Fun
Frisky
Nostalgic
Intense
Adventurous
Choked Up
Curious
Romantic
WeirdOscars In Memoriam 2017: Which Dead Celebrity Will Anchor Hollywood’s Most Prestigious Montage?
By Mark Graham
@unclegrambo
Published
Feb. 26, 2017, 8:45 p.m. ET
1 of
14
A lot of famous people died last year. Who will Hollywood deign as the most important death of them all?
2 of
14
NAME: Garry Shandling
AGE: 66
DATE: March 24, 2016
Shandling was a beloved comedian, but he was primarily a TV star. The anchor slot is for movie stars. NEXT!
AGE: 66
DATE: March 24, 2016
Shandling was a beloved comedian, but he was primarily a TV star. The anchor slot is for movie stars. NEXT!
Photo: Everett Collection
3 of
14
NAME: Prince
AGE: 57
DATE: April 21, 2016
It's hard to find someone who was more beloved than one Prince Rogers Nelson. Prince made one great movie (Purple Rain) and a few, um, not so good ones. We all miss Prince, but he's not anchor-worthy.
AGE: 57
DATE: April 21, 2016
It's hard to find someone who was more beloved than one Prince Rogers Nelson. Prince made one great movie (Purple Rain) and a few, um, not so good ones. We all miss Prince, but he's not anchor-worthy.
Photo: Everett Collection
4 of
14
NAME: Muhammad Ali
AGE: 74
DATE: June 3, 2016
In life, he floated like a butterfly. In the In Memoriam montage, however, he'll float to the top, not the anchor position. Sorry, champ!
AGE: 74
DATE: June 3, 2016
In life, he floated like a butterfly. In the In Memoriam montage, however, he'll float to the top, not the anchor position. Sorry, champ!
Photo: Everett Collection
5 of
14
NAME: Ron Lester
AGE: 45
DATE: June 17, 2016
You remember Ron Lester as Billy Bob from Varsity Blues. And that's about it. Not anchor worthy!
AGE: 45
DATE: June 17, 2016
You remember Ron Lester as Billy Bob from Varsity Blues. And that's about it. Not anchor worthy!
Photo: Everett Collection
6 of
14
NAME: Anton Yelchin
AGE: 27
DATE: June 19, 2016
Anton Yelchin was one of Hollywood's brightest stars, but dying at 27 means that he didn't build enough of a body of work to get the pole position.
AGE: 27
DATE: June 19, 2016
Anton Yelchin was one of Hollywood's brightest stars, but dying at 27 means that he didn't build enough of a body of work to get the pole position.
Photo: Everett Collection
7 of
14
NAME: Garry Marshall
AGE: 81
DATE: July 19, 2016
Garry Marshall made A LOT of people A LOT of money in Hollywood over the years. That counts for a lot! However, he didn't make prestige films and also spent a lot of time dabbling in television; these two factors all but ruin his chances to bat cleanup in the In Memoriam montage.
AGE: 81
DATE: July 19, 2016
Garry Marshall made A LOT of people A LOT of money in Hollywood over the years. That counts for a lot! However, he didn't make prestige films and also spent a lot of time dabbling in television; these two factors all but ruin his chances to bat cleanup in the In Memoriam montage.
Photo: Everett Collection
8 of
14
NAME: Bill Nunn
AGE: 63
DATE: September 24, 2016
RADIO RAHEEM! Bill Nunn's most famous role was in Do The Right Thing, a role in which he was largely silent. He never got an Oscar nom, though, which means that someone else will close out the In Memoriam montage.
AGE: 63
DATE: September 24, 2016
RADIO RAHEEM! Bill Nunn's most famous role was in Do The Right Thing, a role in which he was largely silent. He never got an Oscar nom, though, which means that someone else will close out the In Memoriam montage.
Photo: Everett Collection
9 of
14
NAME: Miguel Ferrer
AGE: 61
DATE: January 19, 2017
Miguel Ferrer is Hollywood royalty; his dad, Jose, won a Best Actor Oscar in 1951, and his mom was Rosemary Clooney, one of the biggest stars of her era. As much as Ferrer was respected in town, though, his career never quite hit the stratospheric heights that his father's did. Next!
