The Glaring Omission In The 76th Emmy Awards In Memoriam Section
Every year takes away some of the entertainment world's all-time greats, and as such, notable annual award shows are in the habit of paying tribute to entertainment industry legends who have passed away. The 76th Emmy Awards ceremony was no exception. As musician Jelly Roll performed, the show's In Memoriam segment reacted to the deaths of James Earl Jones and many other prominent figures. Unfortunately, the segment ended up omitting one extremely important person who might be better known from her time on the big screen, but was also highly influential in the world of television: the one and only Shelley Duvall.
"The Shining" actor Duvall died on on Thursday, July 11 at the age of 75, but for one reason or another, the event went unheeded by the Emmys. For those who know Duvall's career, this seems quite strange considering that she produced numerous children's TV shows and movies in the 1980s and 1990s. As such, she was an instrumental figure in bringing shows like "Tall Tales & Legends," "Faerie Tale Theatre," and "Shelley Duvall's Bedtime Stories" to life — not to mention that she also personally hosted the latter series. For these efforts, she was even nominated for two Primetime Emmys, which makes it doubly strange that she wasn't included in the In Memoriam segment.
The fact that Duvall didn't get her moment in the segment didn't go unnoticed, and fans of the acting legend were quick to give the ceremony a piece of their mind on social media. "Its incredibly disrespectful and odd Shelley Duvall was not in the In Memoriam at the Emmys. Not only was she a pioneer in children's programming but she also single handedly saved Nick Jr from being taken off the air," user @flowerdrums wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, remembering Duvall's prominence on Nickelodeon's Nick Jr. channel. "Perhaps she wasn't known as a TV actress but she was a prolific producer for children programs and a pioneer in cable TV. Her contributions deserved to be honored," fan account @shelleyduvallxo posted. "I will be writing a sharply-worded letter," @elaine_stritch tweeted.
Shelley Duvall isn't the only one who wasn't included in the segment
In Memoriam segments are known to face criticism for their various errors. The 2024 Oscars In Memoriam was a slap in the face of many people it was supposed to honor, as the short segment reduced several prominent people to a wall of text. The 75th annual Emmy Awards In Memoriam section snubbed several late greats from Ray Stevenson to Raquel Welch. As observant viewers no doubt noted, the 76th Emmy Awards ceremony also made its share of In Memoriam omissions.
Along with Shelley Duvall, the segment patently ignored names like "SCTV" and "Freaks & Geeks" veteran Joe Flaherty, "General Hospital" star Johnny Wactor, and "The New Dick Van Dyke Show's" Chita Rivera. As a two-time Emmy winner whose "SCTV" castmates Eugene Levy and Martin Short both appeared in the ceremony, Flaherty joins Duvall as a particularly prominent snub on the list.
Of course, the unforgiving nature of a live awards ceremony means the In Memoriam segment has strict time limitations. Attempts to fit everyone in the segment can also be tricky, and as the 2024 Academy Awards showed, trying to include everyone in text form can easily come across as disrespectful. In an effort to pay tribute as inclusively as possible, the Emmys established an online In Memoriam database in 2009. Though they didn't make it into the segment at the televised ceremony, Duvall, Flaherty, and others can be found here — complete with short biographies and even links to their extensive obituaries.