Beauty, Brains..., and a Badge: Get Christie Love!

Teresa Graves as Christie Love

Get Christie Love! only ran for one season, from September 11, 1974, to April 4, 1975, but it is remembered to this day. Much of this is because Get Christie Love! was a pioneering television show. Starring Teresa Graves as the police detective of the title,  Teresa Graves was only the third Black woman to play the lead in a non-stereotypical role on an American television show, after Diahann Carroll on Julia and Esther Rolle on Good Times, and the first Black woman to play the lead in a drama series. Get Christie Love! was also as close to the Blaxpolitation genre as television would get. 

Get Christie Love! starred Teresa Graves as Los Angeles police detective Christie Love. Christie specialized in undercover work, was skilled in karate, and even had a catchphrase, "You're under arrest, Sugar!" Her original boss on the show was Lieutenant Matt Reardon, played by Charles Cioffi. 

The origins of Get Christie Love! go back to a TV movie of the same name that aired on January 22, 1974. The TV movie was in turn based on the novel The Ledger by Dorothy Uhnak. Dorothy Uhnak had served on the New York City Transit Police for 14 years before becoming a writer. She wrote the non-fiction book Policewoman (1964), based on her law enforcement career, before writing her first novel, The Bait (1968). The Bait centered on a female NYPD police detective named Christie Opara and was later made into a 1973 TV movie of the same name starring Donna Mills as LAPD police detective Tracy Fleming. Her second novel, The Ledger, was published in 1970. 

Just as the 1973 TV movie The Bait diverged from the novel upon which it was based, so too did the TV movie Get Christie Love! diverge from the novel The Ledger. Namely, white NYPD police detective Christie Opara became Black LAPD police detective Christie Love. There can be no doubt that this was due to the popularity of such Blaxploitation movies of the time as Coffy (1973) starring Pam Grier and Cleopatra Jones (1973) starring Tamara Dobson. The TV movie Get Christie Love! resembled those movies insofar as it had a self-confident, hip Black female lead, although it lacked the violence, nudity, and sex of the Blaxploitation movies. It also had more of a sense of humour. 

The TV movie Get Christie Love! would receive good enough ratings that it lead to the weekly series, although there would be changes from the telefilm to the show. In fact, except for Teresa Graves, the cast of the TV show was almost entirely different from the movie. Christie's boss in the TV movie was Captain Casey Reardon, played by Harry Guardino, while her original boss on the TV show was Lieutenant Matt Reardon, played by Charles Cioffi. Only one other actor from the TV movie would return for the show, although he would play a completely different character. In the TV movie, Andy Romano played Sergeant Seymour Greenberg. On the TV show, he played Lieutenant Joe Caruso.

The TV movie Get Christie Love! was written by George Kirgo, whose credits at the time ranged from two episodes of My Mother the Car to Cannon. Credit for the TV show went to both George Kirgo and Peter Nelson. Peter Nelson had been a producer on the aforementioned TV movie The Bait and the TV movie Get Christie Love!. He later wrote several TV movies, including Two Kinds of Love in 1983 and Jonathan: The Boy No One Wanted in 1992. Get Christie Love! had an actual female, Black NTPD detective as its technical advisor in the form of Olga Ford. Olga Ford had joined the New York City Police Department in 1958. 

Get Christie Love! debuted on ABC on September 11, 1974. The show received mixed to negative reviews, although critics did praise Teresa Graves for her performance. The show also did not perform particularly well in the ratings, scheduled on Wednesday night at 10:00 Eastern/9:00 Central against Petrocelli on NBC. While Get Christie Love! did not perform well in the overall Nielsen ratings, according to a survey conducted by A.C. Nielsen in October and November 1974, it was the fourth most popular show among non-whites, after Good Times, Sanford and Son, and That's My Mama.

Production on Get Christie Love! would be complicated to a degree by Teresa Graves's religious beliefs as a Jehovah's Witness. Two days a week, shooting on the show had to promptly end at 5;00 PM so Miss Graves could attend Jehovah's Witness meetings. She also had an agreement with producers that Christie Love would never kill anyone, would never tell a direct lie, and there would never be any profanity in the scripts. Curiously, while Teresa Graves dictated that Christie Love would not lie, she still did undercover work.

There would be one major change made to Get Christie Love! during its run. After twelve episodes, Get Christie Love! went from December 11, 1974, to January 8, 1975. When it returned, Charles Cioffi as Lieutenant Reardon had been replaced by Jack Kelly as Captain Arthur Ryan. Regardless, overall ratings for Get Christie Love! did not improve, the show was ultimately cancelled after twenty-two episodes.

Having run one season, the TV series Get Christie Love! would not be released on home media, although the TV movie was released on VHS in 1991 and on DVD in 2001. Get Christie Love! aired on TV Land in 1997 and  on Centric in 2014. Similarly, while the TV movie is available on Tubi and other streaming services, the TV series does not appear to be.

There was a reboot produced by Courtney Kemp, who produced the series Power, and actor Vin Diesel in 2017. Titled Get Christie Love (no exclamation point), the pilot changed Christie Love from a police detective to a CIA agent (played by Kylie Bunbury). ABC did not pick it up as a series.

While Get Christie Love! did not get the best reviews upon its debut in 1974, the show remains well-remembered. And regardless of whether or not it was a good show, Get Christie Love! was a pioneering show. Before Get Christie Love!, there had only been a few American action shows with females leads, including Decoy starring Beverly Garland, Honey West starring Ann Francis, and The Girl From U.N.C.L.E., starring Stefanie Powers. And it was only the third American TV show to star a Black Woman in a non-stereotypical role and the first in a drama. Get Christie Love! may not have gotten Blaxploitation right, but it left a lasting impact. 

Happy 95th Birthday to Mamie Van Doren!

It is a sad fact that many of the classic blonde bombshells of the 1950s died young. Marilyn Monroe died at age 36. Jayne Mansfield was 34 when she was killed in an automobile accident. Joi Lansing was only 43 when she died from breast cancer. We are then very lucky that we have the great Mamie Van Doren with us. Indeed, she turned 95 today,. In tribute to Miss Van Doren, then, here are some of my favourite photos of her.

A promotional photo for Untamed Youth (1957) with Lori Nelson (who's on the left).

A photo of Mamie Van Doren from 1955. She's called the Girl Who Invented Rock 'n' Roll for a reason!

Another classic publicity photo of Mamie Van Doren, this one for The Second Greatest Sex (1955).

A publicity photo of Mamie Van Doren from approximately the mid-Fifties.

 A promotional photo for Sex Kittens Go to College (1960)

A picture of Mamie Van Doren with a lamb. 

A promotional photo for High School Confidential (1958)

A promotional photo for Teacher's Pet (1958). Yes, Mamie got to wear costumes designed by Edith Head!

Instagram Has Really Gone Downhill

There was a time when I truly enjoyed Instagram. I posted to it nearly every single day, sometimes multiple tines a day. Unfortunately, over time Instagram has made changes to the app that has made it less enjoyable, from changes to the algorithm to an overemphasis on Reels. Honestly, the only reason I continue to use Instagram is that I am connected to several friends there. With that in mind, here are several changes that Instagram could make that would once more make it enjoyable.

Increase the Number of Hashtags One Can Use:There was a time when one could use up to 30 hashtags on Instagram. Unfortunately, Instagram reduced this to a mere 5 hashtags in December. Part of the reason for this is Instagram's claim that hashtags do not meaningfully increase reach, something I seriously doubt myself.  And while I agree with  Instagram head Adam Mosseri's claim that more targeted hashtags can improve the performance of a post, I firmly disagree that they should be limited to only five. For instance, if I am making a post on a classic actor with an extensive career in film and television, my post will be helped if I can hashtag their better known movies or TV shows, which might number more than five. Quite simply, the possible reach of my post has just been torpedoed by limiting the number of hashtags I can use. If Instagram does not want to go back to 30 hasthtags, then I suggest a limit of 10 would be much, much better.

Restore Grid Profile Previews to Squares: It was in July 2025 that Instagram changed the profile grid previews from the classic 1:1 square to an 4:5 oblong rectangle. The end result is that the previews of my posts are now aggressively cropped and my profile grid looks awful. Now I can adjust the preview so that my post previews are not aggressively cropped into an oblong rectangle, but my gird still does not look as good as it once did. Instagram apparently made this change under the mistaken assumption that most of what is uploaded to Instagram, whether photo or video, is vertical. This is blatantly false in my experience. While most videos are indeed vertical, most all of the photos in my feed are square. Since that is the case, I think Instagram should either restore profile grid previews to squares or give people the choice of square profile grid previews or oblong profile grid previews, I would certainly return to squares if I could! 

