Bob Newhart, James Earl Jones, Peter Marshall, Shannen Doherty and more stars were honored during the emotional In Memoriam segment led by Jelly Roll at Sunday’s Emmy Awards. Jimmy Kimmel then took the stage to crack a few jokes in honor of Newhart’s dry humor.
The country star began his heartbreaking performance with “I Am Not Okay,” his single about his mental health struggles, and shared a sweet message. “I believe that music is therapeutic. I believe that music can heal. I also believe that storytelling is just as cathartic,” he said onstage. “I hope this song can serve as a healing moment for those who are mourning the storytellers we’ve lost this year.”
While Jelly Roll performed the soulful lyrics to “I Am Not Okay” with violin accompaniment, a slideshow of tributes played in the background, including Phil Donahue (Donahue), Gena Rowlands (The notebook), fitness coach Richard Simmons and Dr. Ruth Westheimer (The Dr. Ruth Show).
Jelly Roll’s segment ended with a tribute to James Earl Jones, whose booming voice is synonymous with Darth Vader in the star Wars Franchise and Mufasa in The Lion KingThe famous actor died on Monday at the age of 93.
After the country singer’s touching performance, Kimmel took the stage to pay tribute to Newhart, who died in July at the age of 94, and his work in The Bob Newhart Show And Newhart. (Younger generations got to know Newhart through Eleven And The Big Bang Theory.)
“And the Emmy for the late industry professional we will miss the most goes to…” Kimmel began, before paying tribute to Newhart’s career. “He had no bandwidth. He didn’t need bandwidth. Bob had, which very few comedians have, especially today, a degree in accounting. Bob was a humble, politely funny man.”
“He was first nominated for an Emmy in 1962 and didn’t win one until 2013. 51 years later, it’s a great lesson. And that lesson is: Jon Stewart, you should be ashamed of yourself,” Kimmel continued. “You said you were retiring. Newhart was one of our most beloved and funniest people for over 60 years and we will miss him for many years to come.”
Martin Mull, Joyce Randolph, Dan Wilcox, Robert Butler, Jerry Foley, Jamie Kellner, Piper Laurie, Terry Carter, Richard Moll, Leo Chaloukian, Rob Halcomb, Chance Perdomo and Donald Sutherland were among those honored in the segment. (Matthew Perry and many other stars were not featured in the segment as they were already honored in January at the postponed 2023 Emmy Awards.)
