The absence of Farrah Fawcett from the traditional “in memoriam” segment of the Academy Awards broadcast Sunday was causing some to scratch their heads.
Fawcett, who died in June at the age of 62, was notably left out of the tribute, which was accompanied by James Taylor singing The Beatles’ “In My Life.”
Fawcett was predominantly a TV actress and starred in “Charlie’s Angels” and numerous made-for-TV movies. But she also appeared in theatrically released films, including 1976’s “Logan’s Run,” 1986’s “Extremities,” 1997’s “The Apostle” and 2000’s “Dr. T and the Women.”
There are often quibbles with the selections for the Oscar memoriam, but Fawcett’s credits — and her notoriety — would seem to qualify her for the tribute. The montage also included Michael Jackson, whose predominant medium certainly wasn’t theatrically released movies.
Film critic Roger Ebert was among those who questioned Fawcett’s absence on Twitter. Ebert called it a “major fail” and wrote, “They have a whole lot of ’splaining to do.”
Said Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences spokeswoman Leslie Unger, “Every year it’s an unfortunate reality that we can’t include everybody.”