Fans of Gene Hackman questioned why the actor was not among the celebrities honored during the “In Memoriam” segment at the 2026 Oscars.
During the “In Memoriam” segment at the 2026 Oscars, Gene Hackman was not listed among the celebrities honored, and some of the actor’s fans may have interpreted his absence as a slight by the Academy.
Hackman was nominated for the Academy Awards five times and won twice: Best Actor for his role in “The French Connection” as detective Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in 1971, and Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Sheriff “Little” Bill Daggett in “Unforgiven” in 1992.
According to a report by Entertainment Weekly, the actor’s absence from the list of artists who passed away last year was not an oversight. In fact, Hackman had already been included in the tributes during the 2025 ceremony.
The “Superman” actor died in February 2025, and the Academy Awards ceremony took place shortly afterward, in early March, when Morgan Freeman delivered a special tribute to Hackman, highlighting his legacy as one of Hollywood’s great actors.
“Well, this week our community lost a giant, and I lost a dear friend, Gene Hackman,” Freeman said emotionally while paying tribute to the actor. “I had the pleasure of working alongside Gene on two films: Unforgiven and Under Suspicion. And like everyone who ever shared a scene with him, I learned that he was a generous performer and a man whose talent elevated the work of everyone around him.”
Hackman passed away on February 18, 2025, at the age of 95, at his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico, from hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease listed as a contributing factor. His wife, Betsy Arakawa, died on February 11, 2025, from hantavirus, and the bodies of both were discovered on February 26, 2025.
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Images: reproduction Warner Bros., 20th Century-Fox. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
