While the Academy Award ceremony is a time of celebrating the achievements in film over the past year, it also serves as a platform to honor those who greatly contributed to the arts and passed away during the year’s course. Just as they do every year, the Academy put together a tribute video created to honor those who left us during 2021.
A year that would prove to take the lives of many notable performers and creatives alike, this one was hard to watch. Featured at the head of it all was pioneer director and actor, Sidney Poitier. Clearing the way for other African Americans, Poitier won the Academy Award for Best Actor back in 1964 for his work in Lilies of the Field. The creative would go on to hold roles in critically acclaimed pieces including Porgy and Bess, A Raisin in the Sun, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and A Patch of Blue. Transferring his skills behind the camera, Poitier would become a director, standing at the helm of comedic projects such as the Richard Pryor and Gene Wilder led film, Stir Crazy.
2021 also saw the death of praised film producer Jerome Hellman. Although he has produced several fan favorites over the years, he may be best known for Midnight Cowboy, which took home the award for Best Picture at the Oscars in 1970. Gone too soon, fans of Michael K. Williams were taken aback when the The Wire actor unexpectedly passed away back in September. A five-time Emmy nominated actor, Williams appeared in projects such as The Night Of, When They See Us, and Lovecraft Country. The Goonies, Superman (1978), Scrooged, and Lethal Weapon franchise director, Richard Donner also passed this year along with the Ghostbusters, Ghostbusters II, Twins, and Kindergarten Cop director and producer, the beloved Ivan Reitman.
Legendary actor and martial artist, Sonny Chiba, who appeared in high action flicks including The Street Fighter and Kill Bill: Volume 1 was honored this year as well as the late Dorothy Steel. Steel’s story is fascinating as the Jumanji: The Next Level and Black Panther actress got her start in the biz at the age of 88. Her final on-screen appearance will be in the highly anticipated, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Disney legend Ruthie Tompson, who is best known for her work as an animator in classic films including Fantasia, Pinocchio, and Dumbo was also honored at last night’s ceremony.
A shock to many, comedic maven Betty White left us on New Year’s Eve. A woman known for breaking the glass ceiling and sticking to her guns, the actress was just about to celebrate her 100th birthday. The first woman to produce a sitcom in which she also starred, The Life of Elizabeth would lead to White’s first Primetime Emmy Award nomination. Holding credits in an unimaginable amount of productions over the years including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Hot in Cleveland, and perhaps most notably, the role of Rose Nylund in the ever iconic The Golden Girls White’s absence from the entertainment world left a hole in us all. Like in film and television, music lovers lost a great one this year with the death of Stephen Sondheim. Considered a pioneer who changed the course of modern musical theater, the acclaimed composer and lyricist would win eight Tony Awards, an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, and more. His wide-reaching pieces included hits such as West Side Story, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and Into the Woods.
While 2021 broke our hearts as we lost so many amazing icons, we can take solace in knowing that a piece of them lives on in their productions. Check out the full in memoriam tribute below: