Following the 97th Academy Awards’ sombre ‘In Memoriam’ segment that pays tribute to the talented creatives we lost in the last year, the noticeable exclusion of the late Michelle Trachtenberg has been described as a “shameful” and “upsetting” move.
The actress, 39, was found unresponsive at her New York City home last week on February 26, with the death not believed to be suspicious.
Trachtenberg rose to fame as a child star in Harriet the Spy and went on to hold a nearly three-decade-long career, including prominent TV roles in Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Gossip Girl and numerous big-screen appearances like Ice Princess, EuroTrip, and 17 Again.
However, she wasn’t seen in the Oscars’ video tribute at the ceremony on Monday, instead copping a mention in the list on the official Academy website.
A number of other actors, such as Tony Todd, Chance Perdemo, Shannen Doherty, Tony Roberts, Linda Lavin, Alain Delon, and documentary filmmaker Morgan Spurlock, were also omitted from the montage, as reported by Variety.
The decision to exclude Trachtenberg has left fans understandably upset, especially given the fact she was a child star who grew up in the industry.
Who decides the segment?
Amid the backlash, it’s interesting to learn the responsibility for selecting the names for the four-minute montage falls to an executive committee representing all 19 Academy branches, rather than the Oscars’ executive producers as you might believe.
With this, there often isn’t enough time to include everyone with an IMDb credit, per The Hollywood Reporter.
“We have to recognize all the art forms that go into the creation of motion pictures,” former Academy executive director Bruce Davis, who has helped run past committees, told the publication. “And if you include all the people, the steam goes out of the boiler very quickly.”
A source close to the Academy suggested previous Oscar winners and Governors Award honorees hold the most promising chance to make the cut for the montage, followed by recipients of the Academy’s Scientific and Technical Awards, and in this scenario, unfortunately Trachtenberg was not an Oscar nominee in her career.
Michelle Trachtenberg and co-star Hayden Panattiere in ‘The Ice Princess’. (Source: Rafy / IMDb)
Paying tribute
Meanwhile, the tribute included a number of prominent names who passed away in the last year, such as David Lynch, Maggie Smith, James Earl Jones, and Jeff Baena.
Gene Hackman — who was found dead with his wife last week — was remembered with a tribute from Morgan Freeman, who worked with the previous Oscar winner on Unforgiven and Under Suspicion.
The late Quincy Jones also got his own separate Oscars tribute later in the show.
As with every year’s tribute segment, it’s always sobering to see the lives we lost — and, as pointed out by numerous fans and critics over the years, the tendency to overlook individuals’ lasting impact, even if they may not have received formal recognition from the Academy.
Lead image: Getty Images
