The 2026 Emmy Awards included its annual “In Memoriam” tribute, honoring many of the actors and creatives who’ve recently died, but it left out several notable names, including actors Robert Redford and Nicholas Brendon. Although Redford, who died September 16, 2025, was best known as a film star, he also had numerous television credits throughout his career. Meanwhile, Brendon, who died March 20, 2026, was best known for “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
Redford and Brendon weren’t the only stars absent from the segment. The broadcast tribute also excluded Chuck Norris, Patrick Muldoon, and Daveigh Chase.
According to the Television Academy, “The In Memoriam for the 78th Emmy Awards honors those who have passed between August 27, 2025 and August 25, 2026. While the In Memoriam segments of the Emmy Awards will feature some of those who passed, the following is a more complete listing. For further listings, please go to In Memoriam.” “Transformers” voice actor Peter Cullen was also absent from the broadcast tribute, but his death on August 26 fell one day after the Academy’s stated cutoff.
Who was honored during the 2026 Emmys’ memorial tributes?
The “In Memoriam” segment didn’t include every actor or creative who died over the past year, but it honored many notable figures from the entertainment industry. Those honored included Catherine O’Hara, Hayden Panettiere, James Van Der Beek, and Tim Curry.
The segment opened with Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy paying tribute to their former co-star O’Hara. Culkin, who played O’Hara’s son in the “Home Alone” movies, spoke about what she meant to him. “She was encouraging,” he said. “She was warm. She was funny, but the word that I think of is mama … She was my mom. She was our mama … So, she may have forgotten me twice. But we will always remember her.”
Jamie Lee Curtis also paid tribute to Rob Reiner during the segment. Elsewhere in the telecast, Dolly Parton, who died at age 80, received a separate tribute introduced by her “Steel Magnolias” co-star Sally Field. “If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one,” Field said. Reba McEntire also honored the late country star with a performance of Parton’s “Appalachian Memories.”