An in memoriam segment is a memorial to the people, of one particular field or industry, who have recently died. Typically, such memorials air on television, mostly during awards ceremonies. These segments consist of images or video clips of the recently departed individuals, edited together into a montage and usually accompanied by music. These memorials have been featured in such places as the Oscars, the Emmys, the Grammys, the Tonys, the Olivier Awards, the SAG Awards, BBC Sports Personality of the Year, and even 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. [1] It wasn't until 1994, though, that the In Memoriam segment—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. [2] Soon after that, the Grammys, the Emmys, and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards followed suit with their own annual memorial segments. [3] By the 21st century, the in memoriam tribute had become one of the most popular, and most scrutinized, segments at annual awards ceremonies. [4] [5]
One awards show that is known for not featuring an in memoriam segment is the ceremony for the Golden Globe Awards. In lieu of a televised memorial, the Golden Globes choose to honor those who have recently died with a special tribute page on their official website. [6]
Typically, for an awards show, the decision on who gets honored during the in memoriam segment lies not with the ceremony's producers, but with a committee assigned to the task of making the final decision. [5] [7] The committee would usually start out with a long list, featuring the names of hundreds of recently deceased individuals; from there, the committee would whittle the list down to a feasible number. [3] [5] [7] Footage of all the honorees must collectively fit into a montage running no more than a few minutes in length. [4] For the Grammys, that means honoring roughly 50 people in a span of about three minutes. [5] For the Oscars, it usually entails fitting 40-45 tributes into a three- to four-minute film. [8] The final montage, usually accompanied by what producer Chuck Workman calls "some schmaltzy music," is typically finished several days in advance of the ceremony in which it is to be shown. [3]
To be included in the Oscars' In Memoriam segment, one may not have been a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). [9] The final decision of whether or not a person is included depends on that person's level and quality of contributions to the movie industry. [7] According to Bruce Davis, executive director of AMPAS from 1990 to 2011, if it is doubtful that a given actor belongs in the Oscars' memorial tribute, and the actor was better known for work performed on television or Broadway, the committee would typically cut the actor in question from the Oscars’ In Memoriam montage. [4]
Sometimes, a deceased person would be given an individual tribute in lieu of, or at least apart from, inclusion in an in memoriam segment, depending on such factors as the timing of the individual's death or the magnitude of impact the deceased person had on his or her peers in the same field or industry. In 1996, at the 68th Academy Awards, dancer Savion Glover performed a special dance to the song "Singin' in the Rain", in tribute to Gene Kelly, who had died earlier that year. The In Memoriam segment was presented later on in the ceremony. [10]
In 2009, at the 63rd Tony Awards, actress Bebe Neuwirth presented a special tribute to Tony-winning actress Natasha Richardson, who died suddenly earlier that year following a skiing accident. Afterward, Neuwirth mentioned the death of Gerald Schoenfeld, head of Broadway's prestigious Shubert Organization, before introducing the in memoriam segment which paid tribute to the rest of Broadway's stars who had died in the previous year's time. [11]
In 2012, singer Whitney Houston died just 36 hours before the 54th Annual Grammy Awards were to take place. In response, Grammy producers decided to make major last-minute changes to the ceremony in order to allow the show's performers and presenters to pay tribute to Houston throughout the show. [12]
In 2017, just one day prior to the 89th Academy Awards ceremony, movie actor Bill Paxton died. Even though he was not officially included in the Oscars' In Memoriam segment the next day, actress Jennifer Aniston, during her presentation of that memorial montage, tearfully paid verbal tribute to Paxton before the montage played. [13]
During the awards season, those working in the public relations industry might lobby for a deceased person's inclusion in a particular award show's in memoriam segment. [1] [9] If a certain person is excluded from the montage, it is bound to generate heated discussion afterwards. On many occasions, there has been glaring controversy over the exclusion, or inclusion, of certain people with respect to an in memoriam segment. Sometimes, the controversy focuses on the way the montage was presented.
