Every year during Oscars, the segment memorializes those actors, filmmakers, musicians, and others related to the industry. The segments consist of images or video clips of the recently departed individuals, edited together into a montage and usually accompanied by music. However, The “In Memorian” segments , the Emmys, the Grammys, the Tonys, the Olivier Awards, the SAG Awards, TCM, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and by the NFL during Super Bowl week. In 1978, the 50th annual ceremony for the Academy Awards (the Oscars) honored the golden anniversary of the award with a special segment featuring Sammy Davis Jr., singing the Marvin Hamlisch song, “Come Light the Candles,” over a memorial montage. That was until 1994, the Oscars paying tribute to the movie stars, film crew members, and Hollywood movie executives who had died in the previous year became an annual Oscar tribute, beginning with the 66th Academy Awards. Soon after, the Grammys, the SAG Awards, did the same way.
Recently, now in 2026, we had lost including famous stars like Rob Reiner, Diane Keaton, Catherine O’ Hara, Val Kilmer, and Robert Duvall. The Oscars started off with actor Billy Crystal delivering a tribute to his friend Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner who were murdered in their own home. Along with stars: Meg Ryan, Kathy Bates, Jerry O’ Connell, Will Wheaton, Demi Moore, Carol Kane, Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, and John Cusack.
Though the “In Memorian” seemed touching and well delivered not everyone is happy with the segment tribute. First, Actor Corey Feldman who had starred in Reiner’s film Stand by Me wasn’t invited to be at the Oscars for the tribute which didn’t surprised Feldman. Feldman stated he would honor Reiner privately, endorsing his co-stars Will Wheaton and Jerry O’Connell to represent the film plus Feldman has been calling out the Oscars but for not including his friend and actor Corey Haim who passed away in 2008 in the In Memorian segments. At the end of the In Memorian segment, Jane Fonda also called out the In Memorian segment after Oscar Winner Barbara Streisand delivers a tribute to Robert Redford. Redford starred in one film with Streisand while Fonda starred in four films with Redford.
I mean they could have let them both speak and then Stre sings a song in honor of him.
Also, Families of James Van Der Bleek, James Ransone, Eric Dane, and Malcolm-Jamal Warner were disappointed that they were not mentioned at the segment tribute.
However, Shonda Rimes, the creator behind Grey’s Anatomy which Dane starred in, defended the Oscars for omitting Dane in the tribute segment commenting “he’s not movie star” . Also, Robert Carridine and Brigitte Bardot weren’t in the memorian segment. However, this isn’t the first time the Oscars done this. At the 82nd Academy Awards when it was discovered that Farrah Fawcett was excluded from the In Memoriam segment. Fawcett died on June 25, 2009, which was largely overshadowed in the media by reporting on the death of Michael Jackson on the same day; Jackson, who was more widely recognized for his contributions to the music industry than his film performances even though he starred in the Wiz which was Oscar nominated film, was included while Fawcett was omitted. Ryan O’Neal, Roger Ebert, Jane Fonda and several other individuals in attendance expressed outrage at the decision to exclude Fawcett.
At the 89th Academy Awards, one of the images shown as part of the In Memoriam segment was of Jan Chapman (in place of Janet Patterson), who was alive at the time of the telecast. The Academy released an apology for the error and stated the mistake was corrected on their website. That’s not all, at the Academy Awards ,same thing, Morgan Spurlock, Olivia Hussey, Michelle Trachtenberg, Ken Page and Tony Todd were snubbed at the In Memorian segment. Fans and families were disappointed that they were omitted during the segment. Before Michelle was Gossip Girl villain, Trachtenberg was a movie star starring in Harriet the Spy, Inspector Gadget, Ice Princess, and 17 Again. Ken Page was featured in Dreamgirls and voiced as Oogie Boogie in the Nightmare Before Christmas, Olivia Hussey who portrayed as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet and Morgan Spurlock, before he was blacklisted from Hollywood after being accused from sexual assault, he was nominated for an Oscar for his film Super Size Me. Lastly, Tony Todd was in Platoon, an Oscar-nominated film and his films debut before he became a horror flick icon.
I was happy that they included John Amos but it disappoints me that Todd was omitted.
Fair should be Fair at the Oscars!!!! Those actors, filmmakers, writers, producers and all those who worked in the industry who lost their lives should be respected for what they have done.
Do you think the Oscars were unfair to those who were omitted from the In Memorian?
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