The In Memoriam portion of the Oscars ceremony has been a time-honored tradition to remember those folks we have recently lost that have contributed to the world of cinema. It can be a more somber and sad part of the show, but this year producers attempted to inject a little more energy. Unfortunately, their efforts ended up getting the opposite effect.
Instead of a single person presenting, this year’s In Memoriam had three different people speaking on behalf of the departed alongside a live gospel performance.
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Some highlights included Tyler Perry talking about late Best Actor winner Sidney Poitier breaking the barrier for other actors of color to win future awards, Bill Murray making a short but heartfelt tribute to director Ivan Reitman, and Jaime Lee Curtis speaking about beloved television actress Betty White while holding an adorable pooch.
The segment, featuring more upbeat music than in previous years, also honored folks such as Olympia Dukakis, William Hurt, Stephen Sondheim, slain cinematographer Halyna Hutchins. Ned Beatty, Peter Bogdanovich, Clarence Williams III, Michael K. Williams, Sally Kellerman, Richard Donner, Sonny Chiba, Dean Stockwell, Melvin Van Peebles, stunt coordinator Brad Allan, Paul Mooney, Jean-Marc Vallee, Charles Grodin, and many, many more.
Musical choices like “Spirit In The Sky” were a little much though.
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There are always a handful of deaths that are overlooked by the Academy, but their failure to include film and television actor/director Bob Saget was a glaring oversight.