Archive for category In Memoriam

Farrett Fawcett. Copyright 1978 by Bruce McBroom.

Yours truly would like to begin by letting the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) know that we understand your quandary today. Behind those cold gold statues, behind the lengthy telecasts and spirited pre-game run-up to every Oscars ceremony, is a gaggle of human beings doing their best to make it all work. And as the public occasionally needs to be reminded, humans are imperfect.  We all make mistakes.

The difference is how you handle making those mistakes. Generally, one apologizes quickly and profusely if it’s a major screw-up. Like, say, forgetting to include Farrah Fawcett, one of the most recognizable stars of the ’70s and ’80s, in Oscar’s “In Memoriam” segment.

Full disclosure, AMPAS:  I didn’t really notice the exclusion last night either. Sorry, readers.  (See how easy that was?)

Television is my thing, you see. As such, I was perfectly content with Emmy’s memorial for the actress: A heartfelt montage of Fawcett’s most iconic small-screen roles that included scenes from “The Burning Bed,” “The Six Million Dollar Man” and “Charlie’s Angels,” as well as footage of Farrah, the person behind the icon.

Neither am I one of those viewers who combs through the “In Memoriam” segment.  But most importantly,  I am not on the committee in charge of compiling the list for Oscar’s “In Memoriam” feature.

It’s not hard to understand why the public’s shock at Fawcett’s omission is lighting up the media today. Obviously Fawcett’s longtime partner Ryan O’Neal is ticked…but according to her tweets, so is Star Jones. The venerable  Roger Ebert tweeted a request for an explanation. We thought it was a given by now that to be on the wrong side of Roger Ebert is a bad thing, so one would think that the imperfect humans at AMPAS would be issuing their mea culpas quickly and furiously.

But…’fraid not. In fact, the only thing that AMPAS spokeswoman Leslie Unger would tell E! News in this article was that is was not an oversight. “No matter how carefully and how conscientiously people address who is included,” Unger told E!, “there are people who just simply can’t be.”

Here’s the thing, though:  While it’s true that, as a number of TV specialists have pointed out online in social networking forums, Fawcett was primarily known as a TV icon, she did star in a number of well-known films. We’re not just talking about her two big Runs a la “Cannonball” and “Logan,” either. She had the lead in “Extremities,” and major supporting roles in Academy Award-nominated film “The Apostle” and “Dr. T and the Women.”

Look at “Dr. T’s” poster — that’s her face, second down on the right-hand side. That’s her name at the top, among a list of co-stars that includes Helen Hunt, Liv Tyler, Kate Hudson, and Laura Dern.  One would think that  during their evaluation as to who makes the list and who doesn’t, the AMPAS folks would have taken the time to look at the candidate’s credits on a certain website — or even their own member rolls. As The Wrap pointed out, Fawcett is an Academy member.  Michael Jackson, who died within hours of Fawcett’s passing and made “Memoriam’s” cut, is not. The Academy also found room for a publicist, but not Fawcett.

It bears pointing out that this is not the first time the Academy has omitted actors in its annual remembrance segment. Two years ago the Academy left troubled actor Brad Renfro out of In Memoriam; Renfro died a week before Heath Ledger, who was prominently featured.  According to The Wrap, AMPAS’s failure to acknowledge Dorothy McGuire‘s passing in 2001 almost led to the Board of Governors doing away with the feature completely.  Bea Arthur also happened to be absent from Sunday’s roster. Granted, her film roles were fewer than Fawcetts, but she did co-star in the 1974 big-screen version of “Mame.” That little film that starred Lucille Ball.

Do you think the Academy’s explanation was suitable, or should it apologize for Farrah’s snub?