LOS ANGELES — The 72nd Emmy Awards on Sunday paid tribute to the many entertainers and influential stars who have died over the past year.
Before this year's "In Memoriam" segment, host Jimmy Kimmel specifically honored the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday from metastatic pancreatic cancer at age 87.
Two-time Grammy winner H.E.R. performed the song "Nothing Compares 2 U" as the memorial slideshow played.
The segment honored a number of Emmy Award winners and nominees including Diana Rigg, Regis Philbin, Fred Willard, Jerry Stiller, James Lipton, Buck Henry and Carl Reiner.
The In Memoriam also honored Glee actress Naya Rivera and those who worked behind-the-scenes including Herb Granath, Dorthu "D.C." Fontana, Silvio Horta and Thomas L. Miller.
The memorial segment ended by paying tribute to actor Chadwick Boseman, who died on Aug. 28 from colon cancer. He played Black icons Jackie Robinson and James Brown with searing intensity before finding fame as the regal Black Panther in the Marvel cinematic universe.
The Television Academy also has a database that includes the name, date of passing and link to information about the men and women who were included in the televised Memoriam segment and many who were not. It's a way to " provide a venue for the acknowledgment of the television community as a whole," its website says.
Some Emmy viewers were upset that this year's segment left out actor Nick Cordero and NBA legend Kobe Bryant. Cordero, 41, was a Broadway star and died after a COVID-19 battle. While he was never nominated for an Emmy, he did appear in several TV shows. He's listed on the Emmy's online In Memoriam page.
While Kobe Bryant wasn't a member of the television industry, he had a strong presence on TV. Some fans noted that Sunday's ceremony was being broadcast from the Staples Center - where Bryant played for his entire NBA career.