Tragedy struck the world of comedy again this week.<\/span><\/p>\n Katherine Short, the 41-year-old daughter of legendary funnyman Martin Short, passed away<\/a> on Feb. 23. Her passing came only weeks after comedienne Catherine O\u2019Hara\u2019s death at 71.<\/span><\/p>\n Short and O\u2019Hara have been making us laugh for decades without so much as an interruption. O\u2019Hara\u2019s turn as Moira Rose on \u201cSchitt\u2019s Creek\u201d capped a career that included memorable turns in \u201cHome Alone,\u201d \u201cBeetlejuice\u201d and other comedy classics.<\/span><\/p>\n Short\u2019s comedy resume is among the longest and the best in the business.<\/span><\/p>\n And both got their start on \u201cSecond City Television\u201d or \u201cSCTV,\u201d a show that has been perpetually overshadowed by a glossier American sketch comedy series. Yet, decades later, \u201cSCTV\u2019s\u201d legacy is only getting bigger while \u201cSaturday Night Live\u2019s\u201d continues to contract.<\/span><\/p>\n Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Short and O\u2019Hara cut their comedy teeth as members of \u201cSCTV,\u201d a sketch comedy troupe that delivered laughs from north of the border. The show aired stateside starting in the late 1970s, but it never quite gained the cultural traction \u201cSNL\u201d enjoyed.<\/span><\/p>\n The latter gave us superstars like Bill Murray, Chevy Chase, Eddie Murphy, and Will Ferrell but those comedy titans came from endless cast iterations. <\/span>For every standout like Dana Carvey<\/span>\u00a0or Bill Hader there were dozens whose \u201cSNL\u201d time turned into brief highlight reels.<\/span><\/p>\n That wasn\u2019t the case with \u201cSCTV,\u201d which ran from 1976 to 1984. The show\u2019s small, fairly consistent cast featured talent after talent, and their post-show work shined as brightly as the best \u201cSNL\u201d alums.<\/span><\/p>\n Maybe even brighter.<\/span><\/p>\n SCTV. IMDB.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The show\u2019s cast came from Toronto\u2019s edition of Second City, an improv group made famous for sparking NBC\u2019s \u201cSNL\u201d series in 1975 (along with National Lampoon\u2019s media empire). The Canadian series was built around a fictional TV studio, allowing for recurring comic characters and wacky sketches.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s where Short perfected his Ed Grimley character \u2013 later seen on \u201cSNL.\u201d (Short graced both sketch comedy institutions, but \u201cSNL\u201d for only a single season (1984-85). Co-star Eugene Levy\u2019s Bobby Bittman character exuded oily \u201870s smarm, while Joe Flaherty\u2019s Count Floyd sent up horror movie hosts to perfection.<\/span><\/p>\n Those characters endure, but so do the performers\u2019 post-show resumes.<\/span><\/p>\n Last year\u2019s \u201cI Like Me\u201d documentary captured the short, remarkable life of \u201cSCTV\u201d alum John Candy. The husky comic died at 43, but not before leaving us with one indelible turn after another. He swiped scenes in \u201cHome Alone,\u201d \u201cVacation\u201d and \u201cSplash\u201d while anchoring raucous comedies, including \u201cUncle Buck,\u201d \u201cPlanes, Trains and Automobiles\u201d and \u201cSummer Rental.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n 20th Century Fox. Hughes Entertainment. \u201cHome Alone\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Lovable with a pinch of sadness beneath his grin, Candy\u2019s persona enhanced a crush of comedies before his 1994 death. \u201cI Like Me\u201d nailed both his comic gifts and ability to connect with audiences in ways many comedians never could.<\/span><\/p>\n O\u2019Hara\u2019s comedy career ended with her most recent role in Apple TV+\u2019s \u201cThe Studio,\u201d the latest example of her versatility. And she didn\u2019t need a script to make us howl. Recall her improv chops in four Christopher Guest \u201cmockumentaries\u201d \u2013 \u201cFor Your Consideration,\u201d \u201cWaiting for Guffman,\u201d \u201cBest in Show\u201d and \u201cA Mighty Wind.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Short\u2019s film career wavered after a series of under-achieving comedies like \u201cThree Amigos,\u201d \u201cInnerspace\u201d and \u201cClifford,\u201d but he never stopped working. Most recently, he\u2019s anchored Hulu\u2019s comedy series \u201cOnly Murders in the Building\u201d alongside Steve Martin and Selena Gomez.<\/span><\/p>\n Photo by Courtesy of Hulu.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n One \u201cSCTV\u201d alum\u2019s career stalled, but only due to a deeply personal choice. Rick Moranis, so memorably in films like \u201cSpaceballs,\u201d \u201cHoney, I Shrunk the Kids\u201d and \u201cGhostbusters,\u201d stepped away from Hollywood following the death of his wife in 1991.<\/span><\/p>\n He tried to be both a working actor and single parent, but he realized he couldn\u2019t do both without sacrificing key parts of the latter. So he left the business on his terms. Decades later, his return as Dark Helmut in the \u201cSpaceballs\u201d sequel, due in 2027, is one of the film\u2019s biggest selling points.<\/span><\/p>\n Moranis\u2019 on-screen hoser\/partner, Dave Thomas, never matched Moranis\u2019 early fame. He still worked steadily over the years, bouncing from sitcom roles to writing gigs on shows like Fox\u2019s \u201cBones.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And the pair reunited for 1983\u2019s \u201cStrange Brew,\u201d bringing their Bob and Doug characters to the big screen alongside Max Von Sydow. The film wasn\u2019t a smash, but it swiftly became a cult classic. And deservedly so.<\/span><\/p>\n Some \u201cSCTV\u201d alums shined even brighter behind the camera. Yes, Harold Ramis was one of the four core \u201cGhostbusters,\u201d but he\u2019s better known for directing \u201cNational Lampoon\u2019s Vacation,\u201d \u201cCaddyshack\u201d and \u201cGroundhog Day.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n That, plus a series of strong supporting roles (\u201cKnocked Up,\u201d \u201cAs Good As It Gets\u201d) complemented his impressive post-\u201cSCTV\u201d life until his death in 2014.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSCTV\u2019s\u201d Andrea Martin has enjoyed a blue-collar career following the show\u2019s end, netting endless work, including a silly supporting role in the \u201cMy Big Fat Greek Wedding\u201d franchise. She also found voice actor gigs and joined former \u201cSCTV\u201d chum Short on \u201cOnly Murders in the Building\u201d since 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n Second City Entertainment. SCTV. IMDB.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n And while we lost O\u2019Hara this year, her \u201cSchitt\u2019s Creek\u201d husband, the amiable Levy, keeps making us smile. Levy\u2019s exhaustive film and TV career includes key turns in the aforementioned mockumentaries and the \u201cAmerican Pie\u201d franchise.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSCTV\u201d signed off for good in 1984, while \u201cSNL\u201d recently celebrated its 50<\/span>th<\/span> anniversary. That said, the latter keeps burning down its legacy with biased political gags and bland bits. The NBC show may still crank out a future star or two, but \u201cSCTV\u2019s\u201d killer ratio of repertory players who made it big remains unmatched.<\/span><\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic, and editor of\u00a0HollywoodInToto.com<\/a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News\u2019 Big Hollywood. Follow him at\u00a0HollywoodInToto.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n![\"Second](\"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2026\/02\/SCTV-asdfas-420x576.jpg\")
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