The Academy Explains Why Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce Weren't Included in Oscars In Memoriam

Update 2/11/20: The Film Academy has finally released a statement acknowledging the oversight in leaving Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce out of this year's In Memoriam segment. "The Academy receives hundreds of requests to include loved ones and industry colleagues in the Oscars In Memoriam segment. An executive committee representing every branch considers the list and makes selections for the telecast based on limited available time," the Academy explained, per The Hollywood Reporter. "All the submissions are included on Oscar.com and will remain on the site throughout the year. Luke Perry and Cameron Boyce are remembered in the Oscar.com gallery."

Previously 2/10/20: Every year, we watch the Oscars In Memoriam with tears in our eyes, but this year, we found ourselves scanning the screen for a name that didn't ever appear. In an oversight that's sure to provoke a lot of strong feelings, Luke Perry was left out of this year's Academy Awards In Memoriam package. It would have been a glaring enough omission based on Perry's prominence in Hollywood, but it was made even more egregious by the fact that Perry was actually in one of the films in contention for Best Picture, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. He had a cameo appearance as Wayne Maunder, a real-life Western actor who starred on the TV series Lancer, on which Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton guest-stars in the movie. Maunder died Nov. 11, 2018, a few months before Perry.

Perry died on March 4, 2019, at the age of 52, after suffering a stroke the week before. Perry was best known for his role as Dylan McKay in Beverly Hills, 90210, and most recently for his role as Fred Andrews on The CW's Riverdale. Also known for his work in the film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and appearances on Oz and Body of Proof, Perry was an indisputable staple of the Hollywood community, and his exclusion feels like a massive mistake.

Billie Eilish performed a cover of The Beatles' "Yesterday" for the In Memoriam, which mourned major deaths in the community like Kobe Bryant, Kirk Douglas, and many more. Cameron Boyce, a young Disney star who passed away last year, was also left off the list.

The full list of those honored can be found below:

Kobe Bryant
Rip Torn
Barbara Hammer
Patricia Blau
Bernie Pollack
Steve Golin
Paul LeBlanc
John Briley
Diahann Caroll
Terry Jones
Catherine Burns
Agnès Varda
Wayne Fitzgerald
David Foster
Danny Aiello
Buck Henry
Stanley Donen
David V. Picker
Barry Malkin
Robert Forster
Robert Evans
Richard Williams
Machiko Kyō
James R. Alexander
Anna Karina
D. A. Pennebaker
Leonard Goldberg
Fernando Luján
André Previn
Peter Mayhew
Sylvia Miles
William J. Creber
Godfrey Gao
Bibi Andersson
Michael Lynne
Gene Warren Jr.
Alvin Sargent
Doris Day
Anna Udvardy
Sid Ramin
Michelle Guish
Sidney Sheinberg
Ben Barenholtz
Joss Williams
Piero Tosi
Kenneth Walker
Rutger Hauer
Syd Mead
Harriet Frank Jr.
Franco Zeffirelli
John Witherspoon
Bernard Chevry
Seymour Cassel
Peter Fonda
Branko Lustig
Gerry Smith
John Singleton
Kirk Douglas