Glee star, Cory Monteith, along with four other television figures who died this year, will be paid a special tribute at tonight’s Primetime Emmy Awards and it’s causing some controversy.
There are many who feel that, while Cory may have been popular actor with a sizeable fan following, his resume is too short to warrant special notice. Cory was a relatively unknown Canadian actor when he came to Glee, The show was his first major television role.
And while the actor generally got good reviews for his work, he never earned an Emmy nomination–Unlike Jack Klugman, an actor who spent years doing television work, notably in the comedy, The Odd Couple, and then later, in the law enforcement procedural, Quincy.
Klugman’s son, Adam, is speaking out.
“They’re celebrating this self-inflicted tragedy instead of celebrating the life of my father, who won three Emmys…. Cory Monteith never won an Emmy.”
Klugman emphasized he has nothing against Monteith and in fact is a “Glee” fan. But “to compare the contribution he made to the contribution my father made — it doesn’t compare,” he said.
It’s hard to argue with 3 emmys. And the “self-inflicted tragedy” refers to the tragic drug overdose that killed him–a deadly mixture of heroin and alcohol.
I don’t agree that the Emmy people are “celebrating” the way Cory died. It’s just business. Cory had a young fanbase that was sizeable. It’s a matter of attracting young eyeballs to the telecast, as the Emmy show’s exec producer Ken Ehrlich told reporters on a recent conference call:
“Cory’s appeal was to maybe a little different generation than some of the others, and we felt they needed to be represented,” Ehrlich said, reminding the reporters Monteith was “just 31” when he died under “very tragic circumstances.” “It was important to be responsive to younger viewers, to whom Cory Monteith meant as much as the other four individuals meant to their own generations. We made the choice it was important to have, as part of these segments.” Ehrlich admitted that when the decision was made to include Monteith, “there was discussion about the fact that this probably is going to become an interesting topic of conversation. We stand by what we’re doing.”
The other 4 television figures receiving special tributes are James Gandolfini (The Sopranos), Gary David Goldberg (producer of Family Ties and more), Jonathan Winters (influential comic), Jean Stapleton (All in the Family)
Klugman and others who died this year will be included in the usual “in memoriam” montage set to music.
Not gonna lie, if I were in Adam Klugman’s shoes, I’d be a little miffed. I admired the work Cory did in his brief career, but compared to the company he’s keeping in that special group, it’s definitely a case of “one of these things is NOT like the other.” What do you think? Does Cory deserve a special tribute?
The Emmys air tonight at 8 pm on CBS and we’ll be covering them! American Idol winner, Carrie Underwood will perform a tribute to 60s music. Neil Patrick Harris is set to host.
Via Deadline, Los Angeles Times
UPDATE: Cory Monteith’s mother responds via TMZ
Cory Monteith’s mom thinks Jack Klugman’s son has it all wrong — because Cory could have been the next Jack Klugman had he lived.
Ann McGregor thinks Adam Klugman is being unfair, telling TMZ her son is absolutely worthy of getting a special in memoriam honor at tonight’s Emmy Awards … even though Jack isn’t getting one.
Ann tells us she believes you cannot judge worthiness by a person’s age because her son was on a path of greatness — not only with his acting and singing abilities … but with the charitable he work he did.
Ann tells us, “If he had lived 30 more years he would have accomplished much more.”
Ann believes Adam Klugman is misdirected … and thinks its coming from a place of a son who loves and misses his father.
FYI — Ann isn’t going to the Emmys tonight and won’t even watch because she says it’s too painful.
I agree, Cory showed enough promise in his short career, that he COULD have gone on to greather things. And I agree with those of you offended by Klugman’s “self-inflicted” comment. Cory’s drug addiction was a disease that he was battling. The sad thing–relapse is often a part of recovery. If he had woken up the next morning instead, he may have adjusted his program and stayed clean. We’ll never know, but it’s tragic however you look at it.