Like every year, the Emmy Awards 2025 paid an emotional tribute to television stars who passed away in the past year. At the awards ceremony held on Sunday, the In Memoriam segment featured singer Lainey Wilson and Vince Gill performing `Go Rest High on the Mountain,` as names and faces of beloved actors and creators filled the screen.
Emmy Awards 2025 In Memoriam misses legends
According to Variety, the tribute was introduced by Phylicia Rashad, who remembered the late actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, her on-screen son from The Cosby Show, who died on July 20. “Malcolm-Jamal Warner remains in our hearts,” said Rashad as the audience stood in silence.
While the segment honoured stars such as Maggie Smith, John Amos, Loretta Swit, and Ozzy Osbourne, some notable names were left out of the broadcast as pointed out by fans. These included Alice` star Polly Holliday, wrestler and actor Hulk Hogan, What`s Happening actor Danielle Spencer, General Hospital star Leslie Charleson, and The Sopranos actor Jerry Adler. Other names that were missing included Tony Todd, Graham Greene, King of the Hill actor Jonathan Joss, Lynne Marie Stewart of Pee-Wee`s Playhouse, and Dennis the Menace star Jay North.
Taking to X (formerly Twitter), many users called out the Emmys for leaving the icon. One user wrote, “themmys no Hulk Hogan remembrance? Crazy.” While another one read, “Emmys on their high horse, leave out Hulk Hogan from their In Memoriam segment. Maybe one day HeymanHustle will get his wish and they’ll stop ignoring wrestling since it has been a staple of television ever since the medium was invented.”Another fan complained, “Tony Todd did some great television. Multiple Star Trek appearances and The X-Files. This is outrageous,”
Notably, while the omissions upset some fans, the Television Academy included many of the names on a longer scroll available on its website. It is common every year that the `In Memoriam` segment sparks debate because of the time limits and the Academy`s decisions on who gets featured on the broadcast.
Emmy Awards 2025
Meanwhile, Netflix crime drama Adolescence emerged as a big winner, taking home the Best Limited Series award and sweeping a total of six trophies across major categories.
Tramell Tillman created history by becoming the first Black man to win the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a drama series. Seth Rogen won Best Lead Actor for The Studio,` while Jean Smart picked up Best Lead Actress for Hacks. Other winners included Britt Lower, who bagged Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Severance, and Katherine LaNasa, who won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The Pitt.
(With inputs from ANI)
