Even after leading off the Academy Awards In Memoriam segment with frequent Spike Lee collaborator and character actor Isiah Whitlock Jr., the Oscars still omitted several notable Black actors and actresses on Sunday (Mar. 15).
Fans quickly pointed out the Academy did not televise the recognition of actors Malcolm-Jamal Warner or “Sanford and Son” star Demond Wilson. Judy Pace, a noted actress who starred in several Blaxploitation films and played opposite Billy Dee Williams in “Brian’s Song,” passed away early Sunday at the age of 83 and was also not featured on the telecast.
Other names not mentioned on the actual show but featured on the Academy’s website included Roy Ayers, Lynn Hamilton, Ananda Lewis, Danielle Spencer and Angie Stone.
Even though Warner and Wilson were mostly known for their TV work, they also held notable film credits. When other notable TV actors, like Eric Dane and James Van Der Beek, were also omitted from the In Memoriam segment, Rhimes stated that she expected Dane to receive a larger tribute at the Primetime Emmy Awards later this year.
“He’s not a movie star,” Rhimes said of Dane to Entertainment Tonight. “I feel like, when the Emmys come around, he will be immortalized the way he should be. You can’t fault the Oscars for the fact that they’re looking at movies, and there were so many people who [we] lost. But Eric was unique to television, and I can’t wait to see what [the Emmys] do with him.”
In previous years, the Oscars have faced blowback from fans for notable omissions from the In Memoriam segment. In 2025, horror movie king Tony Todd was not mentioned on the telecast, but featured on the Academy’s website, and a similar instance occurred in 2024. Then, Lance Reddick and Ron Cephas Jones were among the names not included on the Oscars’ telecast.
