Martin Short and Steve Martin Toasts 'Sweetest Angel' Catherine O’Hara in Austin

Leading a glass-clinking tribute to the late Schitt's Creek hero, Martin Short and Steve Martin take a break from their comedy tour.

Story Insights: Celebrating a Comedy Legend

• A Sudden Loss: The comedy world was rocked on Friday, January 30, 2026, when legend Catherine O’Hara passed away at age 71 following a brief illness.
•  The Austin Tribute: During their "The Best of Steve Martin and Martin Short" tour stop in Texas, the duo paused their set to honor their lifelong friend with a heartfelt toast.
•  The "Sweetest Angel": Martin Short, who met O’Hara when she was just 18, delivered a moving speech, calling her the "greatest, most brilliant" person he ever worked with.
•  A Shared History: The tribute highlighted a friendship spanning over 50 years, from their early days at Second City and SCTV to modern collaborations.

You most likely expecting a night of nonstop roasts and banjo playing if you were at Austin's Bass Concert Hall this past Friday. Rather, the audience saw something much deeper. The titans of comedy, Steve Martin and Martin Short, who often spend their time making fun of each other, had a silent moment that spoke a lot. They were two grieving friends paying tribute to a woman who was practically the lifeblood of the comedy industry, not just two celebrities on stage.

A mixture of shock and awe dominated the air after the news of Catherine O'Hara's death at the age of 71 emerged just hours earlier. When one of the world's funniest people has recently passed away, how can you carry on with a comedy show? You don't simply "go on"; instead, you take a moment to reflect and raise a glass.

The audience's applause faded into a polite silence as a massive image of a grinning O'Hara filled the screen behind them. Martin Short raised his glass, clearly moved. He said to the Texas audience, "I met Catherine O'Hara when she was eighteen." The weight of fifty years of friendship was in his voice. "And all these years later, she has been the greatest, most brilliant, kindest, sweetest angel that any of us worked with."

For a brief moment of silent support, Steve Martin stood by his side, trading his typical "wild and crazy guy" character. They raised their glasses together, a straightforward yet sophisticated gesture that resonated well beyond the theater's walls. It was a human moment between two legends for a third who had just made her last bow; it wasn't staged.

The industry has seen an unmatched surge of tributes following the death of the Schitt's Creek star. Variety reports that O'Hara died in Los Angeles after what her agent called a "brief illness." Although there had been little rumours about her health, TMZ revealed that she had been taken to the hospital earlier that day due to breathing problems.

There has been a huge outpouring of love:

• In a statement obtained by People, her on-screen spouse and 50-year comedic partner Eugene Levy said, "Words seem inadequate... I cherished our working relationship, but most of all our friendship."
• Her Home Alone son Macaulay Culkin posted a devastating message on social media, saying, "I thought we had time."
• Dan Levy agreed, calling her "extended family" and a "gift" to everyone who had the opportunity to dance in her cosy warmth.

In a joint statement, Apple TV+ and Lionsgate, the companies behind her most recent hit, The Studio, referred to her as a "undeniable legend and icon." From the eccentric Moira Rose to her early, ground-breaking work on SCTV, they observed that Catherine elevated every project she worked on. Although few were aware of the seriousness of the issue at the time, industry insiders have also highlighted that The Studio's production schedules were recently adjusted to deal with the actress's absence.

This is a huge change for Hollywood, not simply a setback for the "Great White North" or Beetlejuice fans. O'Hara represented a unique type of performer who was daring, modest, and incredibly compassionate. O'Hara's dying serves as a reminder that the true "main event" isn't the narrative twist but rather the person behind the act, as we witness more "leaks" and "spoilers" taking over the news cycles these days.

Today, the comedy world seems a bit quieter. Whether she was shouting "KEVIN!" or mispronouncing "bebe," Catherine O'Hara showed us how to find the heart in the ridiculous. Saying "God bless" and clinking a glass is the ideal way to honour a life that offered so much joy, as Martin Short and Steve Martin demonstrated to us in Austin.