Mira Sorvino upset her father Paul Sorvino was not shown in Oscars ‘In Memoriam’ tribute
By Megan Thomas, CNN
Oscar-winning actress Mira Sorvino says she is “hurt and shocked” that her late father, actor Paul Sorvino, was not shown in the televised tribute to late film industry professionals at Sunday’s Oscars ceremony.
“It is baffling beyond belief that my beloved father and many other amazing brilliant departed actors were left out,” Sorvino wrote in a tweet on Monday. “The Oscars forgot about Paul Sorvino, but the rest of us never will!!”
Paul Sorvino, who starred in films including “Goodfellas,” died in July 2022. Mira Sorvino paid tribute to her father ahead of Sunday’s event, recalling her Oscar win for best supporting actress for “Mighty Aphrodite” in 1996.
She said getting to share her win with her father — her “first and best teacher” — was special because she got to “give back to him what he had been giving me all my life- love and belief and admiration and gratitude.”
“On this first year after his passing it is truly a bittersweet but beautiful memory,” she said.
Like Anne Heche and other actors and entertainment industry veterans who died in the past year, the elder Sorvino was acknowledged in a more extensive tribute on the Academy’s website that was promoted at the end of the segment with a QR code. Mira Sorvino said she felt her father had been “overlooked.”
“Incredibly hurt and shocked that my father’s lifelong, irreplaceable, enormous contribution to the world of cinema was overlooked by whomever made that list,” Sorvino wrote in subsequent note on Instagram after the broadcast. “We his adoring family, and you, his adoring public, know just how unique and incredible he was. We hope @theacademy does something to put this right.”
Paul Sorvino’s widow, Dee Dee Sorvino, also expressed her disappointment in a statement obtained by People.
“Paul Sorvino was one of the greatest actors in cinematic history in Hollywood. It is unconscionable that he would be left out of the In Memoriam segment of the Oscars,” Dee Dee Sorvino said. “It’s a three-hour show, they can’t give a couple more minutes to get it right? Paul Sorvino gave decades to this industry and was loved by all. Paul was not the only deserving soul left out, and a QR Code is not acceptable. “
She ended her statement with a request for an apology.
“Shame on the Academy if this is not corrected, Sorvino wrote. “Mistakes are made, this was a big one. Please do something to make it right.”
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