The Academy Awards aired live on ABC on Sunday night, and as is the case every year, the In Memoriam segment seemed to leave out some key names that drew criticism from viewers. Fans were quick to notice that this year's version left out several surprising names like Anne Heche, Leslie Jordan, Tony Cirico, and Tom Sizemore. Even Charlbi Dean Kriek, who died last year at the young age of 32, wasn't included in the segment, despite appearing in a main role in Triangle of Sadness, one of the night's Best Picture nominees.
Actor Robert Blake was also totally absent from the In Memoriam segment. The Baretta star had died just days before the Oscars, though it could be said that his omission was a little less surprising than some of the others. That's due to the controversial actor's acquittal for the 2001 murder of his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley. Though he was acquitted, the trial tarnished his reputation and Blake's career as an actor was effectively over from that point on.
In any case, Blake's son, Noah Blake, shared his opinion on the Oscars snubbing his father from the In Memoriam portion of the show. He had some heavy criticism for the segment, suggesting it was "handled poorly" all the way around. He says that not only includes the absence of his dad, but many other deserving names as well. Concerning the possibility that Blake's legal battle had kept him out of the segment, Noah Blake says that all that should matter is the contributions given to the industry by the individual. As he tells TMZ:
"I think it was just handled poorly, all the way around. I think the whole In Memoriam was just botched and bungled really, really badly, and not just from the standpoint of my father, but certainly from the standpoint of my father, but there were a lot of other people who contributed a lot of their lives to motion pictures who were left out of that list, and it's just entirely wrong. People are entitled to their opinions about my father or anybody else, but your opinion about someone personally really should be independent from the work that they do. I know it's not always easy to separate that, I just thought it was just handled badly."
Jimmy Kimmel's Joke About Robert Blake Didn't Land, Noah Blake Says
Robert Blake didn't have his name come up during the In Memoriam segment, but he did in fact get a mention shortly before it started. Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel joked about the segment, suggesting that viewers should get out their phones to vote if they think Robert Blake should be included in the memorial by texting "GIMME-A-Blake" to the number on the screen, or "any number." Noah Blake also commented on this joke, which he found to be unfunny and tasteless.
"If they don't want to put him in for whatever reason, they don't want to put him in. I thought that the joke that Kimmel made was, A, not funny, and I would imagine that Jimmy would probably be the first to admit that. It landed like a thud. It was kind of confusing. I mean, when I saw it, I was like, 'Are they really doing this? Is there gonna be a phone number to vote on this?' Confusion doesn't lend itself well to comedy. I think Jimmy is a really funny guy, I like Jimmy Kimmel, he didn't even seem to be comfortable telling that joke, and it just seemed really weird."
Concerning the In Memoriam, perhaps the Oscars will get it right next year.