Who was left off the 2026 Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ tribute?

WASHINGTON — While the 2026 Oscars made the In Memoriam segment longer than usual, the annual tribute to the greats Hollywood lost in the past year had some notable omissions. 

Eagle-eyed viewers and fans were quick to note the 98th Academy Awards tribute didn’t include actors James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Robert Carradine, Malcolm Jamal Warner, Julian McMahon, George Wendt, June Lockhart, “Harold and Maude” star Bud Cort and Brigitte Bardot.

All are listed on the official Oscars website, among others who were left out. The site, which features “the artists and filmmakers we lost between the 2025 and 2026 Oscars,” lists around 300 names.

Assembling the segment involves deciding who gets placed in what order, choosing music and the graphic design of the names and titles, as well as where pauses are built in for the select giants of the film world.

It’s up to the academy to decide who is included, which often leads to outcries about who gets excluded.

Last year, Michelle Trachtenberg, who starred in “Harriet the Spy,” was one of the famous names excluded. Trachtenberg died days before the show at age 39. 

Among the cinema titans featured during Sunday’s longer-than-usual tribute, were Robert Duvall, Robert Redford, Diane Keaton and Rob Reiner.

Billy Crystal opened the in memoriam segment honoring his best friend, Rob Reiner.

At one point, a slew of actors with longstanding ties to Reiner — Meg Ryan, Kiefer Sutherland, Fred Savage, Demi Moore, John Cusack, Ione Skye and many others — came on stage for the tribute. It was reminiscent of how the Academy did the same for director John Hughes at the Oscars 16 years ago.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.