In Memoriam Oscars 2021: directors, actors and writers who died in 2020
The Academy Awards are not just for celebrating outstanding films of the last year. The ceremony will also pay tribute to AMPAS members who have passed away recently.
Some of the biggest names in show business will be gathered in Los Angeles on Sunday evening to mark the 93rd Academy Awards. The most illustrious prizes in the movie industry will be dished out for 2020’s best films, but the ceremony also holds a more sombre purpose.
The Oscars are produced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), the organisation which brings together professionals of the motion picture industry. The agency was estimated to include 9,921 professionals, as of April 2020, with a membership from all around the world.
The Oscars' award ceremonies include an In Memoriam segment where those gathered pay their respects to members of the Agency who have died in the past year. The first such event came in 1978, to mark the 50th edition of the Academy Awards, but it wasn’t until 1994 that it become a regular feature.
Former winners will be celebrated in Oscars 2021: In Memoriam
Given the enormous scope of AMPAS it is no surprise to see many legends of the silver screen included in this year’s In Memoriam segment. One of the most striking deaths of the last year was that of Chadwick Boseman, the late star who was posthumously nominated for Best Actor for his role in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
There were also a number of former Oscars winners amongst those who passed away in the last year, such as the iconic Sean Connery who died aged 90. Connery was best known for his portrayal of British spy James Bond, which he did for the first seven films based on Ian Fleming’s novels.
Fellow former winners Olivia de Havilland, Cloris Leachman and Christopher Plummer will also feature in the ceremony on Sunday evening.
Here is the full list of actors, writers and directors from AMPAS who sadly passed away in the last year, with any Oscars they were awarded listed underneath:
Julie Bennett – Actors Branch
Warren Berlinger – Actors Branch
Walter Bernstein – Writers Branch
Chadwick Boseman – Actors Branch
Wilford Brimley – Actors Branch
Allan Burns – Writers Branch
Edd Byrnes – Actors Branch
Lewis John Carlino – Writers Branch
Jean-Claude Carrière – Writers Branch
- 1962 (35th) Short Subject (Live Action) – “Heureux Anniversaire (Happy Anniversary)”
- 2014 (87th) Honorary Award
Marge Champion – Actors Branch
Sean Connery – Actors Branch
- 1987 (60th) Actor in a Supporting Role – “The Untouchables”
Linda Cristal – Actors Branch
Olivia de Havilland – Actors Branch
- 1946 (19th) Actress – “To Each His Own”
- 1949 (22nd) Actress – “The Heiress”
Brian Dennehy – Actors Branch
Kirk Douglas – Actors Branch
- 1995 (68th) Honorary Award
Marj Dusay – Actors Branch
John Ericson – Actors Branch
Harriet Frank, Jr. – Writers Branch
David Giler – Writers Branch
Stuart Gordon – Directors Branch
Robert Harper – Actors Branch
Ronald Harwood – Writers Branch
- 2002 (75th) Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – “The Pianist”
Monte Hellman – Directors Branch
Buck Henry – Writers Branch
Richard T. Herd – Actors Branch
Hal Holbrook – Actors Branch
Israel Horovitz – Writers Branch
Peter H. Hunt – Directors Branch
Robert C. Jones – Writers Branch
- 1978 (51st) Writing (Screenplay written directly for the screen) – “Coming Home”
Jack Kehoe – Actors Branch
Irrfan Khan – Actors Branch
Bruce Kirby – Actors Branch
Shirley Knight – Actors Branch
Cloris Leachman – Actors Branch
- 1971 (44th) Actress in a Supporting Role – “The Last Picture Show”
William Link – Writers Branch
Kurt M. Luedtke – Writers Branch
- 1985 (58th) Writing (Screenplay based on material from another medium) – “Out of Africa”
Helen McCrory – Actors Branch
Larry McMurtry – Writers Branch
- 2005 (78th) Writing (Adapted Screenplay) – “Brokeback Mountain”
Terrence McNally – Writers Branch
Loring Mandel – Writers Branch
Malcolm Marmorstein – Writers Branch
Jiri Menzel – Directors Branch
Alan Parker – Directors Branch
Christopher Plummer – Actors Branch
- 2011 (84th) Actor in a Supporting Role – “Beginners”
Kelly Preston – Actors Branch
Elsa Raven – Actors Branch
Carl Reiner – Actors Branch
Gene Reynolds – Actors Branch
Allan Rich – Actors Branch
Peter Mark Richman – Actors Branch
Diana Rigg – Actors Branch
Joe Ross – Actors Branch
Reni Santoni – Actors Branch
John Saxon – Actors Branch
Murray Schisgal – Writers Branch
Joel Schumacher – Directors Branch
George Segal – Actors Branch
John Herman Shaner – Writers Branch
Lynn Shelton – Directors Branch
Geno Silva – Actors Branch
Joan Micklin Silver – Directors Branch
Bertrand Tavernier – Directors Branch
Cicely Tyson – Actors Branch
- 2018 (91st) Honorary Award
Max von Sydow – Actors Branch
Jessica Walter – Actors Branch
Stuart Whitman – Actors Branch
Fred Willard – Actors Branch