Oscars Honor Deceased Celebrities

Every year the Academy Awards honors recently deceased celebrities from the movie industry. The tradition started in 1994, and will continue this year on February 24, 2013. In the past, a performer sings a sentimental song while the memorial is displayed. An anonymous committee at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is deliberating who the next 30 or so honorees will be. Anonymity limits hard-line campaigning for the honoree spots. The number of celebrities memorialized has fluctuated over the years. The longest list included 48 names, while the shortest list included only 23.

Some more favored names for the honoree spots this year include Lois Smith, Ernest Borgnine, Nora Ephron, Richard Zanuck and Marvin Hamlisch.The committee is weighing celebrity status, achievements, and awards. Former president of the Academy, Tom Sherak, disclosed there is an increase in the number of people deciding the memorial segment of the award show. Celebrities remembered are not limited to academy members. Recently, a more inclusive approach has allowed people who were not in the limelight to get recognition for their contributions. 

See Michael Cieply, Even for the Dead, There's a Race to Make the A-List at Oscars, The New York Times, Feb. 7, 2013. 

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.