Controversy emerged at the 82nd Academy Awards when it was discovered that Farrah Fawcett was excluded from the In Memoriam segment. The passing of Fawcett, on June 25, 2009, was largely overshadowed in the media by reporting on the passing of Michael Jackson that same day; Jackson, who was more widely recognized for his contributions to the music industry than his film performances, 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. [14] [15]
In 2011, during the 83rd Academy Awards, the In Memoriam segment neglected to include actor Corey Haim, who died on March 11, 2010, at the age of 38. Afterward, Haim's frequent movie co-star, Corey Feldman, did multiple interviews expressing his dismay over Haim's exclusion. As of March 2018, Feldman has remained angry at the Oscars, saying that it was a "travesty and a tragedy" that his fellow Corey was not part of their In Memoriam tribute. [16]
In 2014, CBS decided that for its telecast of the 68th Tony Awards, it would not play the annual in memoriam segment on television, opting instead to let the memorial montage be shown exclusively to the live audience at Radio City Music Hall during a commercial break. This decision was backed by the ceremony's producers, but was panned by many Broadway insiders. [17]
In 2016, at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, the late Natalie Cole was featured prominently during the in memoriam segment, appearing on screen for 45 seconds at the end. After the segment played, members of her family complained that the tribute to Cole wasn't big enough. [18]
In 2017, during 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. [19]
In February 2018, during the week leading up to Super Bowl LII, an in memoriam video that honored recently deceased people associated with the NFL was shown at U.S. Bank Stadium, the venue of the game; one of the honorees in the montage was Aaron Hernandez, a former professional football player who had killed himself in his prison cell ten months earlier. [20] Hernandez was convicted, in 2014, for the murder of Odin Lloyd, though the conviction was under appeal at the time of Hernandez's death. [21]
In April 2018, the Laurence Olivier Awards came under fire for not including the late Sir Peter Hall, acclaimed British theatre director, in its in memoriam segment. To make up for this omission, the Olivier Awards renamed its Best Director trophy the "Sir Peter Hall Award for Best Director." [22]
In September 2018, viewers of the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards were outraged when said ceremony's in memoriam segment included recently dead politician John McCain, but not the late rapper/television star Mac Miller. [23]
The producers of in memoriam segments frequently defend their decisions to include some but not others because they say there is not enough time in an award show to honor every single person who has recently died. As one longtime AMPAS member put it:
It’s all about status. It’s impossible to be fair. You try, every year, to add in a certain number of editors and art directors. It’s about a person’s prominence in their field, and you don’t want to just go with the movie stars or the big-time directors. [8]
Ken Ehrlich, longtime producer of the Grammy Awards, says that "there’s always criticism...we start with a list of 300 worthy people. We can’t do 300 worthy people. At some point, it becomes subjective." [5] Chuck Workman, a past editor of the Oscars' memorial tribute, notes that when deciding how many people get into the montage, the audience's patience must be taken into consideration. "I don't think they want to sit for 10 minutes," says Workman. [24]
In addition to the televised In Memoriam segment, the Oscars also feature on its website a much longer obituary montage with many more names on it. [1]
The 70th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 23, 1998, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the show, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories honoring films released in 1997. The ceremony, which was televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the sixth time. He had first hosted the 62nd ceremony held in 1990, and most recently the previous year's awards. Nearly a month earlier in an event held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 28, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Ashley Judd.
The 74th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories honoring films released in 2001. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the fourth time. She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 71st ceremony in 1999. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Charlize Theron.
The 71st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best of 1998 in film and took place on March 21, 1999, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the third time. She first hosted the 66th ceremony held in 1994 and had last hosted the 68th ceremony in 1996. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on February 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Anne Heche.
The 69th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 24, 1997, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented the Academy Awards in 24 categories honoring films released in 1996. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates, and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the fifth time. He first presided over the 62nd ceremony held in 1990 and had last hosted the 65th ceremony held in 1993. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on March 1, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Helen Hunt.
