2023 Oscars In Memoriam: Watch This Year’s Hollywood Tribute at the Academy Awards

The 95th Academy Awards took place Sunday night in Los Angeles and while the Oscars saw the stars come together to celebrate the best in film from the previous year, it also saw the ceremony pay tribute to those we’ve lost in the past year as well. As is tradition for the awards ceremony, the Academy’s In Memoriam tribute honored many of the entertainers and those who help bring films to life that we’ve sadly said goodbye to. Since last year’s Oscars, we’ve lost many major names, including Olivia Newton John, Angela Lansbury, James Caan, Kirstie Alley, Ray Liotta, Irene Cara, Nichelle Nichols, Raquel Welch and many more.

This year’s tribute was opened by a introduction from John Travolta, followed by a  performance by singer and actor Lenny Kravitz of his song “Calling All Angels.” As is the case each year, only around 40 to 50 entertainment figures are remembered during the telecast with a more comprehensive list being honored on the Academy’s webpage during the evening. 

“In this industry, we have the rare luxury of getting to do what we love for a living and, sometimes, getting to do it with people that we come to love. And since tonight is a celebration of the work and accomplishments of our community in this past year, it is only fitting then that we celebrate those we’ve lost who’ve dedicated their lives to their craft, both in front of and behind the camera,” Travolta said. “Through their immeasurable contributions, each of them left an individual and indelible mark that shared and informed us. They’ve touched our hearts. They made us smile and became dear friends who we will always remain hopelessly devoted to.”

The In Memoriam segment of the Oscars has been a fixture of the Academy Awards ceremony since the 66th Academy Awards in 1994. The tribute was largely developed by producer Michael J. Shapiro who spoke about the way the tribute touches people with the Wall Street Journal last year.

“There were some people who said they cried when they looked at some of the images,” Shapiro said. “I love that I was able to touch somebody with images of people that we grew up with in darkened theaters.

He added, “I said, ‘It should be an affectionate goodbye to all of these people, and we should see them when they were at their very best.”

As was noted above, in addition to the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars telecast, you can also see the entire gallery of those lost since last year’s Oscars on the official site for The Academy.