Loni Anderson and Robert Carradine were also omitted from the segment, which featured emotional tributes to titans like Diane Keaton and Rob Reiner.

James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Brigitte Bardot, and more left out of Oscars ‘In Memoriam’

Loni Anderson and Robert Carradine were also omitted from the segment, which featured emotional tributes to titans like Diane Keaton and Rob Reiner.

By Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman

Ryan Coleman is a news writer for with previous work in MUBI Notebook, Slant, and the LA Review of Books.

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March 15, 2026 10:27 p.m. ET

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James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, Brigitte Bardot. Credit:

JC Olivera/Variety via Getty; Momodu Mansaray/Getty; Gilles BASSIGNAC/Gamma-Rapho via Getty

- The "In Memoriam" segment during Sunday's Oscars ceremony left out several famous names, including James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, and Brigitte Bardot.

- The segment paid solemn tribute to several other beloved figures who passed in 2025, including Diane Keaton, Robert Redford, and Rob Reiner.

- The omissions come a year after the Academy was criticized for leaving figures like Shannen Doherty and Michelle Trachtenberg off 2025's "In Memoriam."

James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane, and Brigitte Bardot** **were just a few of the famous faces left out of the "In Memoriam" segment during Sunday's Oscars ceremony.

The emotional tribute paid homage to some of the most heart-rending high-profile deaths of the past year, including Diane Keaton, Robert Redford, and Rob Reiner, each of whom received their own dedicated homage.

But Van Der Beek, Dane, and Bardot weren't the only stars who died since last year's Oscars, yet were left out of the 2026 "In Memoriam."

Rachel McAdams honoring Diane Keaton during the 2026 Oscars.

Kevin Winter/Getty

*WKRP in Cincinnati *star Loni Anderson, *The Brood*'s Samantha Eggar, prolific actor and Carradine dynasty member Robert Carradine, *The Thorn Birds *heartthrob Richard Chamberlain, funny girl Polly Holliday, *Charmed *actor Julian McMahon, and acclaimed filmmakers Tom Noonan and Peter Watkins were also left out of the segment.

Several of the glaring omissions were far better known for their TV work, including Van Der Beek, Dane, Anderson, McMahon, as well as *Cosby Show *star Malcolm-Jamal Warner and *Cheers*' George Wendt. But each of them had robust film careers as well, from Van Der Beek's memorable turn on *Varsity Blues*, to Anderson's role in *A Night at the Roxbury*, to Wendt's comedic performances in films like *Airplane *and *The Little Rascals*.

And that's not all. More names left out of this year's "In Memoriam" include James Ransone, Émilie Dequenne, Henry Jaglom, Harris Yulin, Loretta Swit, Mike De Leon, Rebekah Del Rio, James Foley, Michael Roemer, Ananda Lewis, Priscilla Pointer, Lynn Hamilton, John Eimen, Amos Poe, Danielle Spencer, Hulk Hogan, and Ken Jacobs.

Most of these names were included in the "In Memoriam" list published online by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Oscars 'In Memoriam' segment omits Michelle Trachtenberg, Shannen Doherty

Remembering the stars who died in 2025

In the Academy's defense, 2025 and the early part of 2026 saw a remarkable number of well-known, well-loved celebrities leave us.

Beyond Keaton, Reiner, and Redford, show business lost titanic figures such as Diane Ladd, Graham Greene, Val Kilmer, Terence Stamp, Claudia Cardinale, Béla Tarr, Peter Kwong, Udo Kier, Frederick Wiseman, and Mohammad Bakri, all of whom were included in Sunday's tribute.

Though they may have appeared to be left out, figures like Jeff Baena, David Lynch, Joan Plowright, and Souleymane Cissé, were included in the 2025 "In Memoriam" list, as they died in the early months of the year leading up to the ceremony.

Rob Reiner's assembled friends and collaborators during the 2026 Oscars 'In Memoriam' segment.

Rich Polk/Penske Media via Getty

However, last year's segment also drew ire for leaving out many others.

Michelle Trachtenberg, Shannen Doherty, and Marianne Faithfull were among the high-profile names omitted from 2025's selection. Other stars, like Tony Todd, Olivia Hussey, Eleanor Coppola, Barbara Rush, and Martin Mull, were included in an online list published by the Academy but left out of the segment broadcast during the ceremony.

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During a press conference attended by * *on March 8, Oscars telecast executive producers Katy Mullan and Raj Kapoor spoke about the challenges of curating a fitting "In Memoriam" segment for a "really, really tough year" in celebrity deaths.

"We've lost a huge amount of people this year who are so meaningful to so many in the film community," Mullan said. "It continues to change right up until rehearsal, because we want [strike] the balance just right."

Kapoor added that "it's a really hard job, and we collaborate with the Academy and really want to do our very best to create a moment that really celebrates those artists that are no longer there."

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