The 67th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) took place on March 27, 1995, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 23 categories honoring the films released in 1994. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gilbert Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Comedian David Letterman hosted the show for the first time. Three weeks earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California on March 4, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jamie Lee Curtis.
The 68th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1995 in the United States and took place on March 25, 1996, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by David Salzman and Quincy Jones and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the second time, having previously presided over the 66th ceremony in 1994. Three weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Richard Dreyfuss.
The 66th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1993 and took place on March 21, 1994, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actress Whoopi Goldberg hosted the show for the first time. This ceremony was the first to present the annual In Memoriam tribute. Nearly a month earlier in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California on February 26, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Laura Dern.
The 65th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1992 in the United States and took place on March 29, 1993, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Gil Cates and directed by Jeff Margolis. Actor Billy Crystal hosted the show for the fourth consecutive year. In related events, during a ceremony held at the Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles on March 6, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Sharon Stone.
The 60th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on April 11, 1988, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PDT. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 22 categories honoring films released in 1987. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and directed by Marty Pasetta. Actor Chevy Chase hosted the show for the second consecutive year. Two weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 27, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Shirley Jones.
The 79th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2006 and took place February 25, 2007, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Laura Ziskin and directed by Louis J. Horvitz. Actress Ellen DeGeneres hosted for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 10, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Maggie Gyllenhaal.
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and was produced by Bill Condon and Laurence Mark and directed by Roger Goodman. Hugh Jackman hosted the show for the first time. Two weeks earlier in a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills, California held on February 7, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Jessica Biel.
The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled after its usual late-February date to avoid conflicting with the 2010 Winter Olympics. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and was produced by Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actors Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin hosted the show. Martin hosted for the third time; he first presided over the 73rd ceremony held in 2001 and last hosted the 75th ceremony held in 2003. Meanwhile, this was Baldwin's first Oscars hosting stint. This was also the first telecast to have multiple hosts since the 59th ceremony held in 1987.
The 86th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2013 and took place on March 2, 2014, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled well after its usual late-February date to avoid conflicting with the 2014 Winter Olympics. During the ceremony, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, and produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actress Ellen DeGeneres hosted the show for the second time, having previously hosted the 79th ceremony held in 2007.
The Governors Awards presentation is an annual award ceremony hosted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), at the Grand Ballroom of the Hollywood and Highland Center, in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California. Three awards that signify lifetime achievement within the film industry – the Academy Honorary Award, the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, and the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award – are presented at this ceremony. The first Governors Awards ceremony was held on November 14, 2009. Prior to this, these three awards were formally presented during the main Academy Awards ceremony, which now conducts a short mention and appearance of the awards recipients after displaying a montage of the Governors Awards presentation. In the years since, the awards have gained prominence as a major red-carpet destination and industry event.
The 87th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2014 and took place on February 22, 2015, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, produced by Neil Meron and Craig Zadan and directed by Hamish Hamilton. Actor Neil Patrick Harris hosted the ceremony for the first time.
The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2016, and took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, at 5:30 p.m. PST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Michael De Luca and Jennifer Todd and directed by Glenn Weiss. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel hosted the ceremony for the first time.
The 91st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018 and took place on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and was produced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, with Weiss also serving as director. This was the first telecast to have no host since the 61st ceremony held in 1989.
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021, rather than its usual late-February date due to the COVID-19 pandemic. During the ceremony, the AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Jesse Collins, Stacey Sher, and Steven Soderbergh, and was directed by Glenn Weiss. For the third consecutive year, the ceremony had no official host. In related events, the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by host Nia DaCosta on February 13, 2021, in a virtual ceremony.
The 'In Memoriam' segments made for the major televised award shows are usually notable for their exclusions. The Grammys are no exception, as perceived 'snubs' draw commentary the next morning...the 'In Memoriam' segment on the Emmy shows is one of the most highly rated, highly favored segments on the show.