Emmy Producers Defend In Memoriam Changes

Emmy producers have defended the changes made to this year’s In Memoriam segment of the awards ceremony.

This year’s Emmy awards took a very different approach to the In Memoriam segment with clips of actors/actresses who have died in the past year replaced with five separate segments that singled out actors, such as Glee‘s Cory Monteith, who have passed away in the last year.

The five segments – remembering the actors James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters, Gary David Goldberg and Cory Monteith – were sprinkled throughout the Emmy ceremony and featured cast members/crew members paying tribute to them. At the end of the night other actors who had passed away were featured in a special video montage containing black and white photos.

The decision to change the In Memorial segment has caused some debate and producers of the Emmy’s have defended the change. Ken Ehrlich, speaking to the TV Guide Magazine, explained the reason for the change. “I felt it was more important to focus in on the faces of the people that were talking about them, because of their personal relationships, and allow them to speak. We’ve all seen clips of All in the Family or Tony Soprano. What we haven’t seen is Edie Falco or Robin Williams or Michael J. Fox talking about people they really loved.”

The producers words will probably do little to soothe those viewers left angry by the changes. Dallas fans have been particularly vocal in their outrage that actor Larry Hagman – who played the iconic dastardly villain J.R Ewing in the oil and scandal drama – was not given a full tribute at the Emmys.

Related Link: CONTROVERSY OVER EMMY AWARDS ‘TRIBUTES’
Related Link: EMMYS 2013: THE TOP WINNERS
Related Link: EMMYS 2013: THE LGBT VIEW