There is so much to appreciate about the actress and comedian Catherine O’Hara following the news of her death at age 71. But she’s long held a special place here at Art in America ever since her character in Beetlejuice (1988), a sculptor named Delia Deetz, appeared on a fictional cover of the magazine in the movie.
Deetz created abstract sculptures with rough-hewn surfaces that feel at home in the world of the film’s director, Tim Burton. In a famous dinner party scene where characters grow posessed and dance with surprising penache to Harry Belafonte’s Banana Boat (Day-O), we meet Grace, an Art in America writer dressed fabulously in gold. Naturally, Deetz wants to impress her, and so is horrified when Grace is forced to writhe and visibly embarassed. But soon, Grace grows intrigued and finds herself eager to meet the ghosts, thinking they’ll make for a good story.
Disappointment ensues when the ghosts are nowhere to be found; Deetz is worried she blew her shot.
But near the end of the movie, back in Deetz’s workspace, we see a copy of Art in America with Deetz and her artwork on the cover set prominently on display. She is beaming and proud, and she has just begun a new, figurative series including a Beetlejuice bust.
But Catherine O’Hara, the honor was all ours.
At least according to office lore, our designer at the time helped her pull it off. And for Halloween in 2019, our editors dressed up as characters from the movie. I had the honor of going as Delia Deetz.
Here’s a photo. From left to right, it shows Brian Droitcour as architect Otho Fenlock; Rachel Wetzler as Lydia Deetz; Kyle Bentley and Leigh Anne Miller (in a mask handmade by Miller’s friend Ivy Blackman) as Adam and Barbara Maitland; William S. Smith as Beetlejuice; and Francesca Aton as Miss Argentina.
Rest in piece, Catherine O’Hara. Your ghost will always loom large at Art in America.
