Every year, various In Memoriam segments are a tragic reminder of all the people lost the year prior. By the very nature of the SAG Awards, the video is more heartfelt because the show itself centers completely around actors and the room is filled with close friends of those who passed on in 2016. All the expected names were included, even people who were primarily musicians or directors like Prince or Garry Marshall. Some deaths that still hurt just as much as they did a year ago, like the gone-too-soon Anton Yelchin.
As the video went on, bigger and bigger icons flash on the screen and the applause from the room got progressively louder — the SAG Awards being one of the few remaining awards shows not to mute the applause for the television stream. As could be anticipated, iconic performers like Doris Roberts, Alan Thicke, Gene Wilder, and the recently passed Mary Tyler Moore, garnered the most applause from the room. The segment ended with back-to-back clips of Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds, who passed away within a day of each other over the holidays, then closed with a still photo of them together.
Hopefully, in the middle of all the sadness and sense of loss, this compilation reminds people watching of all the great films these actors appeared in and a re-watch will bring some sort of joy to someone out there.
