The Oscars forgot Jessica Walter, Naya Rivera, and Adam Schlesinger in its "in memoriam" segment

The Oscars forgot Jessica Walter, Naya Rivera, and Adam Schlesinger in its "in memoriam" segment
L to R: Naya Rivera, Jessica Walter, and Adam Schlesinger Photo: Imeh Akpanudosen

If you were among the small number of people who tuned in to watch this year’s Oscars, you likely noticed that the “in memoriam” portion of the night rushed through every name, lingering for practically a second on each. The only names that got a bit more screen time were Sean Connery and Chadwick Boseman, who were the last ones shown. It went by so quickly that you could barely keep track of who was included, but it turns out the Oscars forgot to include three notable names: Naya Rivera, Jessica Walter, and Adam Schlesinger.

Though Rivera was best known for playing Santana on Glee, she had a couple of film roles, including At The Devil’s Door and Mad Families. And the omission of Jessica Walter is just plain offensive. The late Arrested Development actor’s career spanned over four decades, with Walter earning Golden Globe nominations for films Grand Prix and Play Misty For Me. Walter’s death inspired countless essays (including one of our own) about how much her career meant while it remains rare for Hollywood to give women over middle age a chance to shine onscreen in meatier leading roles.

Schlesinger’s snub also stings, considering how the late musician previously earned the notice of the Academy for writing one of the 1960s’ greatest fictional hits. Rachel Bloom, with whom Schlesinger worked on Crazy Ex-Girlfriend as a co-songwriter, called out the Oscars for this slight, tweeting, “Adam Schlesinger was nominated for an Oscar for writing ‘That Thing You Do!’ in 1997. I don’t know why he wasn’t in the official In Memoriam segment tonight (especially because he wrote one of the greatest film songs of all time) so I’m honoring him here.”

 
Join the discussion...