Billie Eilish led the In Memoriam segment (courtesy AFP)
Highlights
- The Academy paid tribute to Kobe Bryant
- But missed out on remembering Luke Perry, Cameron Boyce
- Luke Perry died last year
Almost every year without fail, The Academy forgets someone in the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars which pays tribute to film industry members who died in the past year. This time, four names were left out - including actor Luke Perry, whose last role was in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood which was nominated in 10 categories at this year's Academy Awards. Apart from the 90210 star, the In Memoriam segment also forgot Disney star Cameron Boyce, actor-producer Sid Haig, and comedian Tim Conway. The Academy is carrying a longer version of the In Memoriam clip with the omissions included on its website but, as Grammy-winner Billie Eilish performed a soulful rendition of The Beatles' hit Yesterday over the montage, Luke Perry's absence was duly noted by the Internet.
Needless to say, social media is outraged. "Luke Perry wasn't in the In Memorial? He was literally in one of the most nominated films of the night! Disrespectful," tweeted a Luke Perry fan. Best known for playing Dylan McKay in Nineties' TV show Beverly Hills 90210, Luke Perry died last year at the age of 52.
The world mourned the death of Disney star Cameron Boyce, who featured in Adam Sandler films, last year. He was 20 when he died. "Not including Cameron Boyce and Luke Perry was a huge mistake academy," read a tweet.
"Kind of surprised they left Luke Perry (in one of the nominated films) and Tim Conway (Hello?! comedy icon, movie headliner) off the In Memoriam," wrote an angry fan. Award-winning comedic actor Tim Conway, best known for The Carol Burnett Show, died in May 2019 at the age of 85.
Meanwhile, fans of actor Sid Haig, best known for headlining films of the horror genre, tweeted this: "Can't say I'm surprised that the Academy Awards forgot to honour Sid Haig during the in memoriam, so we will." Sid Haig died in September last year.
The Academy didn't forget to honour NBA star Kobe Bryant and legendary actor Kirk Douglas, among others in the tribute video. Kobe Bryant died in a plane crash last month. He had attended the Oscars in 2018, where he won the Best Animated Short Film Oscar for Dear Basketball. Kirk Douglas, who died last week at 103, received an honorary Oscar in 1996.
.Like we said, The Academy regularly makes errors of omission in the In Memoriam segment. Last year, they forgot actors Sondra Locke and Verne Troyer; the year before, Batman actor Adam West was left out along with some other names.