Larry Hagman's Son on Emmy Controversy
Sunday night's Emmy Awards telecast tried to do something a little different by singling out five stars who had recently passed away and independently eulogizing them with anecdotes from their respective former co-stars and friends. The choice courted controversy from the start, especially with Glee's Cory Monteith being one of the stars chosen to be remembered, since many believed that more established stars -- such as Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie favorite Larry Hagman -- were passed over. ET exclusively sat down with Hagman's son, Preston Hagman, to get his take on the matter, and he declared, "If you're going to respect and recognize them, then do it correctly."
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The stars remembered with a special moment on last night's telecast were James Gandolfini, Jonathan Winters, Jean Stapleton, Family Ties creator Gary David Goldberg, and Monteith. Other stars fondly remembered in the In Memoriam montage included Hagman, Dennis Farina, Annette Funicello, Conrad Bain, Lee Thompson Young, Eileen Brennan, Bonnie Franklin, Jeanne Cooper, Allan Arbus, Charles Durning, Alex Karras, Jack Klugman, Julie Harris, Andy Williams and Roger Ebert.
When asked by ET if Preston was angry that the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences remembered his father with a three second image of him, Preston responded, "I think three seconds was short. I think all of them were short. If you are going to honor [the 'In Memoriam' recipients], honor them with the respect and dignity that they portrayed. Do it for everyone. These are very talented people. The actors that they’re honoring have done so much for the industry... If you're going to respect and recognize them then do it correctly."
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Hagman clarifies, "How I felt last night watching [The Emmys] was not anger, it was disappointment. Again, I think my dad was a trailblazer in the industry to set the stage for other actors. So it's not anger, it's definitely disappointment for what he contributed to the profession."