Beetlejuice director Tim Burton has broken his silence after actress Catherine O’Hara’s death at age 71.
“Catherine, I love you,” Burton, 67, wrote via Instagram on Friday, January 30. “This picture shows how much light you gave to all of us.”
Burton uploaded a behind-the-scenes set pic from 2024’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, where he posed alongside O’Hara in costume next to Michael Keaton, Winona Ryder and Jenna Ortega.
“You were a special part of my life and after life,” the filmmaker concluded.
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Us Weekly confirmed earlier on Friday that O’Hara died after battling an undisclosed illness.
“Prolific multi-award-winning actress, writer and comedian Catherine O’Hara died today at her home in Los Angeles following a brief illness,” O’Hara’s agency, Creative Artists Agency, wrote in a statement shared with Us. “A private celebration of life will be held by the family.”
O’Hara, also known for her roles in Home Alone, Schitt’s Creek and The Studio, starred as Delia Deetz in 1988’s Beetlejuice. In the movie, Delia and husband Charles Deetz (Jeffrey Jones) move into a haunted house with daughter Lydia Deetz (Ryder), soon crossing paths with a troublesome spirit named Beetlejuice (Keaton).
Burton directed Beetlejuice and its sequel, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the latter which also starred Ortega, 23, and Justin Theroux. Burton and O’Hara also collaborated on 1993’s The Nightmare Before Christmas.
“I love working with Tim Burton,” O’Hara told Digital Spy in 2013, noting she “would see him once in a blue moon” between their joint projects. “A couple of times when Tim came to town we’d have dinner and it was lovely, kind of like a relative you want to see, where you just sort of go back to what you were like when you last saw each other.”
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She continued, “You know, he lives in England and I live [in Los Angeles], so I’d rarely see him.”
According to O’Hara, Burton even introduced her to husband Bo Welch.
“I met my husband on Beetlejuice,” she added at the time. “He designed the sets and he’s a production designer, and Tim actually set us up to date.”
While speaking with Digital Spy, O’Hara further hinted that she was eager to work with Burton again. She fulfilled her wish with the Beetlejuice sequel.
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“Tim was just so excited and enthusiastic about doing it, and that was infectious,” the Emmy winner told Parade in September 2024 of reprising her role of Delia Deetz. “Everybody jumped in, and we kept saying, ‘Do you believe we’re doing this?’ And to see Michael’s face for the first time as Beetlejuice! Like, his character doesn’t have to age because he was always dead.
O’Hara, however, noted that it was “scary” to slip into Delia’s shoes once more.
“It’s 35 years later, I’m probably the oldest cast member, and I let myself age naturally,” she explained to the magazine. “So, I’m going on camera playing the same person, but that was also the lovely part. It was lovely to think about where these characters are now.”
O’Hara is survived by husband Welch, their two sons and her siblings.
