Carol Channing missing from Oscar In Memoriam - Page 2

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 8:05pm

Jarethan said: "What you have illustrated to me is precisely why she doesn't warrant attention in a film remembrance. With exactly one good movie on that list, there is NO REASON to single her out. In recent years, unlike in the past, the Oscars have decided to celebrate behind-the-scenes folks who average movie goers know nothing about. That is their decision.

To include an actor because she appeared in one good movie is absurd, especially when the nomination was a stretch (IMO).

"

Not such a stretch given that I'd never heard of half the actors they DID include. I think former Oscar winners and nominees should be included.

[antonijan]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 8:05pm

But still...Im gonna start petitioning! Call, tweet, dm petition the AMPAS and Cheryl Isaacs for this.

At least she already have a star at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

I really hope Curran Theatre can be renamed Carole Channing Theatre...

http://projects.latimes.com/hollywood/star-walk/carol-channing/

Or rename Herman Plaza Carole Channing Plaza.
 

Updated On: 2/25/19 at 08:05 PM

[PatrickDC]

Posted: 2/25/19 at 9:11pm

broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "yes yes Ms. Channing got left out , but so did STANLEY DONEN, who made movie musicals sing and dance...

and i loved the music the LA PHIL played during the INMEMORIEMsequence...anybody know what it was?

I do I do!...it was the lovely sequence of music from the first SUPERMAN movie...after Clark Kent's father passes...the most beautiful music from that grand super hero movie, written by John Williams...who else knew that?

"

I knew it from the first or second beat. The Superman double album soundtrack was one of my first big purchases as a kid. Yeah, yeah, other kids my age bought rock and pop albums. Me, a movie soundtrack. Actually, Star Wars was my first big purchase now that I think of it. Superman, the second. Regardless, I'm a John Williams fan-geek. 

As you noted above, it's the scene after Jonathan Kent passes and Clark finds the crystal in the barn. Ma Kent sees him standing in the wheat field pondering going north. There is a gorgeous boom shot with the camera rising behind them, sweeping over them, and flying across the wheat field. 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 1:42am

GavestonPS said: "Jarethan said: "What you have illustrated to me is precisely why she doesn't warrant attention in a film remembrance. With exactly one good movie on that list, there is NO REASON to single her out. In recent years, unlike in the past, the Oscars have decided to celebrate behind-the-scenes folks who average movie goers know nothing about. That is their decision.

To include an actor because she appeared in one good movie is absurd, especially when the nomination was a stretch (IMO).

"

Not such a stretch given that I'd never heard of half the actors they DID include. I think former Oscar winners and nominees should be included."

You obviously don't go to the movies much if you didn't recognize the actors they included.  All made more significant (orders of magnitude) contributions to film that Channing.  

The irony is that I really enjoyed Channing...I just felt that the only awards show where she merited special attention was the Tony's.  As theatre royalty, her kingdom was the stage, not of film and really not of TV either, other than a bunch of guest shots.

[Stage Door Sally]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 8:50am

Being nominated for an Oscar, I believe, is sufficient reason enough to be included in the Oscars' In Memoriam. 

[pmensky]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 9:54am

Stage Door Sally said: "Being nominated for an Oscar, I believe, is sufficient reason enough to be included in the Oscars' In Memoriam."

Well, luckily there are people in the film industry who have actually thought this through.  This year alone, there were over 120 Oscar nominations.  Since many of those nominations included multiple recipients, it is likely that there were closer to around 200 individuals who were nominated for Oscars this year.  When you consider that the Oscars have been around for 91 years, and the number of people nominated each year, you can imagine that there are thousands of living nominees and a considerable number of nominees who pass away each year.  If everyone ever nominated was recognized, the tribute could go on for a very long time. Many of the 51 people featured in the In Memoriam tribute were nominees and winners, but unlike Carol Channing, who was a one-time nominee and a one-hit wonder in terms of her film career, those people built careers in film.  As I mentioned in an earlier post, the tribute is about colleagues who work in a specific industry honoring each other.  It’s not about recognizing famous people who died last year.

