Looks like the Academy forgot that they should never turn their back on a clown.
Last night's 92nd Academy Awards were full of surprise victories, including a deserved Best Picture win for Bong Joon-Ho's Parasite and a huge Best Actor victory for Joaquin Phoenix as the Joker. Part of the show was also the Oscars' traditional In Memoriam reel, featuring a cover of the Beatles' Yesterday performed by Billie Eilish. Unfortunately, rock fans might have noticed a face missing from the reel: character actor Sid Haig, best known to many moviegoers as killer clown Captain Spaulding from Rob Zombie's House Of 1,000 Corpses and The Devil's Rejects.
Haig passed away on September 21, 2019, after a battle with pneumonia and a lung infection. His death made headlines not only in the world of rock and metal, but also in that of international cinema, proving the massive impact that Captain Spaulding had over a generation of movie fans. But while basketball star Kobe Bryant, actors Rip Torn and Danny Aiello, and animator Richard Williams were among those remembered in the Oscars' In Memoriam reel, Sid -- whose career spanned almost forty years, and who was a tried and true member of the exploitation scene that helped save cinema in the 1970s -- was sadly absent.
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Sid wasn't alone in being left out -- actor Luke Perry and 20-year-old Disney star Cameron Boyce were also absent from the video.
Obviously, heavy metal fans aren't terribly surprised by the omission. The Recording Academy is infamous for leaving heavy artists out of the GRAMMY In Memoriam video, including Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul Abbot in 2019 and The Prodigy's Keith Flint this year. But given that this year's Best Picture winner was a psychological thriller, and that Brad Pitt won Best Supporting Actor for a film about Hollywood during the height of exploitation cinema, one would think that maybe performers like Sid Haig would finally be respected enough to earn a shout-out. Apparently, this is still not the case.
Even if Sid Haig slipped the Academy's mind, he's never far from the hearts of his fans. Haig was one of cinema's most distinct character actors, with an instantly recognizable face and a physicality beyond imitation. As Captain Spaulding, he spoke to the snickering psychopath in us all, embodying a free-and-easy sort of killer who could crack a joke one second and turn into the most terrifying creature you've ever seen the next. In this way, Sid became a sympathetic figure for weirdos around the world, who were more than happy to spray seltzer in society's face before punching it in the throat.
Rest in peace, Sid -- we'll always remember you.
