Emotional Tributes To Catherine O’Hara And Rob Reiner Bookend Emmys In Memoriam Segment

The Emmys in memoriam segment hit harder than usual at Monday night’s ceremony, bookending its 10 minutes of airtime with heartfelt tributes to Catherine O’Hara and Rob Reiner.

Macalay Culkin, who appeared in the first two Home Alone movies with O’Hara, joined her Schitt’s Creek co-stars Annie Murphy and Dan Levy in the opening section devoted to O’Hara. The revered comedic actress died in January at 71. Jamie Lee Curtis later offered a tearful remembrance of Reiner, who was killed along with his wife, Michelle, last December by their son, Nick.

Culkin, who played the son of O’Hara who was inadvertently abandoned, grew emotional as he recalled interacting with her. “By extension, she’s all of our moms,” he said. “She always showed up. That’s just what she did. And this is the best we can do for her tonight. We’re showing up for her.”

Lightening the mood slightly, Culkin added, “She may have forgotten me – twice – but we will always remember her.”

As Noah Kahan sang Paul Simon’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” the annual reel of TV-related figures who died over the past year was shown. It was a heady roster including director James Burrows, actors Louise Lasser, Vincent Pastore and Anthony Geary – and one person, fashion designer Bob Mackie, who died mere hours before air time. Every year, there is chatter online about who is omitted from the in memoriam segment, which is always subject to difficult judgment calls about people’s contributions to television compared with what they may have done in other cultural arenas.

Curtis was close with the Reiners, in large part because her husband is Christopher Guest, who collaborated with Rob Reiner on two Spinal Tap movies and many other projects. She remained composed and delivered her tribute, but her voice wavered and she seemed on the verge of sobs throughout her time onstage.

The speech reflected her own lineage as the daughter of actor Tony Curtis. Like Reiner, she grew up in the business. “Last week, Robbie won an Emmy for Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his beautiful work on The Bear,” Curtis said, her voice thick with emotion. “And he now holds the record of 48 years for the longest gap between acting Emmys, which was previously held by his father, Carl Reiner, at 37 years.”

Burrows, Curtis noted, directed more than 1,000 episodes of TV comedy and “set a standard of comedy directing that will be cherished and studied for generations to come.” Her voice breaking, she continued, “Sadly, last year, we lost another cherished legend, our beloved Meathead, Rob Reiner. He was generous and kind, and funny as hell. And a friend to all. We all miss Rob and Michelle. And all those we lost this year.”

Levy also continued the theme, as the son of Eugene Levy, another Schitt’s Creek star and collaborator with O’Hara for decades. As both a castmate and the creator of Schitt’s Creek, he said the greatest lesson he learned from her was, “Say yes. … It will amaze you on a daily basis and it will change your life.”