Matthew Perry, Dame Angela Lansbury and Barbara Walters among stars honoured during Emmy Awards In Memoriam
Matthew Perry, Dame Angela Lansbury and Barbara Walters among stars honoured during Emmy Awards In Memoriam
Matthew Perry, Dame Angela Lansbury and Barbara Walters were among the stars honoured during the In Memoriam segment at the Emmy Awards.
The annual ceremony paid a heartfelt tribute to the entertainers and TV creators who had passed away over the last year during the emotional segment at Monday’s (15.01.24) event.
The segment was introduced by ‘All in the Family’ stars Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, who stood in a replica of their TV living room as they paid tribute to pioneering producer Norman Lear, who created their show and others including ‘All in the Family’, ‘Sanford and Son’, ‘One Day at a Time’, ‘The Jeffersons’, ‘Good Times’.
Reflecting on the legacy of Norman – who died on 5 December aged 101 – Rob said: “Sally and I were part of a unique television family.
“We were part of a very unique family, and not just the Bunkers, but Norman Lear’s extended family. Over the decades, Norman brought us together, and he created groundbreaking television shows that depicted real people, made us laugh, made us think, made us feel.
“There’s a Yiddish word that describes Norman’s genius; it’s kochleffel.
“For all you non-Jews out there, a kochleffel is a ladle, a ladle that stirs the pot. And when Norman, the kochleffel, stirred that pot, he wound up changing American culture.”
The pair then introduced Charlie Puth and duo The War and Treaty, who performed ‘See You Again’ during a montage of clips of those who had died.
A particularly moving moment came when the musicians transitioned into singing ‘I’ll Be There for You’, the theme tune from ‘Friends’ when Matthew – who died in October aged 54 – appeared on the screen.
Other stars honoured during the segment included ‘Euphoria’ actor Angus Cloud, ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’ star Andre Braugher, ‘Three’s Company’ actress Suzanne Summers, Paul Reubens aka Pee Wee Herman, Cindy Williams and comedian Tom Smothers.
The ceremony acknowledged they were unable to feature everyone who had died over the last year due to time constraints, but they maintain an extensive In Memoriam segment on their website.