Bob Newheit, James Earl Jones, Peter Marshall, Shannen Doherty and more celebrities were honored during Jelly Roll's “In Memoriam” segment at Sunday's Emmy Awards. Jimmy Kimmel then took the stage to crack some jokes in honor of Newheit's humor.
The country star began his emotional performance with “I’m Not Okay,” a song about his struggles with mental health, sharing a heartfelt message. “I believe music is therapeutic. I believe music can heal. I believe storytelling is just as cathartic. I hope this song can be a healing moment for those who are grieving the storytellers we lost this year,” he said on stage.
As Jelly Roll sang the lyrics to “I'm Not Okay” loudly, backed by violinists, a group of tributes appeared behind him, including Phil Donahue (Donahue), Gena Rowlands (The notebook), fitness trainer Richard Simmons, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer (Dr. Ruth Displays).
Jelly Roll's segment concluded with a tribute to James Earl Jones, whose powerful voice was synonymous with Darth Vader in star wars Privilege and Mufasa in The Lion KingThe famous actor died on Monday at the age of 93.
After the country singer's moving performance, Kimmel took the stage to remember Newwhite, who died in July at age 94, and his work in Bob Newwhite Show and New Heart(Younger generations were introduced to New Heart through dwarf and The big bang theory.)
“And the Emmy for Best Deceased Actor in the Industry who we will miss the most goes to…” Kimmel began before honoring New Hart’s career. “He didn’t have the creative juice. He didn’t need it. Bob had what very few comedians have, especially today, which is an accounting degree. Bob was a humble, gentlemanly, funny guy.”
“He got his first Emmy nomination in 1962 and didn’t win until 2013. And 51 years later, that’s a great lesson. And the lesson is, Jon Stewart, you should be ashamed of yourself,” Kimmel continued. “You said you were going to retire. New Hart was one of our most beloved and funny people for over 60 years, and we will miss him for many years to come.”
Honorees during the segment included Martin Mull, Joyce Randolph, Dan Wilcox, Robert Butler, Jerry Foley, Jamie Kellner, Piper Laurie, Terry Carter, Richard Mull, Leo Chaloukian, Robert Halcomb, Chance Perdomo, and Donald Sutherland. (Matthew Perry, and several other stars, were not included in the segment as they were honored at the postponed 2023 Emmys in January.)
