Gene Hackman, Val Kilmer & More Snubbed in Emmys In Memoriam Led by Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson

Brittany Sims
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Gene Hackman and Val Kilmer Emmys 2025 In Memoriam
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Multiple celebrities were left out of the In Memoriam at the 2025 Emmy Awards, with Val Kilmer and Gene Hackman among the two biggest snubs of the night.

Phylicia Rashad honored Malcolm-Jamal Warner, with whom she was on The Cosby Show, before Lainey Wilson and Vince Gill paid tribute to the actors who died in 2025 with Gill’s song “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” which he wrote to honor his late brother. They were joined by a choir.

Others that were left out were Hulk Hogan, Polly Holiday, Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson, Squid Game actress Lee Joo-sil, Jeff Baena, Tony Todd, and Connie Francis.

The In Memoriam segment honored the celebrities who died over the past year, including those who passed away after last year’s Emmys on September 15.

The segment also honored Ozzy Osbourne, Michelle Trachtenberg, Maggie Smith, Quincy Jones, and more.

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Val Kilmer died on April 2 at the age of 65 from pneumonia caused by throat cancer.  Though best remembered for his film career, Kilmer also left his mark on television with appearances in The Choe Show, the Knight Rider reboot, and a memorable guest turn on Entourage, to name a few.

Gene Hackman was found dead with his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, in their Santa Fe, New Mexico, home, on February 26. He reportedly died of cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s as a factor, according to the chief medical examiner for the New Mexico Office of the Medical Investigator. Although mostly a film actor, Hackman starred in a few TV shows, including classics such as I, Spy and The Defenders.

However, celebrities that were not shown on TV were honored on the Emmys website in their full In Memoriam tribute.

Fans reacted to the snubs.

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  1. O

    OliveCactus

    Possible explanations are that Val Kilmer and Gene Hackman were clearly movie stars, not TV stars, and Hulk Hogan may not have been a member of the Television Academy. They should have updated their list to include Polly Holliday however.

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    1. G

      GoldBattery

      Polly Holliday just past so hopefully they will include her in next years list.

      1

  2. C

    CARL B in NYC

    Terrible In Memoriam for the Prime Time Emmys. Last week's IM for night 1 of the Craft Emmys was great: lovely orchestral music, no distracting singers, honoring many behind-the-scenes talents (if a few too many performers). Almost perfect. But tonight, we had really awful sound quality and the unnecessarily distracting singers who managed to steal time away from honoring folks like Gene Hackman and Val Kilmer. A real fail, the exact opposite of last Saturday. Sad and shameful.

    6

  3. P

    PurpleBlowdryer

    How can the weakest award show on TV (which truly don't represent all of television ) omit two of the most notable deaths!

    5

  4. G

    GreenLobster

    I was disappointed not to see Tony Todd. He had at least 60 diferent TV roles -- voice, guest, recurring, & main cast -- & nailed them. And that voice! It could resonate from three rooms away.

    2

  5. R

    RedButton

    they were not "snubbed" they were members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences NOT the Television Academy - talk about creating a controversy where there isn't one

    3 4

    1. G

      GreenLobster

      Excuse me, but yes they were. People can be both. Which is why Todd's obit/bio IS on the Academy's current Emmy website In Memoriam; it just got dumped from the onscreen In Memoriam. (I didn't check on Hogan's or anyone else's, but I expect they're there, too.) Todd's wife Fatima Cortez called the Academy out on the snub (so did Hogan's), & certainly she would know whether he was eligible or not. Even Variety included him in their top-3 snubs pix (Hogan & Holliday being the other 2, plus 6 others simply named). A little actual research goes a long way.

      2