Macaulay Culkin recently told Gentleman’s Journal that part of the reason why Catherine O’Hara’s death hit him so hard earlier this year is because “I felt that we had unfinished business.” O’Hara played Culkin’s mother in the comedy classics “Home Alone” and “Home Alone 2: Escape from New York,” which combined grossed more than $830 million worldwide.
“When Catherine passed away in January, that hit me. That hit me pretty good, because, you know, it was just too soon,” Culkin told the publication. “I felt that we had unfinished business. I definitely feel like I had unfinished business with her, you know? I feel like I owed her a favor — and I don’t like having an outstanding debt.”
O’Haria died Jan. 30 at 71 years old from a pulmonary embolism, with rectal cancer as an underlying condition. Her career spanned more than 50 years, beginning on the Canadian sketch show “Second City Television” and continuing through film classics like “Home Alone” and “Beetlejuice” and award-winning TV roles such as “Schitt’s Creek” and “The Studio.”
The “Home Alone” movies kicked off Culkin’s career and turned him into one of the biggest child stars of the 1990s. In December 2023, the two had an emotional reunion when Culkin received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and O’Hara gave a speech at the ceremony.
“Macaulay — this beautiful, dear little 10-year-old boy — was called a superstar, a moneymaker, one of the hottest leading young men in Hollywood by the world over. How does anyone survive that?” O’Hara said in her speech. “Well, I believe you’d have to possess a certain quality, a gift that dear [writer-producer] John Hughes obviously recognized in you, Macaulay: your sense of humor. It’s a sign of intelligence in a child, and a key to surviving life at any age. And from what I see, you have brought this sweet, yet twisted, yet totally relatable sense of humor to everything that you have chosen to do since ‘Home Alone.’”
“Thank you for including me — your fake mom who left you home alone not once, but twice — to share in this happy occasion,” she concluded. “I’m so proud of you.” Culkin wiped away tears as the two embraced.
Culkin paid tribute to O’Hara after her death with an Instagram post that read: “Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you but I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later.”