Restore the "Most Recent" Option to Searches: There was a time one could filter Instagram searches by "Most Recent." That ended sometime in 2023 when they did away with the option. This has pretty much made Instagram search pretty much useless. What is more, while I know the reasons, wrong-headed though they may be, that Instagram reduced the number of hashtags one can use and changed the profile grid previews to oblong rectangles instead of squares, I have no idea why they did away with the "Most Recent" option in search. It makes absolutely no sense to me at all. Indeed, there are times when one really would like to see recent posts on a given day (say, a birthday).

Instagram Should Save Posts to One's Phone Gallery As It Once Did: There was a time that Instagram would save one's post to an Instagram folder in their phone's gallery. This was nice because it allowed one to save their posts for posterity on their own devices instead of simply on Instagram. Sadly, this came to an end in August 2024. I have no idea why this change was made. Indeed, it seems bizarre given Instagram does save Stories to one's phone, even when it is a Story one has shared from someone else! Now I don't want to save Stories (I always delete them from my phone), but I really want to save my posts. Right now I have to copy the post's link and then go to one of the sites online that allows one to download Instagram posts. I shouldn't have to do that.

Improve the Algorithm or Do Away with It Entirely: It was around 2016 that Instagram stopped sorting posts in reverse chronological order and started sorting them using an algorithm, a decision that has been controversial ever since. As much as all of us have complained about the algorithm, I have to admit that for a long time it did not hurt the performance of my posts. Unfortunately, over the years Instagram has mucked around with the algorithm to the point that I have to wonder if most of my friends see my posts. There was a time when I would get anywhere from 30 to 50 to 60 likes on my posts, sometimes more. It was late in 2023 that that this changed, to where I feel lucky if I get 30 likes on a post. By the same token, I have noticed in my feed that I might have to scroll for some time before seeing a close friend's post. I suspect Instagram's algorithm is putting too much emphasis on Reels (which I don't watch for the most part) and other less important matters. If this is the case, then they should restore the Instagram algorithm back to the way it was around 2022 or give people the choice of using a reverse chronological feed. 

Entirely Hide Threads: I do not use Threads. I have no intention of using Threads. I will never use Threads. Unfortunately, every time I go to Instagram I feel as if Threads is being shoved down my throat. Scrolling down my feed there are sometimes "Suggested Threads," despite the fact that I always hide them. On my profile, beside my handle, there's even the little Threads symbol. If  I click on it, a little "Install Threads" thing comes up. Instagram should just accept that some of us will never Threads and just stop shoving it in our faces. 

As far as I am concerned, Instagram has gone far, far downhill from what it used to be. At one time I posted to it every day. Now I might only make as few as five posts a month. I would be much more inclined to post if Instagram was as enjoyable as it once was, and it would take at least some of these changes for it to be even close to being as enjoyable for me as it was years ago. As it is right now, if a large number of my friends left Instagram, I would probably follow them.

Godspeed Chuck Negron of Three Dog Night

Chuck Negron, co-founder of Three Dog Night, died yesterday, February 2, 2026, at age 83 of complications from heart failure and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Chuck Negron was born on June 8, 1942 in New York City. He grew up in the Bronx. He sang with doo-wop groups from when he was very young. He also played basketball. He played at William Howard Taft High School, and then at at Allan Hancock College, a junior college in Santa Maria, California. This put him in proximity to the music industry in Souther California. 

It was in 1967 that Chuck Negron joined Danny Hutton and Cory Wells to form a a group initially called "Redwood." It was under that name that they did some work with Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys. It was in 1968 that they stopped using the name "Redwood" and adopted the name 'Three Dog Night." They also hired a group of backing musicians. 

