The yuppie with the most. Welcome to MsMojo, and today, we’re looking at how Catherine O’Hara stole the show from the Ghost with the Most.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Open this door, you dead people, or we'll bust it down!
00:03Welcome to Ms. Mojo, and today we're looking at how Catherine O'Hara stole the show from
00:08The Ghost with the Most.
00:09I'm going to blow it up, mount it on the wall, and I invite all of you to do the same.
00:15Before Beetlejuice
00:17Before being cast as Delia Dietz in Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, O'Hara was best known for her
00:21work on the Canadian sketch comedy series Second City Television.
00:25Come and get it!
00:26Okay!
00:27Here I am!
00:28Eat up!
00:30Oh!
00:31Oh boy!
00:32Well, I cooked it.
00:33I might as well eat it.
00:34Running from 1976 to 1984, the cult show helped launch the careers of comics like John Candy,
00:41Martin Short, and O'Hara's future TV husband, Eugene Levy.
00:45I just want to die, for your love.
00:54Winning an Emmy for her writing contributions, O'Hara stood out with impressions of celebrities
00:58like Brooke Shields and original characters like Lola Heatherton.
01:01Have we had enough with the sliding pictures or what?
01:03I mean, maybe it's just me, but shouldn't we see Jewel?
01:06Feel better?
01:07Good.
01:08Although some deemed O'Hara, quote, the funniest woman in show business, she hadn't received
01:13the same level of attention as somebody like Gilda Radner, a fellow alumnus from Toronto's
01:17Second City troupe.
01:18Ironically, O'Hara understudied for Radner, who dated her brother.
01:22People knew O'Hara's eccentric characters, although she wasn't a household name yet.
01:27I dared to take her place at Second City Theater, and I've been imitating her since.
01:32It became clear that O'Hara was gaining a following when Martin Scorsese recognized
01:36her at an event, leading to her being cast in After Hours.
01:40What's the matter?
01:41Shut up.
01:42What?
01:43Shut up.
01:44What's wrong?
01:45You're dead, pal.
01:46I'm what?
01:47Gail?
01:48Gail?
01:49What are you doing?
01:50O'Hara landed a few other supporting roles in movies after leaving SCTV, including Mike
01:55Nichols' Heartburn.
01:58She wasn't satisfied with every offer, however.
02:00O'Hara said in 1988, quote,
02:01"'The films I'm offered, I usually don't want.
02:04The films I want, I don't get.
02:06There aren't that many great scripts, or maybe they just don't get as far as my level.'"
02:11One role O'Hara wanted was Jane Craig in Broadcast News.
02:14Let me talk about it.
02:17Don't say anything about anything.
02:20O'Hara recalls her first and third auditions going well.
02:23Her second and fourth, not so much.
02:25The role went to Holly Hunter, but O'Hara wouldn't have to audition when she received
02:29the Beetlejuice script.
02:30A little gasoline, blowtorch, no problem.
02:34Originally, Angelica Houston was set to play Lydia's stepmother Delia.
02:38Please.
02:39And dear Fester, which is the real you, the loathsome underhanded monster you've become?
02:47When Houston fell ill, O'Hara's name came up.
02:49This is our first meal in this house, so why don't we all do our little private parts to
02:53make it a pleasant one.
02:55Like most of the actors approached about Beetlejuice, O'Hara didn't entirely understand
03:00the script.
03:01Regardless, O'Hara was intrigued, saying, quote,
03:03"'It was so weird.
03:05It wasn't like anything I've read.
03:07It was from another world.'"
03:08Did you feel something?
03:10When?
03:11O'Hara flew from Toronto to LA to meet Tim Burton, whose only other movie up to that
03:17point was Pee-Wee's Big Adventure.
03:19She got the addresses mixed up, though.
03:21I finally stopped at a payphone and called, you know, 87 or whatever, and called my agent.