[EthelMae]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 10:09am

https://variety.com/2019/film/news/in-memoriam-oscars-2019-left-out-omissions-1203144556/

 

 

This sheds some light on this subject.

[Cora Hoover Hooper]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 12:01pm

Where exactly is the article? I don't see it.

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 2:21pm

So disappointing.

It's actually quite surprising how many people the In Memoriam left out. 

[OKBroadwayFan]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 2:40pm

Cora Hoover Hooper said: "Where exactly is the article? I don't see it."

The link takes you to Variety, which seems to have one of those scrolling news format.

 

I googled the title of the article and Variety and was able to locate the article.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 3:19pm

The segment used to be about people we'd lost the previous year...the same year as the films being honored during the ceremony.

I've seen comments here and elsewhere about Stanley Donen's omission. He died the day before the ceremony; not a lot of time to wedge him into an already produced segment. I really think that they should just focus on losses between January 1 - December 31 of the previous year.

So the 2020 Oscars should celebrate the people we lost in 2019...and Carol Channing and Stanley Donen should definitely be included...maybe Kaye Ballard, too...

[Jarethan]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 4:02pm

Stage Door Sally said: "Being nominated for an Oscar, I believe, is sufficient reason enough to be included in the Oscars' In Memoriam."

If  you want to make up the rules, that is fine.  That is not how they do it, however.  Every year, many more past nominees, as well as other people in the film industry who are not even eligible for Oscars, pass away than the number they show in the memoriam portion.  Carol Channing was a very occasional participant in that industry -- with exactly one good movie in her portfolio -- as opposed to the huge number that spend their entire life in it.  Those are IMO facts.

As is obvious, I think it would be virtually absurd to single out Channing and leave out so many other people who made MUCH more of a contribution to film.

I know a lot of people on this board feel that nothing short canonization is enough, but it is just not realistic.

Guela Gil was nominated for a Tony for Best Supporting Actress in a musical in 1968 (as was Channing that year for the Oscar).  Does that mean that Ms. Gil should have been included in the Tony memoriam when she passes?  (I have to admit that I am not sure the logic is even valid in the final analysis, simply due to the sheer number differences of possible inclusions between the two awards...the film numbers would totally dwarf the Broadway numbers by orders of magnitude.

Just trying to be realistic.

Updated On: 2/26/19 at 04:02 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 10:58pm

Jarethan said: "The irony is that I really enjoyed Channing...I just felt that the only awards show where she merited special attention was the Tony's. As theatre royalty, her kingdom was the stage, not of film and really not of TV either, other than a bunch of guest shots."

I don't agree, Jarethan, but I also don't think you were in any way disrespectful to or dismissive of Miss Channing's career.

As you suspect, I don't claim to be a cinephile; but I see enough films (even if on TV) that I usually recognize the names of major actors, at least.

Susan Anspach? I know her TV work well and I don't dispute her talent or inclusion, but apart from FIVE EASY PIECES, she made few important films. And her total number of movies wasn't much more than Channing's.

I assume Elizabeth Sung was a nod toward diversity (which I support), but I've only heard of a handful of her films. Perhaps she got more screen time overseas.

Stephané Audran? I've never heard of her, but she was obviously quite prolific. Perhaps fans of French cinema know here well.

She is one of my all-time favorites, but Barbara Harris' career was pretty much the equivalent the Channing's, except Harris spent far fewer years in the public eye. I didn't even know she had died.

Etc. and so forth. I'm not outraged by the Channing omission, but I understand why it seems random to many.

 

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 2/26/19 at 11:30pm

To anyone who doesn't know director Stanley Donen and doesn't know Albert Finney, I recommend a classic movie they did together, TWO FOR THE ROAD, starring Finney and Audrey Hepburn.

I'd also say that someone once called Albert Finney "the greatest actor of his generation."

That someone was named Laurence Olivier.

Laurence Olivier was a....

* * *
Gaveston, I disagree that Harris's screen career was not more significant than Channing's.

Harris, like Channing is a one time Oscar nominee (Who is Harry Kellerman and...?).  But, unlike Channing, she had many important screen appearances.

