Every year the Oscars put on a Memoriam tribute to celebrate those stars that passed of the stage and screen from the following year.
You might not be a fan of some of those people that passed away but there are certain celebrity passings that transcend the toxic political divide currently pervading America like recent deaths of Gene Wilder, Burt Reynolds, David Bowie and Prince. We can all agree that the passing of those greats was nothing less than tragic.
But you’ll be furious to learn that Hollywood snubbed this Marine Corp veteran and Hollywood actor from its Memoriam.
Some actors transcend the craft so much that they become relatable in a weirdly ironic way.
Clint Eastwood might be the best example, but even past actors like Humphrey Bogart, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant, Grace Kelly and Jimmy Stewart.
One of those actors is none other than R. Lee Ermey.
He’s one of the most beloved character actors in Hollywood who served in the United States Marine Corps for 11 years and is known for his iconic roles in Full Metal Jacket, Mississippi Burning, Se7en and The Frighteners.
You might literally be hard pressed to find one of your favorite movies that he’s NOT in. That’s saying something.
And that’s why the Academy Awards should be disgustingly ashamed to leave this legendary actor out of their ceremony memoriam that celebrates those that were lost over the year.
The Oscars always deal with credibility issues because of their lack of inclusion like a few years ago when they were boycotted with the hashtag slogan #OscarsSoWhite – where every single person nominated in the acting categories were white.
But this is a new low.
Lee Ermey isn’t just an “actor” and that’s probably what bothered them – why they excluded him from this posthumous honor.
After working with him, he quickly realized that Ermey was the actor playing character he was looking for all along and not some behind-the-scenes instructor telling his actor what to do.
After that, Ermey has acted in nearly 125 films or television shows that include Family Guy, Law & Order, Scrubs and the Toy Story franchise. He even hilariously stole the show as a washed-up gym teacher in Saving Silverman.
And Hollywood had the unmitigated audacity to leave him out of their memoriam? For what reason?
What more does he have to do? Was it because he wasn’t a true “actor?” He ran circles around a lot of people in his first film as Gunny Hartman in Full Metal Jacket so that doesn’t make any sense.
So, why?
What possible reason could they have to leave R. Lee Ermey out? Is it liberal political nonsense? It must be because there is no other reason.
