Celebrities Missing From The 2026 Oscars In Memoriam Segment

Every year, the Oscars tries to honor the fallen members of the Academy with an in memoriam segment. Sometimes this goes swimmingly, and the most memorable figures who passed over the previous 12 months get their flowers. But more often than not — either because they died at an awkward point in the year, or because their family didn't want them included, or simply due to omission — some major faces end up excluded from the final production. 

This year, while audiences were treated to beautiful tributes to Rob Reiner and Catherine O'Hara, among other recently deceased luminaries, a surprising number of big names didn't make it. One of the most shocking missing faces belonged to the iconic French actress Brigitte Bardot, who passed away in December 2025. The Academy also managed to skip Bud Cort, of "Harold and Maude" and "Brewster McCloud" fame, who passed away in February 2026. Additionally, the Academy missed noting the recently deceased Robert Carradine, star of "Revenge of the Nerds" and "Lizzie McGuire." 

It's stunning that these folks were left out in the cold by the Academy during this year's televised tribute — but they were just some of the names that were omitted. 

Among the many snubbed by the Academy's onscreen In Memoriam tribute were a slate of actors who may be better known for their television roles but still made an impact on the big screen: James Van Der Beek — who headed "Dawson's Creek" but was also the star of films like "Varsity Blues"; Eric Dane, who appeared in "X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Burlesque" as well as "Grey's Anatomy"; Malcolm Jamal Warner, of "The Cosby Show" and "Malcolm and Eddie," along with "Fool's Gold"; Loretta Switt — of both "M*A*S*H" and "S.O.B"; Loni Anderson, of "WKRP In Cincinnati" but also "Stoker Ace"; June Lockhart, mom to "Lassie" and the Robinson family in "Lost in Space," and also the star of multiple old Hollywood films like "Meet me In St. Louis"; Anthony Geary, who appeared in Weird Al's cult film "UHF" as well as putting in decades of work on "General Hospital"; and Julian McMahon, of the "Fantastic Four" series as well as "Charmed" and "Nip/Tuck." 

Though they might be better known for appearing in B films or movies that weren't critically adored, "Rocky III" movie actor Hulk Hogan and "Walking Tall" king Joe Don Baker were undeniably movie stars who should have merited a nod. Additionally, a major contributor to the work of Quentin Tarantino — Peter Greene, who infamously played the Gimp in "Pulp Fiction" — wasn't brought up, either. Marianne Faithfull and Bob Uecker might have been better known in other fields — music and baseball — but they still had memorable film moments: Ueker in the "Major League" series of films and Faithfull in "The Girl on the Motorcycle" and "Marie Antoinette." Additionally, James Ransone and Wings Hauser put in memorable performances in genre pictures, but they also weren't listed in the In Memoriam segment.

Despite all of these omissions, these performers will be deeply missed by Hollywood and those who loved them most.