She memorably appeared in Robert Altman's Nashville (widely considered one of the greatest films ever made), opposite Jason Robards in A Thousand Clowns (Academy Award Nominee, Best Picture), Walter Mathau in Plaza Suite, Jack Lemmon in Neil Simon's The War Between the Men and Women.

She starred in Alfred Hitchcock's Family Plot.

She starred as Jodie Foster's mother (and Jodie Foster herself) in Freaky Friday and was featured as Kathleen Turner's mother in Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue Got Married - both classics. 

btw Audran's film career is also more significant than Channing's.  She was the star of two very important movies, Babette's Feast (Oscar Winner Best Foreign Language Film) and Luis Buñuel's Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Oscar Winner Best Foregin Language Film, Oscar Nominee Best Original Screenplay). 
 

Updated On: 2/26/19 at 11:30 PM

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 2/27/19 at 12:22am

henrik, NASHVILLE is one of my top ten favorite films of all time and it required an enormous talent to wrestle all those narrative threads together with that gospel finale from the stage of the Parthenon replica.

But FREAKY FRIDAY? PLAZA SUITE? Sorry, no extra points for those.

I barely remember her in PEGGY SUE or WHO IS HARRY...?

I have no quarrel with Donen or Finney, of course (nor with Audran now that you've reminded me of the two of her films I've seen), but there were other actors that made me scratch my head. I just got bored watching the playback and stopped making a list.

It's a very nice idea to recognize backstage people that no one except cinephiles knows, but doing so makes me question the function of the whole In Memoriam feature. We'd be better off with a PBS doc earlier in the day telling us something about those people rather than just broadcasting the names and faces of unknowns, however important their contributions.

I'll be fast forwarding next year (which is okay since I already fast forward through most of the event).

I see the problem with the math, but they should at least include all nominees from the so-called "major" categories. It is a SHOW, after all, not a wake. 

 

[AADA81]

Posted: 3/1/19 at 7:37pm

Oscar-winning actress Dorothy Malone died in January of last year and she was not included in the 2018 memorial segment.  The year he died, Michael Jackson was (for 'The Wiz' and 'Captain E-O' apparently).  I think the folks who put those tributes together are marketing people, not film historians.  Most actors are never nominated.  Channing was.  She should have been included.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 3/1/19 at 8:00pm

MichelleCraig said: "The segment used to be about people we'd lost the previous year...the same year as the films being honored during the ceremony.

I've seen comments here and elsewhere about Stanley Donen's omission. He died the day before the ceremony; not a lot of time to wedge him into an already produced segment. I really think that theyshould just focus on losses between January 1 - December 31 of the previous year.

So the 2020 Oscars should celebrate the people we lost in 2019...and Carol Channing and Stanley Donen should definitely be included...maybe Kaye Ballard, too..."

I would suggest that you look at Kaye Ballard's IMDB portfolio before suggesting Kaye Ballard.  I couldn't remember a single movie she was in.  When I looked, I understood why.  She had tiny roles in a handful of very forgettable movies (possible exception, small role in the original Freaky Friday movie).  So, no Oscar mention for her.

[pmensky]

Posted: 3/1/19 at 8:05pm

AADA81 said: "Oscar-winning actress Dorothy Malone died in January of last year and she was not included in the 2018 memorial segment. The year he died, Michael Jackson was (for 'The Wiz' and 'Captain E-O' apparently). I think the folks who put those tributes together are marketing people, not film historians. Most actors are never nominated. Channing was. She should have been included."

Or perhaps Jackson was recognized because his music was featured on the soundtracks of multiple films.

[AADA81]

Posted: 3/2/19 at 10:07pm

pmensky said: "AADA81 said: "Oscar-winning actress Dorothy Malone died in January of last year and she was not included in the 2018 memorial segment. The year he died, Michael Jackson was (for 'The Wiz' and 'Captain E-O' apparently). I think the folks who put those tributes together are marketing people, not film historians. Most actors are never nominated. Channing was. She should have been included."

Or perhaps Jackson was recognized because his music was featured onthe soundtracks of multiple films."

Many singers have had their recordings used in film.  However, if those recordings were made for a medium other than film how does that make those singers part of cinema history.  It's another tangential connection used in these 'in memorium' segments to pander to the audience.