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Emmys Cory Monteith Tribute: Did It Fall Flat?

By Patricia Didelot
Published on: 02:09 PST, Sep 23, 2013

If you were watching the Emmys last night, you probably noticed the individual In Memorian segments to luminaries who had passed away during this past year. Among those was the very young Cory Monteith. Did his piece fall flat?

The issue many had with the inclusion of Cory Monteith is that he really didn’t have any credits to his career to justify the Emmys singling him out. The reaction in the room has been described as “tepid” by Deadline.

Cory was 31-years-old when he passed away tragically, of a drug and alcohol overdose, earlier this year and his passing was a shock to all, but did it mean he had to be eulogized at the most prestigious award ceremony in the industry?

Some are not okay with it, since many other long standing names were not. Case and point, James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters, and Gary David Goldberg who also received tributes as Monteith did, were all Emmy winners and their careers spanned decades in many cases.

Cory Monteith had only one credit to his name, Glee, compared to the stellar career of the others.

Jane Lynch, delivered the eulogy during the segment saying.

“Cory was a beautiful soul. He was not perfect, which many of us here tonight can relate to. His death is a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction.”

And all that may be true, but was the special tribute deserved?

Emmy producers defended the special memorial. “It was a rather personal choice, but Cory’s appeal was to maybe a little different generation than some of the others we’re honoring,” said producer Ken Ehrlich. “We felt it needed to be represented, that at 31, he passed away under very tragic circumstances.”

Last week, Adam Klugman, son of Jack Klugman from Odd Couple called out Emmys producers for including a segment on Monteith, instead of a three time Emmy winner like his dad.

“They’re celebrating this self-inflicted tragedy instead of celebrating the life of my father, who won three Emmys… Cory Monteith never won an Emmy,” Adam Klugman told the Los Angeles Times.

As much as fans loved the moving memorial, some members of the media didn’t quite feel the same.

It is worth mentioning that some names were left out, due to oversights or well, who knows. Writer Elmore Leonard (Justified), actress Lisa Robin Kelly (That ’70s Show), and actress Joyce Brothers who has a long list of credits to her name didn’t make it in the list of deceased celebrities this year.

Here is the touching tribute to Cory Monteith presented by Jane Lynch. Tell us what you think of this controversy. Should they have? Shouldn’t they have?

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