Macaulay Culkin, Meryl Streep and more pay tribute to Catherine O'Hara, who died at 71

The death of Catherine O'Hara at 71 prompted an outpouring from the actor's co-stars and friends over the decades. O'Hara, whose legendary comic skills were on display in “Home Alone,” “Schitt's Creek,” “Beetlejuice" and much more, died Friday in Los Angeles after a brief illness.

“Mama. I thought we had time. I wanted more. I wanted to sit in a chair next to you. I heard you. But I had so much more to say. I love you. I’ll see you later” — the actor, who played O’Hara’s son in two “Home Alone” movies, on Instagram.

“Catherine O’Hara brought love and light to our world, through whipsmart compassion for the collection of eccentrics she portrayed...such a loss for her family and friends, and the audience she graced as friends.” — the actor, who co-starred with O'Hara in “Heartburn,” in a statement.

“We go back before the first Beetlejuice. She’s been my pretend wife, my pretend nemesis and my real life, true friend. This one hurts. Man am I gonna miss her.” — the actor, on Instagram.

“Really don’t know what to say… I told O’Hara when I first met her I thought she was the funniest person I’d ever had the pleasure of watching on screen. Home Alone was the movie that made me want to make movies. Getting to work with her was a true honour. She was hysterical, kind, intuitive, generous… she made me want to make our show good enough to be worthy of her presence in it. This is just devastating. We’re all lucky we got to live in a world with her in it.” — “The Studio” creator and star, on Instagram.

“Catherine. She is and will always be the greatest. It is an honor to have called her my friend." — Andrea Martin, a fellow original “SCTV” cast member, in a statement.

“Oh, genius to be near you. Eternally grateful. There is less light in my world, this lucky world that had you, will keep you, always. Always” — the actor, who worked with O’Hara on the second season of “The Last of Us,” on Instagram.

“Catherine O’Hara changed how so many of us understand comedy and humanity. From the chaos and heart of Home Alone to the unforgettable precision of Moira Rose in Schitt’s Creek, she created characters we’ll rewatch again and again.” — the comedian and actor, on social media.

“I think she would prefer that we keep laughing somehow, or at the very least not cry. Not possible at the moment. As brutal as this feels for anyone who knew or worked with her, I know it is far more painful for her husband and sons and close family. I’m thinking about them right now too. It all hurts terribly. Goodbye, you legend... you wonderful, brilliant, kind, beautiful human being. We were lucky to have had you at all.” — the “The Last of Us” showrunner, on Instagram.

“I am devastated. We have lost one of the comic giants of our age. I send my love to her family.” — the actor and director, who collaborated with O’Hara on four films, in a statement.

"She was the kindest and the classiest. How could she also have been the funniest person in the world? And she was at the very top of her game. There won’t be another like her." — the Canadian director and actor, on Instagram.

"This is shattering news. What a wonderful person, artist and collaborator. I was lucky enough to direct, produce and act in projects with her and she was simply growing more brilliant with each year. My heart goes out to Bo & family." — the actor and director, on X.

“I never in a million years thought I would get to work with Catherine O’Hara let alone become friends with her. So profoundly sad she’s somewhere else now, So incredibly grateful I got to spend the time I did with her. Thank you Catherine I love you.” — the actor, a co-star in “The Studio,” on Instagram.

"Catherine O’Hara — a woman who was authentic and truthful in all she did. You saw it in her work, if you knew her you saw it in her life, and you saw it in her family. Bo, Luke and Matthew, our deepest sympathies. May Catherine rest in peace. May her memory be eternal. — the actor, director and producer, on Instagram.

FILE - Former cast members of SCTV, from left, Dave Thomas, Joe Flaherty, Catherine O'Hara, Andrea Martin, foreground, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy and Martin Short, pose at the U.S. Comedy Arts Festival on March 6, 1999, in Aspen, Colo. (AP Photo/E Pablo Kosmicki, File)

FILE - Catherine O'Hara poses for photographers upon arrival at the UK premiere of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice" on Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP)

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — The Islamic State extremist group claimed responsibility on Friday for an attack on an air force base in Niger's capital that wounded four soldiers and damaged an aircraft.

The claim of responsibility was contained in a statement on Amaq News Agency, the group's propaganda wing, that said it was “a surprise and coordinated attack” in Niamey that inflicted heavy losses.

State television reported that Niger's forces responded quickly to the assault early Thursday, killing 20 of the attackers and arresting 11 others,

The State Department on Friday ordered nonessential embassy staff and their families to leave Niger due to “security concerns” following the attack.

Video footage that appeared to be taken at the scene captured loud blasts and the sky glowing following explosions that began around midnight and lasted about two hours in the area of Diori Hamani International Airport.

The military leader of the West African country has accused the presidents of France, Benin and Ivory Coast of supporting the armed group behind the attack, without providing any evidence to support the claim.

“We remind the sponsors of those mercenaries, who are Emmanuel Macron (president of France), Patrice Talon (president of Benin) and Alassane Ouattara (president of Ivory Coast), we have sufficiently heard them bark, and they should now in turn be prepared to hear us roar,” Gen. Abdourahamane Tchiani told state television late Thursday.

Ivory Coast’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday it summoned Niger’s ambassador and called the accusation “a serious affront to the honor and dignity of the head of state, as well as to the Ivorian people.”

Benin's government spokesman, Wilfried Léandre Houngbédji, told local media the accusations were “not very credible,” adding: “These are diversions that will not distract us from our priorities.”

The French presidency and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Niamey’s airport is a strategic hub that hosts military bases, the headquarters of the Niger-Burkina Faso-Mali Joint Force, and a large uranium stockpile at the center of a dispute with French nuclear company Orano.

West African airline Air Côte d’Ivoire said that one of its aircraft, parked on the tarmac of the Niamey airport, was hit during the exchange of gunfire, resulting in impacts to the aircraft’s fuselage and right wing.

Niger state television reported that one of the assailants killed was a French national, as footage showed several bloodied bodies on the ground. It provided no evidence.

Niger has struggled to contain deadly jihadi violence that has battered parts of Africa’s Sahel region, where neighboring Burkina Faso and Mali also are run by military juntas.

In 2025, al-Qaida and Islamic State group-backed militants escalated their campaigns in the Sahel, further threatening the stability of the fragile region and of Niger, which was the key security ally of the West in the region until a 2023 military coup.

Since seizing power, Niger’s military rulers — along with those in neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso — have cut ties with France and other Western powers and turned to Russia for military support to fight insurgencies.

The juntas also regularly accuse the presidents of Benin and Ivory Coast, two West African countries that maintain close relations with France, of acting as proxies for Paris.

Under the military juntas, Niger, Mali and Burkina Faso have seen a surge in attacks and have become more vulnerable to the armed groups, experts say.

The sophistication and boldness of the Niamey attack — including the possible use of drones — suggest that the assailants may have had inside help, said Ulf Laessing, head of the Sahel program at Germany’s Konrad Adenauer Foundation.

Previous attacks in the region appear to have increased the groups’ confidence, leading them to target more sensitive and strategically important sites, Laessing said Friday.

FILE- Motorcyclists ride by the entrance of the airport in Niamey, Niger, Tuesday, Aug. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Sam Mednick, File)

FILE -In this image taken from video provided by ORTN, Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani makes a statement, July 28, 2023, in Niamey, Niger. (ORTN via AP, File)