03:27They said, no, no, you're supposed to be at Warner Boulevard.
03:30Upon arriving, she found a note on the door saying, quote,
03:32"'I'm so sorry.
03:33I couldn't wait any longer.
03:35Tim Burton.'"
03:36O'Hara felt this was a blessing in disguise, as she got the part anyway without meeting
03:40Burton first.
03:41So you were miserable in New York City, and now you're going to be miserable out here
03:44in the sticks.
03:45At least someone's life hasn't been upheaved.
03:47In defense of Delia Deetz.
03:48Delia Deetz is introduced as a yuppie who's more concerned with her sculptures and remodeling
04:04her new house than raising her teenage stepdaughter, Lydia.
04:08At first, you might assume that Delia is an antagonist.
04:15It was O'Hara's first impression, saying, quote,
04:18"'I just thought of myself on my worst day.'
04:20Initially, I thought she was going to be this one-dimensional witch.
04:23I mean, she is the villain in everything, but instead of making her just mean, which
04:28is how I first read it, she just became someone that gets in everybody's way because she's
04:32so insecurely self-obsessed."
04:35I'm here with you.
04:36I will live with you in this hellhole.
04:38But I must express myself.
04:40If you don't let me gut out this house and make it my own, I will go insane, and I will
04:45While O'Hara's description is most accurate, we don't think Delia qualifies as a villain.
04:50Why don't you just leave this room alone, okay?
04:54Okay.
04:55When the Deetz's move in, they don't realize their house is haunted, so Delia has every
04:59right to remodel.
05:01When the Deetz's learn about the Maitlands, Delia quickly embraces their presence.
05:05But come on!
05:06If they are in here, I don't want to scare them away.
05:08Well, we're leaving now.
05:10You can go about your business.
05:14Granted, she oversteps her boundaries, but if ghosts were haunting your house, wouldn't
05:18you want to prove their existence and maybe make a profit?
05:21Delia eventually gains a better understanding of the supernatural with the Deetz's and Maitlands
05:25coexisting under one roof.
05:27Oh, so are they still here?
05:29Oh, they're still here.
05:30They're just hiding out.
05:32Probably feel guilty about what they did to me.
05:35Yeah, sorry they didn't kill you.
05:37As for her relationship with Lydia, Delia isn't especially affectionate, but she's
05:41far from the most wicked stepmother.
05:43If anything, Delia and Lydia have a fair deal in common.
05:47Both are creative with macabre styles.
05:50Where Delia desperately wants approval from high society, though, Lydia doesn't care
05:54what anybody else thinks.
05:56O'Hara's performance goes a long way in making Delia lovable.
06:00Improvisation was encouraged on set, with Michael Keaton ad-libbing an estimated 90%
06:05of his dialogue.
06:06Attention, game art shoppers!
06:08O'Hara was also given room to go off script, contributing Delia's I will take you with
06:12me line.
06:13Delia's most memorable scene has to be the Deo number, where the voice of Harry Belafonte
06:18overtakes her dinner party.
06:20Deo!
06:21Deo!
06:22Deo!
06:23Deo!
06:24Deo!
06:25Deo!
06:26Deo!
06:27Deo!
06:28Deo!
06:29Deo!
06:30Deo!
06:31Deo!
06:32Deo!
06:33Deo!
06:34Deo!
06:35Deo!
06:36Deo!
06:37Deo!
06:38Deo!
06:42This scene is a prime example of what O'Hara brought to the role.
06:46Although Delia has no control over herself, she appears weirdly into the number, with
06:51O'Hara bringing layers to every expression.
06:54Not every day on set was as much fun as the Deo number, O'Hara said the worst part was
06:58getting French kissed by a snake in a scene that ultimately got cut.
07:02otherwise had a great experience working with Burton, who said, quote,
07:06Catherine is so good, maybe too good, she works on levels that people don't even know.
07:11He likes it.
