Chuck Norris, ‘Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s Nicholas Brendon Among Those Skipped By Emmys In Memoriam

While Monday night’s Emmy Awards show remembered Dolly Parton, Rob Reiner, Catherine O’Hara and other industry figures who have recently died, there were some notable omissions.

Chuck Norris, who died last March after a career that included eight seasons fronting the CBS series Walker, Texas Ranger, was one familiar name skipped by the commemoration. Also missing were Buffy the Vampire Slayer star Nicholas Brendon and Patrick Muldoon, who had roles on Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place.

Daveigh Chase, whose TV credits included the Disney Channel series adaptation of Lilo & Stitch along with HBO’s Big Love, also was not mentioned. Jaye P. Morgan, who appeared on The Gong Show, and voice actors Peter Cullen and Tom Kane were likewise omitted from the broadcast.

While Brendon was not singled out by name, he was alluded to by Buffy co-stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz during a different moment in the show. “It has been a tough two years for our beloved cast and crew, and we feel very lucky to have known and worked with such amazing people,” Gellar said. Along with Brendon, Anthony Head and Michelle Trachtenberg have died over the past two years.

The in memoriam dimension of the Emmys resonated this year along with the stand-alone remembrance of Parton. Sally Field and Reba McEntire spoke about and lifted a song to their friend and collaborator, respectively. Parton died at the end of August. The primary segment was marked by the raw emotion shown by Jamie Lee Curtis in her tribute to Reiner, as well as Macaulay Culkin, who remembered O’Hara. Culkin was accompanied by O’Hara’s Schitt’s Creek co-stars Annie Murphy and Dan Levy.

In past years, omissions of people from the in memoriam package have stirred up outrage on social media, but this year’s response was muted, with a handful of media outlets the main scorekeepers.

The Television Academy annually has to make decisions about who appears in the televised in memoriam segment. The organization publishes a more comprehensive roster on its website, including names included on air along with those who were not included.