Where was Harlan Ellison, his fans wanted to know after watching last night’s Academy Awards “In Memoriam” segment. Ellison biographer Nat Segaloff says, “We tried. We sent AMPAS information and color photos months ago. Who knows why.”
As usual, who got left out is generating infinitely more discussion than who got included – although Marvel’s Stan Lee, Superman actress Margot Kidder, and The Princess Bride author and screenwriter William Goldman all made it in.
This year the names surfacing in the annual kerfuffle include a bumper crop of sff notables, as shown in the Huffington Post’s story “Oscars Viewers Notice Baffling Omissions From ‘In Memoriam’ Segment”.
…Gary Kurtz, who produced “American Graffiti” and “Star Wars,” got no mention.
Also overlooked were Aretha Franklin, actress Julie Adams, actor R. Lee Ermey, “Spongebob Squarepants” creator Stephen Hillenburg, actor John Mahoney, actor Al Matthews, actor Dick Miller, comedian Brody Stevens and actor Verne Troyer. And there are likely others who were omitted as well….
Gary Kurtz
Julie Adams
Julie Adams had a wide-ranging acting career, however, her most iconic role was in Creature from the Black Lagoon.
Dick Miller
Dick Miller had roles in a large number of Roger Corman sff/horror movies, including Not of This Earth, A Bucket of Blood, and The Little Shop of Horrors. He also appeared in Twilight Zone: The Movie, and The Howling. And in The Terminator he was the pawn shop owner blown away by Arnold Schwarzenegger after selling him a gun.
Al Matthews
Al Matthews played Sgt Apone in Aliens
Vern Troyer
He is well-remembered as “Mini-Me” from the Austin Powers movies.
[Thanks to Steve Davidson for the story.]
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I’ll always remember R. Lee Ermey in Full Metal Jacket.
Gary Kurtz didn’t get much media notice when he died. (I was surprised that SFGate didn’t pick up on it.)
Dick Miller was recent enough that I wonder if he’ll wind up in next year’s “In memoriam” segment
@Ray Radlein: Bruno Ganz died two weeks after Dick Miller but still made the cut, so it’s doubtful.
How far beyond film the in-memoriam reach? if it concentrated on the Oscars’ domain, I can vaguely see leaving out Ellison, who got 4 Writer’s Guild awards for TV scripts but had less visible impact on film. He did get a Saturn for A Boy and His Dog, but I wonder how many Oscar organizers even know what the Saturns are. Similarly, Aretha Franklin was a great performer but her IMDB entry lists mostly TV.
At least one of Harlan Ellison’s credits should have put him on the Academy’s radar — he was one of the screenwriters who wrote the 1966 film The Oscar.
Pingback: Ellison Among SFF Figures in Academy Website’s Oscars In Memoriam 2019 Photos | File 770
@Joshua K.:
Do YOU want to deal with an irate Harlan zombie/ghost/vengeful spirit?