In Memoriam Oscars 2018: Who Is The Most Important Celebrity That Died In The Last Year?

By Mark Graham @unclegrambo

Published March 4, 2018, 5:30 p.m. ET

Everybody dies, but only ONE DEAD PERSON EACH YEAR gets the anchor position in the Academy Awards In Memoriam montage. Who will it be this year?!?AFP/Getty Images

**NAME:** August Ames
**AGE:** 23
**DATE:** 12/5/17
August Ames had appeared in over 290 films at the time of her untimely passing in December. More people have seen her work than have seen *The Shape Of Water* and *Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri*, combined. That said, because she primarily filmed on the wrong side of the Hollywood Hills (in the San Fernando Valley), there's no chance in hell she'll be included in this year's Oscars In Memoriam reel. NEXT! Photo: FilmMagic

**NAME:** Hugh Hefner
**AGE:** 91
**DATE:** 9/27/17
Hugh Hefner was a pornographer, sure, but he was a CLASSY pornographer. One that donated big to Dems, and also one that opportunistically pursued beneficial philanthropical causes that endeared himself to the Hollywood community (like helping to restore the Hollywood sign). All that said, at the end of the day he was a pornographer, and this is Hollywood's most important honor. NEXT!Photo: Everett Collection

**NAME:** Glenne Headly
**AGE:** 62
**DATE:** 6/8/17/17
Headly was well-liked, if never quite beloved, by the industry. (You can never be truly beloved unless you're an A-Lister, which Headly never quite amended to.) She had a nice run in the late '80s and early '90s, and even served as King of the A-List Warren Beatty's love interest in the intriguing failure *Dick Tracy*, but tonight, as in her career, she'll only serve a supporting role.©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Della Reese
**AGE:** 86
**DATE:** 11/19/17
Della Reese is a legendary multi-hyphenate (actress, singer, ICON) with a few key award nominations (Golden Globes! SAGs!) under her belt, but they were all for television. Sorry, Della, this is the MOVIES' big night. NEXT! Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Tobe Hooper
**AGE:** 74
**DATE:** 8/26/17
Tobe Hooper was the writer, producer and director of *The Texas Chainsaw Massacre*, one of the most important independent movies ever made. You'll notice that I said INDEPENDENT there. Translation: His biggest success largely did NOT benefit the powers-that-be in Hollywood, which means he has no chance of landing the anchor slot in this maudlin mash-up.Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** George A. Romero
**AGE:** 77
**DATE:** 7/16/17
Everything I just said for Tobe Hooper goes double for George Romero, the guy responsible for our culture's fascination for zombies. Great director, legendary dude, but too indie to land an anchor. NEXT!©Weinstein Company/Courtesy Eve

**NAME:** Harry Dean Stanton
**AGE:** 91
**DATE:** 9/15/17
If Harry Dean Stanton had lived another few months, there's a puncher's chance he would be standing on stage tonight with a Best Actor Oscar in his hand (for his work in *Lucky*). That said, career tribute Oscars are only handed out to people who are still alive and, well, he died before he could sing for his proverbial supper. HDS appeared in more stone classics than just about anyone that died during the past year, but he was never nominated for a single Oscar during his life. NEXT!©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Col

**NAME:** Don Rickles
**AGE:** 90
**DATE:** 4/6/17
Listen up, hockey pucks. Don Rickles was a legend ... and an Emmy winner! He is closely associated with some of the biggest stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, but he wasn't exactly a huge star. Take a bow, Don, but someone else is NEXT! Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Tom Petty
**AGE:** 66
**DATE:** 10/2/17
Tom Petty was WAY cooler than anyone in Hollywood, which is a bit problematic for the industry. It's kind of like being the most athletic cast member on *Big Brother* -- it makes you a target. Hence, he landed the pole position spot in this year's Grammys In Memoriam montage, which means he has NO shot at the anchor in the In Memoriam. NEXT! Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Jeanne Moreau
**AGE:** 89
**DATE:** 7/31/17
Oooh la la. Moreau, one of the *grande dames* of the French cinema, racked up Best Actress trophies over the years from BAFTA, the Cesars, and even those snooty, cheese-eating judges at the Cannes Film Festival. No Oscars (or even noms!) for Jeanne, though. How do you say NEXT en Francais?Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Roger Moore
**AGE:** 89
**DATE:** 5/23/17
Name me a bigger cinematic hero than James Bond.
Go ahead, I'll wait...
Didn't think so. That's a point in Roger Moore's favor. That said, want a few points that are NOT in his favor? I'll give you two: Sean Connery and Daniel Craig. NEXT!Photo: Everett Collection

