Anne Heche, Tom Sizemore, Paul Sorvino and Leslie Jordan among stars omitted from Oscars in memoriam tribute
John Travolta was on hand to introduce the in memoriam segment at Sunday's Oscars, giving a sweet call out to his late Grease co-star Olivia Newton-John before Lenny Kravitz performed his song "Calling All Angels." But it's the actors and filmmakers who didn't make it into the TV tribute that got even more notice — and this year the biggest omissions included Anne Heche, Tom Sizemore, Paul Sorvino, Leslie Jordan and Charlbi Dean.
John Travolta introduces this year’s “In Memoriam” segment: “They’ve touched our hearts. They made us smile and became dear friends who we will always remain ‘hopelessly devoted to.’”#Oscars#Oscars95https://t.co/OizA2V1EIT pic.twitter.com/GuoCb7cSrP
— ABC News (@ABC) March 13, 2023
Triangle of Sadness star Dean was the most notable as her film was up for multiple nominations, including Best Picture. The South African actor and model died in August from bacterial sepsis at the age of 32.
Heche, who starred in Six Days, Seven Nights and Donnie Brasco, died the same month from inhalation and thermal injuries after she crashed her car into a house in Los Angeles.
Goodfellas actor Sorvino, who died in July at 83, may not have been remembered during the show, but his Academy Award-winning daughter Mira made sure he wasn't forgotten. After he was snubbed on TV, she shared a tribute on social media. She also wrote, "It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out. The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!!"
I for one am remembering Dad on this Oscars night… https://t.co/h7rZ0994HN
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) March 13, 2023
It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out. The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!! https://t.co/dbgcfb1qy3 via @forthewin
— Mira Sorvino (@MiraSorvino) March 13, 2023
The Help and Sordid Lives actor Jordan, who died in a car crash in October at age 67, and Fiddler on the Roof star Chaim Topol, who died March 8 at 87, were also left out. So was Saving Private Ryan actor Sizemore, who died March 3 at age 61 after suffering a brain aneurysm.
Lost Highway and In Cold Blood actor Robert Blake, who died March 9 at age 89, was also left out. But viewers got a sense that would happen when, ahead of the segment, host Jimmy Kimmel jokingly asked the audience at the Dolby Theatre whether they thought Blake — who went on trial for the murder of his wife Bonnie Lee Bakely in 2001 and was acquitted — should be included.
Quipping that there was a new "interactive part of the show," Kimmel urged the audience, "Everybody please get out your phones, even at home, it's time to vote. If you think Robert Blake should be part of the in memoriam montage, text 'GIMME-A-Blake' to the number on your screen, or to any number."
Others also not included were Gilbert Gottfried, Estelle Harris and Lisa Marie Presley.
It should be noted, however, that many of those left out of the televised tribute — including Sorvino, Heche, Sizemore and Dean — are included in the Oscar's larger online in-memoriam gallery.
Among the stars who were included in the tribute were Raquel Welch, Kirstie Alley, James Caan, Ray Liotta, Angela Lansbury, Irene Cara and composer Burt Bacharach.
Travolta introduced the segment and got emotional as he referenced his late co-star and friend Newton-John, who died of metastatic breast cancer in August.
"They've touched our hearts. They've made us smile, and became dear friends who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to," Travolta said, barely being able to get out the last few words. "Hopelessly Devoted To You," of course, is a song Newton-John's Sandy sang about Travolta's Danny in the 1978 film.