Three Dog Night signed with ABC Dunhill Records. Their self-titled debut album was released on October 16, 1968. Their first single, "Nobody," failed to reach the Billboard Hot 100, but their second single, a cover of "Try a Little Tenderness," reached no. 29 on the chart. Their third single, a cover of Harry Nilsson's "One," proved to be their first major hit. It peaked at no. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. It would be followed by their version of "Easy to Be Hard," which peaked at no. 5 on the chart. This would be the beginning of a string of hits from Three Dog Night which lasted into the Seventies. It was with their cover of  Randy Newman's "Mama Told Me Not to Come" that they reached no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Over the next several years, Three Dog Night would have such hits as "Eli's Coming," "Joy to the World," "An Old Fashioned Love Song," "Black and White," "Shambala," and "The Show Must Go On" among others. As time passed, Three Dog Night's album sales declined. Their 1975 album Coming Down Your Way peaked at no. 70 on the Billboard album chart. Their following album, American Pastime, did even worse. It only reached no. 123 on the chart. Three Dog Night then disbanded in 1976. 

Three Dog Night reunited in 1981 and recorded the album It's a Jungle. Chuck Negron remained with the group through 1985. He would record several solo albums, including Am I Still in Your Heart? (1995), Joy to the World (1996), The Chuck Negron Story (2005), and Negron Generations (2017). He continued to tour regularly until the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Chuck Negron sang lead vocals on several of Three Dog Night's major hits, including "One," "Easy to Be Hard," "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)," "Joy to the World," and "The Show Must Go On." He had a powerful, tenor voice, that could be both emotive and filled with energy. It was versatile enough that Mr. Negron could sing lead on the heartbreaking "One" and later sing lead on the humorous "Mama Told Me (Not to Come)." His voice also covered several octaves, so that Chuck Negron could reach some very high notes. If Three Dog Night has multiple hits, it is in part due to Chuck Negron's powerful and soulful voice.

Bugs Bunny, TCM's Star of the Month for February 2026

Bugs Bunny may be more closely associated with Warner Bros. than any other star in the studio's history, more so even than such heavyweights as Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, and James Cagney. According to Guinness World Records, Bugs Bunny has appeared in more films than any other animated character and is the ninth most portrayed character in film. From 1940 to 1967, Bug Bunny appeared in 167 theatrical animated shorts, and has appeared in even more since then. It should come as no surprise that he has often served as Warner Bros.' mascot.

This month Bugs Bunny will be Turner Classic Movies' star of the month, a first for any animated character. From February 2 to February 9, TCM will show 45 different Bugs Bunny animated shorts. What is considered the first Bugs Bunny cartoon "A Wild Hare" (1940), will kick things off tomorrow, February 2. Over the next several days, TCM will air such classic shorts s "The Rabbit of Seville" (1950), "What's Opera, Doc?" (1957), "Hair-Raising Hare" (1947), "Bugsy and Mugsy" (1957), "Broom-Stick Bunny" (1957), "Rabbit Fire" (1951), and yet others. The shorts will air alongside curated classic feature films. 

As to why Bugs Bunny is TCM's Star of the Month (beyond the fact that he obviously deserves it), it is tomorrow, February 2, 2026, that Turner Classic Movies becomes the ongoing home of the Warner Bros. Cartoon library. This is part of a new six-year licensing deal. Here I must point out that this is not the first time Warner Bros. Cartoons have aired on TCM. Long time TCM fans might remember the channel's anthology series Cartoon Alley, which ran from 2004 to 2007. Cartoon Alley aired the classic Warner Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies, as well as cartoons from Fleischer Studios, Famous Studios (Paramount), and MGM. More recently, during TCM's celebration of Warner Bros.' 100th anniversary, they showed classic Warner Bros. Cartoons.

As a long-time fan of Warner Bros. Cartoons, I am elated that Bugs Bunny is this month's Star of the Month. My only complaint is that Bugs isn't getting a whole month. TCM 31 Days of Oscar begins on February 13 (a Friday, fittingly enough) and runs into March, so my favourite theatrical cartoon star is being shorted by my least favourite programming block on TCM. I can only hope that they devote a day during Summer Under Stars to Bugs to make up for that....

Godspeed Demond Wilson

Demond Wilson, best known for playing Lamont Sanford, the son of junkman Fred Sanford (Redd Foxx) on the classic sitcom Sanford and Son, died yesterday, January 30, 2026, at the age of 79. The cause was complications from cancer.

Demond Wilson was born Grady Demond Wilson on October 13, 1946, in Valdosta, Georgia. He grew up in Harlen in New York City. He was only 4 years old when he appeared on Broadway in a revival of Green Pastures starring William Marshall and Ossie Davis. When he was 12 years old he danced at the Apollo Theatre. Demond Wilson studied acting at the American Community Theatre and at Hunter College in New York City. His studies were interrupted when he was drafted into the United States Army. He served in the 4th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army in Vietnam.

