Inside Michael Keaton and Catherine O’Hara’s 40-year friendship

Michael Douglas Keaton recently opened up about his deep, decades-spanning friendship with the late Catherine Anne O’Hara, reflecting on their bond just one week after her passing on January 30, 2026, at age 71.

The two iconic actors first connected through her standout work on SCTV, long before sharing the screen as Betelgeuse and Delia Deetz in Tim Burton’s 1988 classic Beetlejuice and its recent sequel. Speaking at Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals 2026 Man of the Year event on February 6 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Michael Douglas Keaton shared heartfelt memories that highlighted Catherine Anne O’Hara’s talent, warmth, and lasting impact on his life, calling her a true friend amid shared laughs and family ties.

Origins of their friendship

Michael Douglas Keaton traced their connection back to her early comedy days. He said, per People magazine, “I was a big SCTV fan. I am the biggest SCTV fan,” explaining their paths likely crossed during his filming in Toronto. “And I’m trying to think, when was it? I think I was making a movie in Toronto. I remember we must have met or known each other a little bit, because, like myself, she has a big family. She’s one of seven, and I’m one of seven.

And so somehow we got to be friends.” He recalled a fun night out, adding, “I remember a night in Toronto where she had a summer [with her] brothers and sisters, and we were all shooting pool in some bar somewhere.” Michael Douglas Keaton admitted the exact first meeting blurred over time: “I guess that was after the first Beetlejuice, but I knew her before that. And to answer your question, I don’t remember what the first time was when I met her, but we got to be friends in addition to just working together as well.”She’s

been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend,” he wrote in a post on Instagram Jan. 30. “This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.”

Professional admiration and collabs

Michael Douglas Keaton praised Catherine Anne O’Hara as “kind of a goddess” in comedy, whose Hollywood rise shocked no one familiar with her skills. He personally recommended her for his 2005 film Game 6, where she played his ex-wife. In a Time essay, he wrote, “To work comedically with Catherine, as I was lucky to get to do not just at the awards show but on two Beetlejuice movies and projects like The Paper and Game 6 across nearly 40 years, was like breathing rarefied air.

And between takes, it was the greatest hang on set. The only thing better was the hang off set, in real life, as I call it.”

Tributes after her death

Michael Douglas Keaton mourned publicly on Instagram the day her death was confirmed, posting, “We go back before the first Beetlejuice,” and calling her his “real life, true friend.” He added, “This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.” He described their friendship as “a blessing,” per Parade. Their off-screen rapport mirrored the on-screen magic that fans cherished across projects.