**NAME:** John G. Avildsen
**AGE:** 81
**DATE:** 6/16/17
Avildsen took home a Best Director Oscar in 1977 for his work helming *Rocky*, which also took home Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Editing. Not many other people who died since last year's Oscar ceremony can say the same, which makes him a prime contender. He also launched the lucrative *Karate Kid* franchise, which means he can excel at art AND commerce. He's a strong contender, no doubt, but he doesn't have quite enough juice to push him ahead of...Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Sam Shepard
**AGE:** 73
**DATE:** 7/27/17
This golden boy was handsome as a devil, sure, but also talented as hell. He was Oscar nominated in 1984 for his work in *The Right Stuff*, but it was his WORDS that made the ladies cream their jeans. The Pulitzer Prize winner had looks, talent, and RESPECT, but no Oscars. Sadly, this can mean only one thing ... NEXT!©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Col

**NAME:** Martin Landau
**AGE:** 89
**DATE:** 7/15/17
This three-time Oscar nominee struck it big in 1995, winning an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his stand-out performance as Bela Lugosi in Tim Burton's *Ed Wood*. He also won not one, not two but THREE Golden Globes throughout his illustrious career, which makes him the most talented and decorated actor to kick in the last 365 days. Still, actors rarely land the anchor slot, because everyone in Hollywood is deferential to...Courtesy Everett Collection

**NAME:** Jonathan Demme
**AGE:** 73
**DATE:** 4/26/17
...DIRECTORS. Demme has a tremendous shot at being the anchor this year, thanks to his Oscar victory for Best Director at 1991's ceremony (*Silence Of The Lambs*). It's tough to find a more beloved figure in the Hollywood community who died in the last year; you can count Demme directly responsible for landing everyone from Tom Hanks to Jodie Foster to Anne Hathaway to Denzel Washington Oscar nominations (and in the case of Hanks and Foster, some wins, too). HE EVEN WORKED WITH OPRAH! (On 1998's adaptation of Toni Morrison's *Beloved*.) Still, there's one person whose star shined just a *tad* bit brighter than Demme's, and that was...©Orion Pictures Corp/Courtesy E

**NAME:** Jerry Lewis
**AGE:** 91
**DATE:** 8/20/17
Jerry Lewis checks ALL the boxes, which is why we believe he'll land the anchor position during the 2018 Academy Awards In Memoriam montage. He came up during Hollywood's Golden Age, made moguls TONS of moolah over his nearly 70-year career, and gave back in a BIG way; his legendary Labor Day telethons raised over $2 BILLION for the Muscular Dystrophy Association. Although he was never nominated for an Oscar for his acting, writing, or directing, he won an honorary Academy Award in 2009 (the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award) for his philanthropic work. Congrats, Jerry -- you lived a great life and won the most important posthumous prize of them all: The Anchor!Courtesy Everett Collection

oscars 2018

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The 90th Academy Awards are being held on Sunday March 5, and we all know what the most important moment of the evening is going to be. Best Actress? No way. Best Picture? Not even if Warren and Faye screw it up again. No sir, the most memorable segment of the evening is always The In Memoriam segment!

This annual mash-up of Hollywood’s recently deceased, tinted in sepia and accompanied by maudlin music, is infinitely more complex in nature than your standard awards show montage. Like a great mixtape, a well-executed tribute to dead celebrities has to ebb and flow just so, playing well both in the room AND to the millions of people watching at home in their living rooms. For starters, you have to lead off with a notable death in order to get the applause rolling, but then maintain momentum throughout the piece, all the while saving the most “important” death for last. Here at Decider, we call this position of the In Memoriam segment the “anchor” slot.

With that in mind, what you’ll find here is a guide to handicapping who we think the Academy feels is the most “important” person to die since last year’s telecast. So let’s take a moment to handicap which star of the silver screen will be anchoring this year’s In Memoriam segment.

UPDATE (11:12pm): Nailed it! Jerry Lewis was indeed the anchor in the 2018 Oscars In Memoriam montage. See you again next year, folks!

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