Demond Wilson's tour of duty ended in 1968, after which he appeared in various Off-Broadway plays. He made his film debut in an uncredited role in Cotton Comes to Harlem in 1970. He made his television debut in 1971 in a guest appearance on All in the Family, playing one of two burglars (the other was played by Cleavon Little) who hold the Bunkers hostage in their own home. It was the strength of that performance that led to Demond Wilson being cast as Lamont on Sanford and Son. Debuting at mid-season, the show proved to be smash hit. becoming the sixth highest rated show for the year in its first season.When Sanford and Son ended, it was not because of ratings, but because Redd Foxx took an offer of a multimillion dollar contract and his own variety show from ABC. NBC wanted to continue Sanford and Son after a fashion as Sanford Arms with Demond Wilson in the lead, but he turned the show down after a salary dispute. 

In the Seventies, Demond Wilson also guest starred on Mission: Impossible, Laugh-In, and The Love Boat. He starred on the short-lived sitcom Baby...I'm Back! as Raymond Ellis, a man who returned to his family after having abandoned them years ago. It only lasted 13 episodes. He appeared in the movies The Organization (1971), Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972), and Amazing Grace (1974).

In the Eighties, Demond Wilson played Oscar Madison on The New Odd Couple. The show only lasted 18 episodes. He guest starred on The Love Boat and Today's F.B.I. He appeared in the movie Full Moon High (1981). Demond Wilson left acting and was ordained as as a minister in the Church of God in Christ. He returned to occasionally acting in the movie Me and the Kid in 1993. In 2000, he appeared in the movie Hammerlock. He had a recurring role on the UPN sitcom Girlfriends, playing Kenneth Miles, the father of the character Lynn An (Persia White). He more recently had a regular role on the Pure Flix drama series Eleanor's Bench. In 2011, he toured with Nina Nicole in a production of  The Measure of a Man by Matt Hardwick. 

Sanford and Son is one of the most iconic television shows of all time, and much of the reason for that is Demond Wilson's performance as Lamont. He was the perfect straight man to Redd Foxx and the two had a great deal of chemistry. With Lamont, Demond Wilson convincingly portrayed a young man who wants to escape his current circumstances and better himself, but at the same time wants to look after his father. While Demond Wilson will always be best remembered as Lamont Sanford, he did play other roles. On The New Odd Couple, he did a good job of playing Oscar Madison, giving a performance that compares well to both Walter Matthau and Jack Klugman. In his Mission: Impossible guest appearance, he played a role far from Lamont or Oscar. He played Simmons, a hench of the villain who tortures Berlinger (Fritz Weaver), a millionaire and a dealer in stolen gems. In one of his guest appearances on The Love Boat, he played Isaac's Uncle Jesse, who appears to be somewhat shady. Demond Wilson was a great talent who played other roles beyond Lamont Sanford and played them well.

The Late Great Catherine O'Hara

Actress and comedian Cathrine O'Hara, who appeared in the movies Beetlejuice (1988) and Home Alone (1990) and starred on the TV show Schitt's Creek, died today, January 30, 2026, at the age of 71 following a brief illness.

Cathrine O'Hara was born on March 4, 1954, in Toronto, Ontario. She was one of seven children. Her younger sister was singer-songwriter Mary Margaret O'Hara. She graduated from the Burnhamthorpe Collegiate Institute in Toronto in 1974. She was 20 when she joined legendary comedy troupe The Second City. She started out as an understudy to Gilda Radner before becoming part of the main cast. 

Catherine O'Hara made her television debut in an episode of The Wayne & Shuster Show. When Second City launched their show Second City TV in 1976, she was a regular on it. She also guest starred on the TV show Coming Up Rosie. She was a voice on the animated television specials Witch's Night Out. Intergalactic Thanksgiving, and Easter Fever.  She appeared in the mini-series You've Come a Long Way, Katie. She appeared in the movies Nothing Personal (1980) and Double Negative (1980).

