I was surprised there was no mention of Farah Fawcet last night at the Oscars. When they gave their tribute to all the stars that had passed away, there was no mention of UT's Farah. True that she wasn't as big a movie star as a TV star, but she was certainly noteworthy of mention, especially after her long, publisised bout with cancer and fight against it with long time partner Ryan O'Neill.
They mentioned on the radio this morning that she was not a member of the SAG. I don't know if that was the actual reason or not but if it was they should have made an exception.
I watched that segment fully expecting Farrah to get the closing spot...lame excuse not to include her. More on the snub here: Link
Farah wasn't really a movie person to my thinking, but she belonged in the segment more than Michael Jackson did in my opinion. Does anyone have a link about Penn or Farah not belonging to SAG? I don't think you can work in studio films if you are not a member of SAG. Perhaps Penn said he was not a member of the Academy? The Academy and SAG are independent of one another.
I've always thought of Farah as more tv star than movie star, but her roles in "The Apostle" (Indie Spirit nom.) and "Extremeties" (Golden Globe film nom.) merited her inclusion in the segment. It would have only added a few seconds to what was going to be a looong show anyway. If they can honor people unknown to most of the tv audience (producer Simon Channing-Williams, Italian screenwriter Tullio Pinelli, some PR guy...all of whom I'm sure were good at their craft), they could have/should have honored her (and maybe Bea Arthur and Henry Gibson). Penn is a SAG member (he is a big union guy afterall) but not an Academy mem. FF was both.