Oscars: Joan Rivers Left Out of In Memoriam Tribute

The Academy Awards’ “In Memoriam” segment offered an egalitarian salute to a broad range of industry figures who died during the past 12 months.

  The segment presented by Meryl Streep gave equal time to Golden Age legends as below-the-line veterans. In a departure from past years, there were no clips for any of the more recognizable named but rather a series
of stylized photo illustrations. Academy officials have long urged attendees to avoid giving the impression that the tribute is a popularity contest by holding applause until the end.
The segment opened with Mickey Rooney followed by director Paul Mazursky and was applause-free, as far as telecast viewers could discern, in the Dolby Theater until the final image of director Mike Nichols flashed on screen.
Joan Rivers was a notable omission from the list. The comedian who died at 80 in September had a limited film resume, to be sure, but she became a fixture of Hollywood’s awards season for her caustic red carpet hosting gigs. By contrast, longtime film critic Charles Champlin did make the cut.
Robin Williams was among the tragic losses recognized. The Oscar winner for “Good Will Hunting” committed suicide in August at the age of 63.
Swedish director Malik Bendjelloul was a phenom who went all the way with his first film, 2012 documentary “Searching for Sugar Man,” and was found dead at 36 in May, a little more than a year after winning the Oscar for his first film.
Luise Rainer, the first actor to log back-to-back Oscar wins, for 1936’s “The Great Ziegfeld” and 1937’s “The Good Earth,” got another nod from the Academy tonight, despite having mostly turned her back on Hollywood since the 1940s.
Highly regarded actors noted included Eli Wallach, Bob Hoskins, James Garner, Ruby Dee, Elizabeth Pena, Edward Herrmann. Renowned cinematographer Gordon Willis, writers Lorenzo Semple Jr. and Stewart Stern were recognized, as was and innovative makeup man Dick Smith makeup, who got a shoutout earlier in the telecast from makeup/ hairstyling winner Mark Coulier (who shared his Oscar with Frances Hannon for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”).
Industry executives represented in the posthumous honor roll included Menachem Golan, the colorful Israeli-born head of Cannon Films, the shop behind so many 1980s action pics; Frank Yablans, former president of head of Paramount; and marketing mavens Nadia Bronson and Sanford Reisenbach.