Henry Selick, who directed Catherine O’Hara in The Nightmare Before Christmas, is remembering the star in the wake of her unexpected death at 71.
O’Hara passed away at her home in Los Angeles ‘following a brief illness,’ the Daily Mail confirmed on Friday.
Selick, 73, told the Daily Mail exclusively, ‘I’ve loved Catherine O’Hara ever since Second City TV, the Canadian comedy show she starred in and helped create.
‘Then, wonder of wonders, I got to work with her when she voiced the character of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, the animated film I directed for Tim Burton.’
He recalled, ‘She was a little intimidating – so smart and attractive, a total pro who asked tough questions.’
During their time working on the Burton film, Selick said he once asked, ‘Catherine, could you be more emotional in the next take,’ to which she cleverly replied, ‘Uh, exactly which emotion did you have in mind, Henry?’
O’Hara passed away at her home in Los Angeles ‘following a brief illness,’ Daily Mail confirmed on Friday, and her former collaborator Henry Selick paid loving tribute to her; pictured in April 2023
Selick, 73, told the Daily Mail exclusively, ‘I’ve loved Catherine O’Hara ever since Second City TV, the Canadian comedy show she starred in and helped create
Selick’s most memorable collaboration with O’Hara came when he directed her in The Nightmare Before Christmas, for which she voiced Sally. ‘She was a little intimidating — so smart and attractive, a total pro who asked tough questions,’ he recalled; still from The Nightmare Before Christmas
He looked back fondly, ‘Oh, she hated how many different takes I’d ask for,’ but, he added, ‘Years later, she told me she finally got it; that’s how I was finding and building the character.’
Selick recalled catching up with O’Hara years after their Nightmare collaboration.
‘Ten years after Nightmare came out, they did a 3D version of it, and we had a grand reunion with Tim, Glen Shadix (The Mayor), [production designer] Rick Heinrichs, myself and Catherine,’ Selick said.
He added that a joyous photo he snapped of O’Hara laughing while wearing a black bucket hat over her braids was one of his ‘favorites.’
Selick, a visionary in the field of stop-motion animation, said he had the chance to work with the actress again in 2011 on the animated film The Shadow King, but it tragically never came to fruition.
‘She played the character of Old Fern, a bitter old lady with moths in her hair who’d lost her shadow when she was a girl.
‘Catherine went MIA the day of her first recording session; when I called her she said I did too many takes,’ Selick recalled. ‘I begged her to come, promised I would do less than ten a line.
‘She finally showed up and, as I knew she would, created the perfect voice to go with the design and story of Fern,’ he said. ‘Deeply inspired by her work, we animated a handful of scenes that were just wonderful.
Selick shared a photo he had snapped of O’Hara from happier times when a 3D version of The Nightmare Before Christmas was released a decade after the original
Selick reminisced about how O’Hara hated how many takes he would ask for, but she returned to work with him in 2011 on The Shadow King; still from The Nightmare Before Christmas
Tragically, their collaboration came to nought, as ‘endless notes from the studio caused the budget to balloon and our film was shut down,’ Selick said; still from the unfinished film The Shadow King
‘Unfortunately, endless notes from the studio caused the budget to balloon and our film was shut down,’ he admitted.
O’Hara is survived by husband Bo Welch, 74, whom she wed in 1992, as well as their sons Matthew, 32, and Luke, 29.
She was well known for playing Moira Rose on Schitt’s Creek, for which she won an Emmy in 2020.
More recently, she starred as Patty Leigh in Apple TV+’s The Studio.
Selick noted that he ‘so looked forward to future seasons and anything else she decided to do.’
He added, ‘Catherine’s sudden passing is such a wrenching surprise, everyone who learns of it is saddened.
‘My deepest condolences to her whole family, especially her sweet sons and her husband, Bo Welch.
He concluded by musing on how even those who didn’t know O’Hara personally like him would be honoring her memory in the coming days.
‘My deepest condolences to her whole family, especially her sweet sons and her husband, Bo Welch,’ Selick shared on Friday; O’Hara is pictured in March 2025
Selick added that he expected her ‘millions of fans will be rewatching Schitt’s Creek for the umpteenth time, so enjoying the gift she shared with the world’; O’Hara is pictured with (L–R) Eugene Levy, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy at the Primetime Emmy Awards in 2024
Selick went on to direct the animated films James And The Giant Peach (1996) and the 2009 hit Coraline. His most recent film was Wendell & Wild (pictured; 2022) for Netflix
‘Like myself, I expect her millions of fans will be rewatching Schitt’s Creek for the umpteenth time, so enjoying the gift she shared with the world.’
Although many Nightmare Before Christmas fans incorrectly believe that the holiday classic was directed by Tim Burton, it was Selick who helmed the film, as Burton was busy directing Batman Returns at the time and wasn’t able to commit to the time-consuming production schedule of a stop-motion animation film.
The film was inspired by a poem Burton had written back in the 1980s, and the Beetlejuice filmmaker still served as the film’s producer, but Selick was the primary person running the production.
Selick later directed the 1996 Disney film James And The Giant Peach, which again utilized stop-motion animation. Although the film was a hit with critics, it was largely ignored by audiences and bombed at the box office.
Selick’s 2001 film Monkeybone fared even worse. The dark comedy starred Brendan Fraser and combined live-action and stop-motion sequences, but it failed to connect with moviegoers.
Selick came roaring back with 2009’s animated fantasy Coraline, which was based on the novella of the same name by Neil Gaiman.
That film again earned rave reviews, but this time the audience reception matched the critical enthusiasm, helping Coraline to become a box office hit.
Selick’s most recent film was 2022’s animated gothic comedy Wendell & Wild, which was released on Netflix after receiving strong reviews.
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