AGE: 61
DATE: January 19, 2017
Miguel Ferrer is Hollywood royalty; his dad, Jose, won a Best Actor Oscar in 1951, and his mom was Rosemary Clooney, one of the biggest stars of her era. As much as Ferrer was respected in town, though, his career never quite hit the stratospheric heights that his father's did. Next!
Photo: Everett Collection
10 of
14
NAME: John Hurt
AGE: 77
DATE: January 25, 2017
Oscar nominated? Check. British? Check. Star of some hugely popular movies? Yes. All of these signs are positive for Hurt, but alas, no Oscar wins will come back to haunt his chances at leading the montage.
AGE: 77
DATE: January 25, 2017
Oscar nominated? Check. British? Check. Star of some hugely popular movies? Yes. All of these signs are positive for Hurt, but alas, no Oscar wins will come back to haunt his chances at leading the montage.
Photo: Everett Collection
11 of
14
NAME: Bill Paxton
AGE: 61
DATE: February 25, 2017
NOOOOOOOO! This one is so fresh! He just died TODAY, fer Chrissakes. We haven't even had time to grieve. Just as importantly, the editors of the In Memoriam montage almost certainly didn't have time to add him to the mix.
AGE: 61
DATE: February 25, 2017
NOOOOOOOO! This one is so fresh! He just died TODAY, fer Chrissakes. We haven't even had time to grieve. Just as importantly, the editors of the In Memoriam montage almost certainly didn't have time to add him to the mix.
Photo: Everett Collection
12 of
14
NAME: Michael Cimino
AGE: 7
DATE: July 2, 2016
Michael Cimino won not one but TWO Oscars in 1979 for his masterpiece, The Deer Hunter. Hollywood LOVES to honor their own Oscar winners during the In Memoriam montage. That said, his next film, 1980's Heaven's Gate, was one of Hollywood's biggest flops and nearly ruined a studio. Winning is great but losing is worse. Sorry, Michael.
AGE: 7
DATE: July 2, 2016
Michael Cimino won not one but TWO Oscars in 1979 for his masterpiece, The Deer Hunter. Hollywood LOVES to honor their own Oscar winners during the In Memoriam montage. That said, his next film, 1980's Heaven's Gate, was one of Hollywood's biggest flops and nearly ruined a studio. Winning is great but losing is worse. Sorry, Michael.
Photo: Everett Collection
13 of
14
NAME: Gene Wilder
AGE: 83
DATE: August 29, 2016.
Gene Wilder was about as god damn beloved as they got. He was a massive box office star AND he was critically acclaimed --he got Oscar noms both as a writer (Young Frankenstein) and as an actor (The Producers). In any other year, Wilder might have had the goods to be the anchor. This year, though, it's just not his turn...
AGE: 83
DATE: August 29, 2016.
Gene Wilder was about as god damn beloved as they got. He was a massive box office star AND he was critically acclaimed --he got Oscar noms both as a writer (Young Frankenstein) and as an actor (The Producers). In any other year, Wilder might have had the goods to be the anchor. This year, though, it's just not his turn...
Photo: Everett Collection
14 of
14
NAME: Carrie Fisher
AGE: 60
DATE: December 27, 2016
--AND--
NAME: Debbie Reynolds
AGE: 84
DATE: December 28, 2016
You couldn't have scripted this any better. When Carrie Fisher died two days after Christmas, the entire world mourned her loss. BUT THEN, like something out of an In Memoriam editor's fever dream, her MOM, Debbie Reynolds, up and died THE VERY NEXT GOD DAMN DAY. This mother/daughter duo were Hollywood royalty, massively popular with the common people, and were super beloved by the Hollywood creative community. That's why we think that they BOTH will share the anchor spot in this year's Oscars In Memoriam montage.
AGE: 60
DATE: December 27, 2016
--AND--
NAME: Debbie Reynolds
AGE: 84
DATE: December 28, 2016
You couldn't have scripted this any better. When Carrie Fisher died two days after Christmas, the entire world mourned her loss. BUT THEN, like something out of an In Memoriam editor's fever dream, her MOM, Debbie Reynolds, up and died THE VERY NEXT GOD DAMN DAY. This mother/daughter duo were Hollywood royalty, massively popular with the common people, and were super beloved by the Hollywood creative community. That's why we think that they BOTH will share the anchor spot in this year's Oscars In Memoriam montage.
