it. You know what I mean?” she said.

Ultimately, O’Hara’s high school friend, Robin Duke, was able to take her place on SNL. “It all worked out the way it was supposed to,” O’Hara acknowledged.

SCTV aired from 1976 to 1984 and was spawned from Toronto’s renowned Second City comedy troupe, where the late Gilda Radner also got her start before moving on to SNL. O’Hara served as Radner’s understudy, and in a 2020 interview, she expressed admiration for Radner’s ability to be both kind and hilarious.

Gilda Radner (left) with Catherine O’Hara.

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O’Hara’s collaboration with SCTV included notables like John Candy, Martin Short, Rick Moranis, Joe Flaherty, Andrea Martin, and Eugene Levy. She and Levy later worked together on multiple projects, including Christopher Guest’s films such as Best in Show and the acclaimed television show Schitt’s Creek.