Reading Time: 3 minutes
In 2026, the world lost stars like Chuck Norris, Daveigh Chase, Nicholas Brendon, Peter Cullen, and Tom Kane.
Though the Emmy Awards themselves were fantastic (huge night for Widow’s Bay fans), the In Memoriam segment seemed to snub some major losses.
Why were some late actors — many of whom had been in the business for decades — excluded?
That’s easier to answer for some of these than others.
Chuck Norris died this year
In March of this year, Chuck Norris passed away at 86 following reports of his hospitalization.
In his final decades, he was best known for unsavory political commentary and for his meme status.
However, years earlier, he starred on Walker, Texas Ranger for 9 seasons.
Though many may think of it as a show one would watch on a lark or, at the time when it was airing, if nothing else happened to be on, the series also had actual fans and intentional viewers.
Over the years, Norris appeared on Hawaii Five-0, The Goldbergs, Sons of Thunder, and more.
Daveigh Chase died this year
Daveigh Chase passed away in June of this year under tragic circumstances. She was only 35.
She began her acting career as a child star, appearing in Donnie Darko and The Ring.
Perhaps her other most famous roles from that time period were voicing Lilo in Lilo & Stitch and voicing protagonist Chihiro in Spirited Away.
To be clear, she also had a lengthy history of appearing on just about every show, especially big shows from the ’90s like Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Charmed, ER, and more.
In her final years, she vanished from public life, struggled with addiction, polysubstance abuse, and housing until she ultimately died just weeks before she would have turned 36.
Nicholas Brendon died this year
In March of this year, Buffy The Vampire Slayer alum Nicholas Brendon passed away.
He was 54 years old. In fact, he was only weeks away from turning 55.
Brendon’s cause of death was atherosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease, with a blockage in the right coronary artery. This caused him to pass away in his sleep.
Brendon had many acting roles, but appearing in all 144 episodes of Buffy for 7 seasons was his true claim to fame. (He also appeared on 21 episodes of Criminal Minds.)
Though the actor had a number of legal troubles stemming from his inexcusably violent behavior towards women (including some guilty pleas), he still had many fans who either were unaware of or chose to ignore this.
What’s with the Emmys snubs?
Legendary voice actors Peter Cullen and Tom Kane also passed away this year. Both were most famous for their television work.
Cullen portrayed iconic hero and sex symbol Optimus Prime, while it is impossible to pinpoint the most famous role in Kane’s prolific career.
Why did the Emmy Awards exclude so many beloved names from their In Memoriam segment?
For the voice actors, they often get seen as “less than” in certain acting circles. Unfortunately, this is why we too often see already-famous actors taking over high profile voice gigs. Sometimes it works. Other times, the project and audience suffer for it.
For the live action roles, maybe they got cut for controversy. Brendon’s arrests for violence against women, Norris’ long history of political weirdness, and the deep tragedy of Daveigh Chase’s final decade may have gotten them cut from the end.
Awards shows are always political (and not in the Chuck Norris way), and the Emmys are no exception. It was probably a mistake to exclude Chuck Norris and Daveigh Chase from the segment, even if Nicholas Brendon’s exclusion is easier to understand.
That said … maybe folks decided that Norris and Chase deserve Oscars In Memoriam segments more? It’s hard to say.
The Emmys’ In Memoriam Snubs Chuck Norris, Nicholas Brendon, Daveigh Chase, More … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.