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In Memoriam Oscars 2017 Segment Shows Living Woman, Academy Apologizes

By Stacey Cole
Published on: 02:00 PST, Mar 6, 2017

In Memoriam confusion became the second most awkward gaffe of last Sunday night’s Oscars 2017 broadcast, according to CBS News.

While the wrong Best Picture announcement of La La Land instead of Moonlight will forever remain the most memorable moment of last Sunday’s Academy Awards broadcast, the In Memoriam segment editors also messed up big time.

And sorry Jimmy Kimmel, you can’t take the blame for the In Memoriam gaffe either. The Oscars 2017 host jokingly promised he would “never come back” to hosting Academy Awards after the Best Picture gaffe, though the mistake had nothing to do with him.

The In Memoriam segment featured a photo of the wrong woman, who’s alive and well. The photo of a living producer, Jan Chapman, was shown on the screen listing designer Janet Patterson, who passed away in October 2016.

In an email to Variety, Chapman said she was “devastated” by the Oscars mess-up and assured that she is “alive and well and an active producer.”

However, it turns out there’s a legitimate explanation as to why the Oscars accidentally put the photo of Chapman instead of the four-time Oscar-nominated Patterson during the In Memoriam segment.

Chapman, who collaborated with Patterson on films such as The Piano and Bright Star, wrote to Variety that she had urged the late designer’s agency to find the photo to be used for the In Memoriam segment, but she was assured that the Oscars “had it covered.”

But it wasn’t entirely the fault of the Academy’s In Memoriam editors, as the photo used of Chapman was mistakenly labeled as “Janet Patterson” in Getty Images.

In fact, the Academy’s In Memoriam wasn’t the first to confuse Chapman with Patterson, as last October’s YouTube video from Wochit Entertainment announcing Patterson’s death used the same image.

Patterson was a four-time Oscar nominee and received nods for the films The Piano, The Portrait of a Lady, Oscar and Lucinda, and Bright Star.

Reacting to the In Memoriam mistake, Chapman described Patterson as “a great beauty” and said it was “very disappointing” to see the gaffe happen.

In Memoriam is always a heart-wrenching experience – not only to viewers watching the Oscars broadcast from their homes as well as celebs in the audience, but also the In Memoriam presenters, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The Oscars 2017 In Memoriam presenter, Jennifer Aniston, couldn’t contain her emotions as she introduced the tribute segment during the awards ceremony.

While introducing the segment, Aniston spoke about how every one of those featured in the In Memoriam montage left an indelible imprint on Hollywood community, and then the Friends actress paid tribute to Bill Paxton.

Paxton, who wasn’t included in the In Memoriam segment due to his sudden passing the day before the broadcast, is famous for his roles in Titanic, Twister, and Alien.

Paying the In Memoriam tribute to the “beloved actor” Paxton, Aniston got visibly choked up. Paxton, who had a four-decade long career in Hollywood, died last Saturday at 61-years-old due to complications from surgery.

Although Paxton wasn’t included in the In Memoriam segment, watching the tribute felt like forever, as 2016 had an uncannily very long list of Hollywood deaths.

The In Memoriam montage included stars like Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, Mary Tyler Moore, Gene Wilder, John Hurt, and many others.

Sara Bareilles gave an emotional performance of “Both Sides Now” as the names of those who passed away in 2016 kept appearing one after another on the big screen.

Speaking to the Hollywood Reporter, In Memoriam editor Chuck Workman said it was difficult to compile the Oscars In Memoriam montage this year, especially considering the long list of 2016 Hollywood deaths.

While Workman says there are many people tuning in because “they want to know all these people, but I don’t think they want to sit for 10 minutes.”

[Featured Image by Chris Pizzello/AP Images]

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