Oscars 2020: The Academy Explains Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce's 'In Memoriam' Omissions

This year's Oscars In Memoriam segment featured 59 artists who have died over the past year, [...]

By Hannah Barnes

This year's Oscars In Memoriam segment featured 59 artists who have died over the past year, though there were a few glaring omissions that fans quickly noticed. Perhaps most notably, Luke Perry, who died in March 2019, was not included, despite his having worked on Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, which was nominated for several awards on Sunday including Best Picture. Disney Channel star Cameron Boyce, who died in July 2019, was also not included in the video tribute, nor was horror legend Sid Haig.

In a statement to CNN, the Academy said that it "receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment."

"An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time," the statement read. "All the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year. Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce are remembered in the Oscar.com gallery."

Perry, Boyce and others who were not featured in the tribute are present in the Oscars In Memoriam section on the show's website, which currently includes over 100 late artists.

During the In Memoriam segment, which saw Billie Eilish perform a cover of The Beatles' "Yesterday," fans were quick to notice the omissions and share their feelings on Twitter.

"Wait a minute? Let me see if I'm understanding this...the Oscars had a memoriam and somehow Luke Perry was excluded despite that he's in one of the nominated films?!" one person wrote.

"To not feature Luke Perry, given his last role was in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is appalling," another tweeted.

"Luke Perry wasn't in the In Memorial??" a third fan shared. "He was literally in one of the most nominated films of the night!! Disrespectful!!"

The In Memoriam segment included Kirk Douglas, who died just days before the Oscars at age 103, and Kobe Bryant, who died on Jan. 26.

"It's just sad. It's like, I don't know what else to say," Eilish told Entertainment Tonight of Bryant's death. "Every time, when we were in rehearsal and they run kind of what's going to be playing, every time I see his face, I'm like, 'What?' It's so weird. It doesn't make sense to me. I just got shivers, it's horrifying."

Photo Credit: Diyah Pera/The CW

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