Chuck Norris Omitted From Emmys In Memoriam Tribute
Chuck Norris was missing from the In Memoriam tribute at the Emmy Awards, the segment that honours actors and other television workers who have died. His absence was reported by Variety after the ceremony. The report listed Norris among several names not shown on screen.
Norris died in March at the age of 86. His family announced his death on 20 March. Variety cited that family announcement as the source for both the timing and his age. He was 86 years old at the time of his death.
Norris led Walker, Texas Ranger for its full network run. The CBS series ran for nine seasons and 203 episodes between 1993 and 2001. That is a long run by any prime-time standard, with the same lead actor throughout. For viewers who watched network television in the 1990s, it held a regular place in the schedule.
Judson Mills worked directly opposite Norris on that series. He played Francis Gage in the final two seasons. He also appeared with Norris in the 2005 television film Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire. That casting places him among the last actors to join the series before its original run ended.
Mills spoke about the omission in an interview with TMZ. He called the decision to leave Norris out “terrible” and “tragic”. Those were his words, as quoted in the Variety report on the interview. In the same remarks, he referred to Norris’s widow, Gena O’Kelley.
Norris was not the only name missing from the screen. Nicholas Brendon was not included on screen during the In Memoriam tribute. Patrick Muldoon, Jaye P. Morgan, Daveigh Chase and Grizz Chapman were also omitted from the segment. Variety listed those names alongside Norris in its report.
What makes this stand out is what an In Memoriam has to do. It must remember a year of loss in a few minutes of screen time. Every choice is visible. Every absence is visible too.
For fans watching at home, that brief segment is often the quietest part of the night. It moves quickly. Clips circulate afterwards. And lists are checked closely, which is why an omission can draw a response as direct as Mills gave here.
