Emmys: Shelley Duvall Omitted From In Memoriam Segment

The “In Memoriam” segment of the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday paid tribute to a host of small-screen stars who have died in the past year, but users on social media were quick to point out the notable names that did not make the montage.

The poignant segment saw rapper Jelly Roll say a few words before performing his 2024 song “I Am Not Okay” as a montage of late stars was shown inside the Peacock Theater and on television. Among those included in the segment were Donald Sutherland, James Earl Jones, Martin Mull, Richard Lewis, Richard Simmons, Shannen Doherty, Gena Rowlands, Chance Perdomo and Carl Weathers.

There was general confusion online in some quarters due to the omission of Friends star Matthew Perry, who died Oct. 28, 2023 at 54. Perry’s absence was explained by the Television Academy paying a special tribute to the actor at the 74th edition of the Emmys held in January, after it was delayed by the dual Hollywood strikes.

Users on social media did, however, feel the omission of the likes of Shelley Duvall, Erica Ash, Johnny Wactor, Tyler Christopher, Joe Flaherty and Chita Rivera reflected poorly on the TV Academy.

Although more widely known for film work, Duvall, who died in July at 75, was a two-time Emmy nominee. The actress was closely associated with children’s television. She was the creator, writer and executive producer of Shelley Duvall’s Bedtime Stories and creator and executive producer of Tall Tales & Legends. Duvall was nominated for both shows.

Ash, a comedian and actress who died in July at 46, was featured on MADtv and The Big Gay Sketch Show, and later starred in the Starz sitcom Survivor’s Remorse.

Wactor was known for playing Brando Corbin on the series General Hospital and Johnny on the NBC series Siberia. In May, the actor was murdered in a robbery in Los Angeles. He was 37.

Another General Hospital star, Tyler Christopher, was also omitted. Christopher played the characters Nikolas Cassadine and Connor Bishop on the ABC soap. He died in October 2023 at 50, his death caused by alcohol intoxication.

SCTV Joe Flaherty was also a glaring omission, particularly as the late comedian was a colleague of Emmys host Eugene Levy. Flaherty, who died in April at 82, also had the pivotal role of Harold Weir in NBC’s cult show Freaks and Geeks.

Rivera’s television career spanned seven decades. Although the actress, who died in January at 91, found most success in theater, she still appeared in a number of prominent shows including The Carol Burnett Show, The New Dick Van Dyke Show, Dora The Explorer and Will & Grace.

Many of the missing names from the televised In Memoriam segment, including Ash, Duvall, Wactor and Rivera were included in a more comprehensive In Memoriam section on the Emmys website.