07:13It wouldn't be their last collaboration, as O'Hara went on to voice Sally in Shock
07:17in The Nightmare Before Christmas.
07:19The job I have for you is top secret. It requires craft, cunningness.
07:25And we thought you didn't like us, Jack.
07:28Beetlejuice marked several turning points for O'Hara.
07:31Through the film, she met her future husband, production designer Beau Welch.
07:35More roles also came O'Hara's way after Beetlejuice.
07:39For over 30 years, young viewers have been introduced to O'Hara through Home Alone.
07:43Kevin!
07:44O'Hara has only grown more popular with Moira Rose from Schitt's Creek becoming a TV icon.
07:50Come taste the difference good fruit can make in your wine.
07:54You'll remember the experience and you'll remember the name,
07:58Herb Ervlinger. Bert Herngeif. Erv Hermlinger.
08:0436 years later, with Keaton and Winona Ryder seeing career resurgences,
08:09while Burton worked with new talent like Jenna Ortega,
08:122024 seemed like the right time for the long-rumored Beetlejuice sequel
08:16to finally materialize.
08:18It's showtime.
08:19Jeffrey Jones wouldn't return as Charles Dietz for obvious reasons.
08:23In his absence, though, Delia emerges as a more fleshed-out character.
08:27What? Why? No! No! No!
08:32Delia, what's wrong?
08:33I'm trying to capture the perfect primal scream.
08:36While Delia can still be self-absorbed, she genuinely mourns Charles,
08:40showing that their relationship wasn't as shallow as one might assume.
08:43Delia doesn't even care that Charles is missing his head when they're reunited.
08:47That's relationship goals.
08:49Her relationship with Lydia also has more depth.
08:52In the original film, Gina Davis' Barbara was the more maternal figure.
08:56Now that Barbara and Adam Maitland have moved on, Delia steps up more.
09:00Lydia is also less antipathetic toward Delia.
09:03That might be because Lydia is now a mother,
09:05and can identify with having an angsty teenage daughter.
09:09Death is hard.
09:10Yeah, sometimes I think life is harder.
09:13Delia takes satisfaction in seeing Lydia get tormented for a change.
09:16At the same time, you do get the sense that Delia cares about Lydia, and vice versa.
09:21We cannot sincerely celebrate all that was good about our dearly departed,
09:25not until we release the horror that they inflicted upon us.
09:29They don't overtly show it, but it wouldn't be in-character for either to do so.
09:33The point is that both are there for each other when it matters most.
09:37Even when death inevitably separates them,
09:39Lydia and Astrid aren't getting rid of Delia that easily.
09:43For a character who might have started as one note on paper,
09:46Delia has one of the stealthiest yet most complete arcs
09:49across both Beetlejuice movies.
09:51Before we continue, be sure to subscribe to our channel
10:06and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos.
10:10You have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them.
10:14If you're on your phone, make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications.
10:19With Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, O'Hara elevates every moment she's on screen
10:23with each over-the-top reaction and snappy line delivery.
10:27O'Hara was again given a fair deal of freedom,
10:30even working in a subtle nod to The Crows Have Eyes.
10:35While Keaton doesn't miss a beat as Beetlejuice, O'Hara might just be the MVP here.
10:40Much like her art, Delia is deservingly getting more love as time goes by.
10:45Likewise, O'Hara's performance deserves the highest praise.
10:48We know it's a long shot since the Academy rarely recognizes comedic performances,
10:53especially ones from genre pictures.
10:55You heard it here first, however.
10:57For your consideration, Catherine O'Hara, Best Supporting Actress.
11:06Whether or not we can will an Oscar nomination into existence,
11:10Delia is just one of O'Hara's characters who will live for generations.
11:14What's your favorite Catherine O'Hara performance?
11:17Let us know in the comments.
11:19Do you agree with our picks?
11:27Check out this other recent clip from Ms. Mojo.
11:29And be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos.