Hulk Hogan and Other Stars Excluded from the 2025 Emmys In Memoriam Tribute
The 2025 Emmys paid homage to stars who passed away this year; however, not every individual was featured in the televised tribute.
During the awards ceremony on Sunday, September 14, The Cosby Show‘s Phylicia Rashad introduced the segment in honor of Malcolm-Jamal Warner, her late onscreen son.
Vince Gill and Lainey Wilson then graced the stage to perform “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” paying tribute to icons such as Maggie Smith, Michelle Trachtenberg, Ozzy Osbourne, David Lynch, Quincy Jones, Anne Burrell, and more.
Some notable stars, including Hulk Hogan, Jerry Adler, Danielle Spencer, Jonathan Joss, and Terence Stamp, were unfortunately left out of the live tribute.
Additionally, the broadcast did not acknowledge Gene Hackman and Val Kilmer, whose names appeared in a longer dedication on the Emmys website.
Earlier this year, Hogan passed away at the age of 71 after suffering cardiac arrest at his home in Clearwater, Florida. Us Weekly later confirmed that his cause of death was acute myocardial infarction.
Hogan was renowned for his career with WWE and World Championship Wrestling. He began in the ’70s and became a five-time WWF Champion, being the first wrestler to win consecutive Royal Rumble matches. Hogan later ventured into film and TV, debuting his series, Thunder in Paradise, in 1994.
He was initially inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame in 2005 and was honored again in 2020 as a member of the nWo.
Hackman, whose illustrious career spanned decades, was discovered deceased alongside his wife, Betsy Arakawa, at their home in New Mexico in February. It was confirmed that Arakawa succumbed first to hantavirus pulmonary syndrome. Hackman’s death resulted from hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, with Alzheimer’s disease significantly contributing.
“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 for his brilliant acting career, but to us, he was always just Dad and Grandpa,” Hackman’s family stated to Us in a release. “We will sorely miss him and are devastated by the loss.”
Joss, known for his role on Parks and Recreation, was fatally shot in June following an alleged altercation with a neighbor in San Antonio, Texas. Authorities responded to a reported shooting and found Joss lying “near the roadway.” He was pronounced dead at the scene despite the attempts of paramedics to perform “life-saving measures.” Officers apprehended the suspect, Sigfredo Alvarez Ceja, who initially fled the scene. Ceja has been charged with murder, and the investigation is currently ongoing.
After Joss’ passing, his husband, Tristan Kern de Gonzales, asserted that the incident was a hate crime. (Police Chief William P. McManus has not yet charged the murder suspect with any 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 preserving Jonathan’s legacy and honoring the life we built together,” Kern de Gonzales expressed at the time. “If your concern is how someone coped with trauma or how loudly they speak when recounting injustice, then you never truly cared about my husband. Jonathan saved my life, and I will carry that forward. I will protect what he built.”
