Emmys Omit Chuck Norris, Several Stars From Tribute

The 2026 Primetime Emmys on Sept. 14 omitted Chuck Norris from In Memoriam. Norris died in March at 86 after 196 episodes of Walker, Texas Ranger from 1993 to 2001. Nicholas Brendon, Daveigh Chase and Patrick Muldoon were also left out. Noah Kahan performed Bridge Over Troubled Water. Honorees included Rob Reiner, Dolly Parton, Catherine O'Hara and Anthony Head. Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy introduced O'Hara tributes. Sally Field introduced Reba McEntire’s performance of Parton’s Appalachian Memories. Jamie Lee Curtis said Reiner posthumously won a Guest Actor Emmy for The Bear and now holds the 48-year record for longest gap between acting Emmys. Gellar and Boreanaz did a Buffy reunion the same night Brendon was omitted. What is contested and who says what: Social media users condemned the snubs. One said, "Chuck Norris didn’t make the In Memoriam. The In Memoriam made a mistake." Another called leaving out Brendon after a Buffy reunion "crazy work." AOL listed Robert Redford among omissions; other outlets did not. No core factual dispute on the Norris, Brendon and Chase omissions appears in the record.