The 2025 Emmys honored stars who died this year — but not everyone was included in the package that was shown on screen.
During the Sunday, September 14, awards show, The Cosby Show‘s Phylicia Rashad introduced the segment while paying tribute to Malcolm-Jamal Warner, her late onscreen son.
Vince Gill and Lainey Wilson then took the stage to perform “Go Rest High on That Mountain” as Maggie Smith, Michelle Trachtenberg, Ozzy Osbourne, David Lynch, Quincy Jones, Anne Burrell and more TV icons were highlighted.
There were a few fallen stars — including Hulk Hogan, Jerry Adler, Danielle Spencer, Jonathan Joss and Terence Stamp — who were omitted from the live tribute.
The broadcast also didn’t mention Gene Hackman and Val Kilmer, with their names being included as part of a longer dedication on the Emmys website.
Earlier this year, Hogan died at age 71 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida. Us Weekly later confirmed that the former wrestler died from acute myocardial infarction.
Hogan was best known for his work with WWE and World Championship Wrestling. After getting his start in the ’70s, he became a five-time WWF Champion and was the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches. Hogan expanded his career into the film and TV worlds, with his own series, Thunder in Paradise, premiering in 1994.
Hogan was first inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and was recognized a second time in 2020 as a member of the nWo.
Hackman, whose career spanned decades, was found dead alongside wife Betsy Arakawa in their New Mexico home in February. It was later confirmed that Arakawa died first as a result of hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman, meanwhile, died due to hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease with Alzheimer’s disease as a significant contributing factor.
“It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our father, Gene Hackman and his wife, Betsy. He was loved and admired by millions around the world for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” Hackman’s family told Us in a statement. “We will miss him sorely and are devastated by the loss.”
Joss, who was known for his role on Parks and Recreation, was killed in June after an alleged altercation with a neighbor in San Antonio, Texas. Authorities were dispatched to a shooting where they found Joss lying “near the roadway.” He was pronounced dead at the scene when paramedics arrived after “life-saving measures” were attempted. Officers detained their suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, who initially fled the scene in a vehicle. Ceja was booked for murder, and the investigation is still ongoing.
After Joss’ death, his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, claimed the incident was the result of a hate crime. (Police chief William P. McManus has yet to charge the murder suspect with an alleged hate crime.)
“To everyone who supported him, his fans, his friends, know that he valued you deeply. He saw you as family. My focus now is on protecting Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together,” Kern de Gonzales wrote at the time. “If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice and being ignored by authorities then you never truly cared about my husband. Jonathan saved my life. I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.”
