The film academy’s executive director stated that actress Farrah Fawcett was excluded in the In Memoriam section of the Academy Awards because she was more popularly known as a TV star.
The committee which removed Fawcett from the segment had a hard time deciding, said Bruce Davis, executive director of Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science.
In a statement of Fawcett’s family, they said that they were really sad and “bereft with this exclusion of such an international icon who inspired so many for so many reasons”.
According to Davis, the committee also argued about the issue regarding Gene Barry, a TV star who died in December at the age of 90. The committee came up with a decision to omit both in the segment. He and his colleagues believed that though the two stars appeared in films, they were more popular for “remarkable television works” and it would be more appropriate to honour them at the Emmy Awards.
The committee “was kind of figuring that probably the Farrah Fawcett and Gene Barry omissions would be the ones we’d get the most comments on”, said Davis.
He said that “an unusual number of extremely distinguished screenwriters” who passed away this year. The academy honoured them in a brief memorial segment.
“In every category, you’re going to miss some wonderful people”, said the academy director, who has been part in assembling the Memorial montage of the Oscar since it started in 1993.
He also explained that Michael Jackson was included in the tribute since he was recently featured in a famous theatrical movie.
