Oscars 2025: The Academy pays tribute to late screen legends in emotional memoriam segment

The 97th Academy Awards honoured the lives and legacies of late screen legends Gene Hackman, Maggie Smith, David Lynch, Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, James Earl Jones, and many more in this year's In Memoriam segment.

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Morgan Freeman remembers Gene Hackman

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Actor Morgan Freeman opened the tribute with a heartfelt speech about the recently deceased Gene Hackman. The two had worked together in the 1992 Western Unforgiven.

Hackman and his wife, classical pianist Betsy Arakawa, were found dead in their Santa Fe home last week. The actor was a two-time Academy Award winner for his performances in The French Connection and Unforgiven and had received nominations for Bonnie and Clyde, I Never Sang for My Father, and Mississippi Burning.

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Honouring Maggie Smith, David Lynch, and other legends

The Academy also paid tribute to the late director David Lynch, who won an honorary Oscar in 2019, and veteran British actress Maggie Smith, a two-time Oscar winner for her roles in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and California Suite.

The segment further honoured Donald Sutherland, Shelley Duvall, Gena Rowlands, James Earl Jones, Dick Pope, Jeff Baena, Bob Newhart, Kris Kristofferson, M. Emmet Walsh, Robert Towne, Joan Plowright, and Teri Garr.

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A night of celebration and reflection

The 97th Academy Awards were held at the iconic Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, with comedian Conan O'Brien hosting for the first time.

This year, Emilia Pérez led the nominations with 13, followed by The Brutalist and Wicked receiving 10 nominations each.

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