In the Eighites, Catherine O'Hara was a regular on the Second City show SCTV Network 90 and had a recurring role on the Second City show SCTV Channel. She was a regulr voice on the animated series The Completely Mental Misadventures of Ed Grimley. She guest starred on the TV series The New Show, George Burns Comedy Week, Really Weird Tales,  Trying Times, The Dave Thomas Comedy Show, and Dream On. She appeared in the TV specials  Dave Thomas: The Incredible Time Travels of Henry Osgood and I, Martin Short, Goes Hollywood. She appeared in the movies After Hours (1985), Heartburn (1986), Beetlejuice (1988), Dick Tracy (1990), (1990), Betsy's Wedding, Home Alone (1990), and Little Vegas (1990).  She was the voice of Aunt Edith in the animated classic Rock & Rule (1983).

In the Nineties, Catherine O'Hara guest starred on the TV shows Morton & Hayes, The Larry Sanders Show, The Hidden Room, Tales from the Crypt, The Outer Limits, Oh Baby, and MADtv. She appeared in the movies There Goes the Neighbourhood (1992), Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1992), The Paper (1994), (1994), Wyatt Earp (1994), A Simple Twist of Fate (1994), Tall Tale (1995), Waiting for Guffman (1996), The Last of the High Kings (1996), Home Fries (1998), (1998), and The Life Before This (1999). She provided the voice of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas (1994) and was a voicei n the animated movie Pippi Longstocking (1997).

In the Naughts, Catherine O'Hara was a regulra voice on the animated TVshows Committed and Glen Martin DDS. She guest starred on the shows Bram & Alice, Six Feet Under, and Curb Your Enthusiasm. She was a guest voice on Odd Job Jack. She appeared in the TV movie The Rutles 2: Can't Buy Me Lunch. She appeared in the movies Speakng of Sex (2001), Orange County (2002), A Mighty Wind (2002), Surviving Christmas (2004), A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004), Game 6 (2006), (2006), Penelope (2006), For Your Consideration (2006), Away We  Go (2009), and Killers (2010). She was a vocie in the movies Chicken Little (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), Monster House (2006), and Where the Wild Things Are  (2009).

It was in 2015 that Catherine O'Hara began her run as Moira Rose on Schit's Creek. She won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2020 for the role and was nominated one other time. She was also a regular voice on Skylanders Academy and The Last Kids on Earth. She appeared on the mini-series Leslie and What Lives Inside. She guest starred on the shows 30 Rock, The Greatest Event in Television History, Modern Family, and A Series of Unfortunate Events. She was a guest voice on the animated shows Harvey Beaks and The Magic School Bus Rides Again. She appearedi in the movies A.C.O.D. (2013), and The Right Kind of Wrong (2013). She was a voice in the movies Frankenweenie (2012) and The Addams Family (2019)

In the 2020s, she guest starred on the shows The Kids in the Hall, The Last of Us, and The Studio. She was a guest voice on the animated show Central Park. She appearedi in the movies Pain Hustlers (2023), Argylle (2024), and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice (2024). She was a voice in the movies Elemental (2023) and The Wild Robot (2024). 

Catherine O'Hara was also a writer, writing for the Second City TV shows The Steve Allen Comedy Hour, and Really Weird Tales. 

As both a comedian and an actress, Catherine O'Hara had extraordinary talent. Indeed, she leaves behind a legacy of several memorable roles, including Delia (the sculptor entirely lacking in talent) in Beetlejuice, Kevin's mom Kate in Home Alone, the voice of Sally in The Nightmare Before Christmas, and Moira Rose, the eccentric one-time soap opera star, on Schitt's Creek. While chances are good she will be best remembered for these roles, she played a wide variety of other roles throughout her career. She was the voice of Aunt Edith, the aunt of drummer Dizzy (Dan Hennessey), in the classic animated film Rock & Rule. Of course, she was a voice in many animated films from the title character's adversary Mrs. Prysselius in Pippi Longstocking to the mom in Monster House. She played some of her most memorable roles in Christopher Guest's mockumentaries, including  Sheila Albertson, a travel agent who has never left her small, hometown, in Waiting for Guffman; Cookie Fleck, the dog owner with many former lovers, in Best in Show; and folk singer Mickey Crabbe, one half of the former couple Mitch & Mickey, in A Mighty Wind. Catherine O'Hara had a gift for comedy, with perfect timing, and she was a bit of a chameleon, able to play a wide variety of roles. She certainly died much too soon.