The only times I tune into the Oscars is to find out who wins the acting awards and who made and who didn't make the In Memoriam tribute.
I suppose the reason why some acting luminaries are omitted is that too much emphasis is laid on to the deceased, who because of their occupations (screen writers, hairdressers, wardrobe, cinematography, and so forth) must be considered relevant, even though their screen time (aside from the credits at the beginning and/or ending of the film)are, to me, at least, unimportant. For example, I have barely heard of Theoni V. Aldredge, aside from the fact he created the costumes for the "Ghostbusters" movies.
The Oscars are all about the movie industry - the actors, the composers, the directors, that is all I care about. John Barry, Blake Edwards and the other featured in the directing/music category deserve to be remembered.
Then we come to the stars themselves: the overlooked:
Peter Graves - Leslie Nielsen (a co-star of his in the Airplane movies) was remembered, yet he was not. Betty Garrett Corey Haim Lisa Blount Kenneth Mars Janet MacLachlan Rue McClanahan George DiCenzo James Gammon Michele Nicastro and others supposedly too nondescript to rate an honour.
There may be others, lost and eventually forgotten, but the contributions of most of these stars of the stage, the screen and TV are, perhaps, of more importance than those whose connections to the movie-making medium are, tangential, to say the least.
