Catherine O’Hara Confesses She Had “Such A Crush” On Former ‘Home Alone’ Co-Star John Candy: “He Was Just As Lovely As You Want Him To Be”

Catherine O’Hara recently looked back on working with her former SCTV and Home Alone co-star, late comedian John Candy, and the raging crush she had for him.

The Argylle actress recently told People that she developed her crush while working with Candy in Toronto’s Second City comedy troupe and later on SCTV, the Canadian sketch comedy show that spawned from the troupe’s work. “He was just as lovely as you want him to be,” she recalled.

O’Hara added that she believed the feelings were one-sided considering Candy was married to Rosemary Margaret Hobor from 1979 until his 1994 death.

“I wouldn’t claim he was interested in me that way,” she said. “But he was always really lovely to me in Second City Theater.”

She said that Candy helped her hone her skills when she joined the cast after waitressing at the venue.

“He would always be willing to do an improv with me after the show. You do a show and then you do improvs after the show. That’s how you build the next show at Second City Theater. And he was always willing to try any idea,” she said.

O’Hara added that he was just as generous to strangers who recognized him in public. “You’d be on the street with him, in a mall, and somebody would come up and just want to do a comedy bit with him, and he would always pick up on it right away and give something back and see their eyes light up, like, ‘Oh, I’m doing a bit with John Candy,'” she said.

She continued praising the actor, saying, “It’s so nice to be able to not have to make up any bull, because people loved him. And when people ask, ‘What was he like?’ they want to hear what they think he’d be like. And it’s so lovely to be able to validate their guesses about what he would be like in person.”

They got their start together in the Second City troupe, but O’Hara and Candy later met again on the set of Home Alone, where he played Gus, the Polka King of the Midwest, who helps her character get back home to her son.

Candy passed away in 1994 at the age of 43 from a heart attack.

Before his death, Candy led a successful career in comedy across television and film. He earned two Emmy Awards for writing on SCTV, and starred alongside Tom Hanks in the 1984 film Splash.

His filmography also includes Little Shop of Horrors, Planes Trains and Automobiles and Spaceballs.