Joan Rivers, Leonard Nimoy, and late artists were remembered at the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 20, Sunday, in a poignant segment honoring their outstanding contribution to television.
The medley featured Eva Cassidy's version of "Somewhere Over The Rainbow," in the background. The segment opened with director Mike Nichols and concluded with a clip of Leonard Nimoy as Spock from "Star Trek" reciting the famous Vulcan salute: "Live long and prosper."
After being left out of 'In Memoriam' tribute at the Academy Awards in February, a tribute was paid to the actress Joan Rivers at the 67th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Rivers, who died last year, was featured in a clip during the slide show which paid tribute to actors, writers, directors, producers and composers, who had passed away since the Emmys were held last year.
The list included distinguished names such as Joan Rivers, "The Godfather" actor Alex Rocco, producer Jerry Weintraub, "The Avengers" star Patrick Macnee, "Eight Is Enough" fame Dick Van Patten, "Simpsons" creator Sam Simon, actor Leonard Nimoy, blues legend B.B. King and sportscaster Frank Gifford, Anne Meara, Martin Milner, Edward Herrmann, Dean Jones, Mike Nichols, ESPN's Stuart Scott, "Scream" director Wes Craven, and Donna Douglas.
According to Hollywood Reporter, a few noteworthy names were omitted from the list and these are: "The Lord Of The Rings," actor Christopher Lee, "Good Times " actor Alton "Ben" Powers, the two times Oscar winning music composer of "Braveheart," ""Apollo 13 and "Avatar" James Horner, "Batman" actress Yvonne Craig and "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" actor "Rowdy" Roddy Piper.
Craig died on Aug. 17, it is possible that the "In Memoriam" segment had already been completed before her death.
Emmys executive producer Tom Mischer said at the Television Critics' Association's semi-annual press tour in August that producing the In Memoriam segment is certainly a tough assignment, EW reported.
Host Andy Samberg also admitted at the TCA panel that creating In Memoriam segment is a tough task, saying that it "seems like an impossible job...There's no way to quantify an individual's life against another's."
The 2015 Emmy Awards were held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.