Abe Vigoda Was Left Out Of Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ Segment
The fickle and forgetful queens that run the ‘In Memoriam’ section of the Oscars have shot their side eyes and flicked their acting scarves over their shoulders once again. Every year there are glaring omissions on the list of those that have moved on to the great green room in the sky and this year, as many of you, including my brother (Hi, Dan.), and The New York Post noticed, the biggest snub was Abe Vigoda.
Abe was best known for being in The Godfather series but also appeared in films like Joe Versus the Volcano, Look Who’s Talking and Good Burger. In 1982, People mistakenly reported him as being dead and it became a running gag for him and the industry up until he actually did die, this year on January 31. Geoffrey Lewis, actor and father of Juliette Lewis was also left out of the segment. Juliette took to twitter to say:
I know @TheAcademy didn’t mean to overlook my dad #GeoffreyLewis in the memorium. who was beloved by so many https://t.co/HKaEN9JscA
— Juliette Lewis (@JulietteLewis) February 29, 2016
My dad #GeoffreyLewis was beloved and contributed over 220 roles in film and tv. @TheAcademy maybe you can remember to include him nxt yr — Juliette Lewis (@JulietteLewis) February 29, 2016
Michael has also pointed out to me that the most glaring of omissions was Vanity, who passed away on February 15 and didn’t make the cut for the Academy’s February 1st deadline. Other notable snubs in the past have included Joan Rivers, Elaine Stritch, and Andy Griffith.
The New York Times did a piece back in 2013 on the oddly difficult and secretive process of making it into the broadcast ‘In Memoriam’. Apparently, the identities of the committee that selects who makes the cut are not known to anyone, even other Academy members and it’s left to their discretion to decide who made enough of an impact to be on the televised list. Often times those who don’t make the TV cut are included on a larger list that appears online. Making this whole The Ninth Gate ritual scene selection process even weirder is that a large amount of lobbying by the family and reps of the deceased is involved in getting people on the list, which only has 30 spots.
I like to imagine the selection process involves a room full of Quentin Crisp looking hos crossing out names and saying things like, “Oh no! I hate that bitch! She walked right past me at one of Bryan Singer’s parties pretending not to see me!” Whatever the reasons may be, they need to get their shit together and start pulling all the names out of that sad, sad hat. RIP Abe and all the other snubs past.
Pic: Wenn