The latter half of Sunday night’s Academy Awards featured several segments honoring the actors, filmmakers and Hollywood heavyweights who passed away over the last year, including a moving speech about Gene Hackman and a musical tribute to Quincy Jones. There was also the annual In Memoriam segment, which paid tribute to such icons as Bob Newhart, David Lynch and James Earl Jones, to name a few.
But — as is nearly always the case — a few famous faces were missing from the memorial, and their fans were quick to notice.
Among the actors not honored during the televised In Memoriam segment was Michelle Trachtenberg (“Harriet the Spy,” “17 Again”), who passed away only last week at the age of 39.
“That Michelle Trachtenberg was left out of the In Memoriam at the #Oscars is an injustice,” one X user wrote, echoing the sentiments of other fans. Another argued that Trachtenberg, despite having a more prolific career on TV, deserved at least a “mention” because her “whole life was in Hollywood.”
“The level of disrespect is insane,” a separate X user claimed.
Some viewers were equally as outraged about the omission of Shannen Doherty (“Heathers,” “Mallrats”), whose death at 53 in July was mourned by costars and colleagues throughout the TV and film industry. And others were miffed that veteran actor Tony Todd (“Candyman,” the “Final Destination” franchise), who died in November, didn’t get a mention during the more than 4-minute segment.
“Do they just cherry pick names to put on the In Memoriam or is the person/people in charge of it just THAT incompetent every single year[?]” one viewer asked on social media.
Some of the other actors and filmmakers who passed last year, but were not included in last night’s In Memoriam segment included Alain Delion (“Le Circle Rouge”), Mitzi Gaynor (“South Pacific”), Olivia Hussey (1968’s “Romeo and Juliet”), Martin Mull (“Clue”) and Morgan Spurlock (“Super Size Me”).
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FILE – Actor Tony Todd, from “Sushi Girl”, poses for a portrait at the LMT Music Lodge during Comic Con in San Diego, July 22, 2011. (AP Photo/Matt Sayles, File) -
FILE – Michelle Trachtenberg appears at the Critics’ Choice Television Awards in Beverly Hills, Calif., on June 19, 2014 (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP, File) -
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock participate in the BUILD Speaker Series to discuss the film, “Go North”, at AOL Studios on Jan. 4, 2017, in New York. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
A representative for the Academy Awards was not immediately available to comment on the exclusions in this year’s In Memoriam segment, nor how they compile the names that appear during the ceremony.
The Academy, however, has included a longer list of actors, artists and filmmakers who recently passed at Oscars.org — where all of the above actors and filmmakers are currently listed among those who appeared in the on-screen segment.
