Betty White and Bob Saget both touched several generations of fans thanks to their comedy work, the former notably in Golden Girls and The Mary Tyler Moore Show and the latter in Full House. So, of course, when both comedy icons passed away earlier this year there was much mourning from the fans, who have then expected to see these icons during In Memoriam tributes. Only both Betty White and Bob Saget have already been passed over at awards ceremonies this year. So why has this happened?
If you’ve been keeping tabs, you may already know Betty White was noticeably missing during the In Memoriam segment at the 2022 BAFTA Awards. She wasn’t alone. Peaky Blinders and Harry Potter actress Helen McCrory, who passed away in 2021, was also missing from the segment. Then, during the Oscars In Memoriam segment, Bob Saget was totally missing, as well, and that wasn’t even the end of the snubs for the actors.
Let’s start with the BAFTAS. Betty White was in many movies and is famous for a role she portrayed in a comedy opposite Ryan Reynolds a decade ago. That comedy would be none other than The Proposal, a comedy that led to plenty of back-and-forth exchanges between the two stars over the years, including a pandemic era viral video. Yet she didn’t make the remembrance segment, though the BAFTA site, in this case, may give us a clue as to why:
Due to the number of people we would like to recognize at any one time and the limited time in which we have to do so, individuals may be featured in a television broadcast only once. Decisions as to who is selected for inclusion are made by BAFTA's Obituaries Committee, which considers over 200 names a year.
So, apparently The Proposal star did not make that cut after the committee combed through such a large number of possibilities. Interestingly, Betty White did rank highly enough to make the In Memoriam segment during the 2022 Academy Awards tribute. In this case, however, a notable snub included Bob Saget.
Bob Saget is probably most known for his stand-up and work on Full House, but he is also famous for one movie in particular, though he appeared in others. He’s famous for helming the cult class Dirty Work, which starred and was written by another late comedic great: Norm MacDonald. So, even if he never landed an Oscars nod himself, one would think he might rank highly and be beloved enough to get his five seconds of airtime, but assumedly, the Oscars had a slew of names to think through as well.
I bring Saget up also because more recently, the Full House actor was seemingly snubbed a second time at the 2022 Tony Awards. In the Tonys case, his pal and TV co-star John Stamos actually spoke out about the Bob Saget In Memoriam snub, particularly calling out some of the notable theatrical work his pal had done.
The Emmys are likely the prime space to pay tribute to TV icons. Those don’t air until September 12th of this year, yet given Betty White’s iconic role as Rose Nylund on Golden Girls and Bob Saget bringing Danny Tanner to life onscreen in both Full House and Fuller House, one would expect the fans to get to see “In Memorium” tributes for the two wonderful comedians then. The 74th Annual Emmy Awards will air on NBC a few days after the Creative Emmy Awards air on September 3rd and 4th. Nominations are coming up even sooner -- with a This is Us star already stirring up a plea for a co-star -- and will be announced on July 12.
