The In Memoriam segment of the Oscars provides an opportunity to remember the members of the industry who are no longer with us.
This year, the segment was introduced by John Travolta, who described the video montage as a time to remember the stars “who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to.”
Travolta’s words were a nod to his Grease co-star Olivia Newton John, who died after a 30-year-old battle with breast cancer in August 2022.
Newton-John and many other recently passed industry greats were remembered in a moving video montage that played while Lenny Kravitz performed “Calling All Angels.”
While the segment was incredibly moving, people couldn’t help but notice that a number of important names were left out.
Which Celebrities Were Left Out Of The 2023 Oscars In Memoriam?
Goodfellas actor Paul Sorvino, who died of natural causes in July 2022, was noticeably absent from the Oscars montage.
His absence was particularly felt by his widow Dee Dee, who called out the Academy Of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for not including her late husband in the televised montage.
“Paul Sorvino was one of the greatest actors in cinematic history in Hollywood. It is unconscionable that he would be left out of the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars,” Dee Dee told ET.
“It’s a three-hour show, they can’t give a couple more minutes to get it right? Paul Sorvino gave decades to this industry and was loved by all. Paul was not the only deserving soul left out, and a QR Code is not acceptable. The Academy needs to issue an apology, admit the mistake and do better. Paul Sorvino deserves better, the audience deserves better, is the Academy so jaded they forget people who are loved, who have given their hearts to this industry? Shame on the Academy if this is not corrected. Mistakes are made, this was a big one. Please do something to make it right.”
Sorvino’s daughter Mira, who won an Oscar for Mighty Aphrodite in 1996, also slammed the awards for leaving her father out.
“It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out. The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!” Mira wrote on Twitter.
While the Oscars did include many more stars (including Sorvino) on the longer montage which is available on the official Oscars website, many people felt excluding so many recently passed industry greats from the televised montage wasn’t acceptable.
But Sorvino wasn’t the only star left out of this year’s televised montage.
Anne Heche, who was known for Donnie Brasco, I Know What You Did Last Summer and Girl in Room 13, was also excluded.
The actress, who died in a car accident in August 2022, was mourned widely by Hollywood at the time of her death.
Also surprising was the exclusion of Charlbi Dean, who actually starred in best picture nominee film Triangle of Sadness.
The actress, who died of bacterial sepsis in August 2022, didn’t live to see the film released.
Robert Blake, who died on Thursday at the age of 89, also didn’t make the cut.
The actor’s career, which included parts in In Cold Blood, Barretta and Treasure of the Sierra Madre, was overshadowed his wife’s murder in 2001.
Blake was initially accused but later found not guilty of the murder.
Despite not making the montage, Blake’s death was mentioned by Oscar’s host Jimmy Kimmel.
“Everybody please get out your phones, even at home, it’s time to vote: If you think Robert Blake should be part of the In Memoriam montage, text GIMME-A-Blake to the number on your screen, or to any number,” Kimmel joked.
“Text that to your mother if you like—message and data rates may apply.”
While some found the joke amusing, others believed it was simply bad taste.
The montage also noticeably omitted Leslie Jordan, Sacheen Littlefeather and Tom Sizemore, who all passed in the last year.
While time limits are an understandable consideration, it’s hard to imagine that a few extra minutes spent honouring those who have passed would affect so much—especially considering the meaning it would give those still grieving their loved ones.
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