Noah Kahan performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as the 78th Emmy Awards remembered Catherine O’Hara, Rob Reiner and dozens of television figures lost over the past year.
by Paul Cashmere
The 78th Emmy Awards used its In Memoriam segment to honour performers, directors, producers and other television figures who died over the past year, with Noah Kahan performing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and special tributes delivered for Catherine O’Hara and Rob Reiner.
The ceremony, held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 14, featured Kahan’s performance of the Simon & Garfunkel classic as images of the departed appeared on screen. The Television Academy had announced Kahan’s participation before the ceremony, identifying “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as the musical centrepiece of the In Memoriam presentation.
The segment began with Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy remembering O’Hara, who died earlier this year. Culkin worked with O’Hara in the Home Alone films, while Murphy and Levy starred alongside her in Schitt’s Creek.
Culkin recalled O’Hara as his on-screen mother and spoke about the personal significance of their relationship. “She was my mom. She was our mama,” he said, before encouraging viewers to call their own mothers.
Murphy reflected on the way O’Hara’s humour and warmth extended beyond her professional work, recalling encounters with members of the public who had been affected by her death.
Levy concentrated on O’Hara’s creative instincts and the lessons she passed on during their work together. His tribute repeatedly returned to the idea of saying yes to O’Hara’s ideas, including her approach to character, costumes, wigs and rewriting.
“Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness,” Levy said before introducing Kahan’s performance.
Kahan performed the song with a restrained arrangement, using Paul Simon’s composition as the musical backdrop to the broader memorial montage. The song’s themes of consolation and support gave the segment a direct connection to its purpose without requiring additional narration.
Among those featured in the montage were James Burrows, James Van Der Beek, Hayden Panettiere, Eric Dane, Tim Curry, Sam Neill, Anthony Head, Isiah Whitlock Jr., Diane Ladd, June Lockhart, Robert Duvall, Anthony Geary and Demond Wilson.
The presentation also remembered Gil Gerard, Pat Crowley, Sid Krofft, Ted Turner, Bob Mackie, Vincent Pastore, Shelley Fabares, Hal Williams, Robert Carradine, Louise Lasser, T.K. Carter, Maria Riva, Randolph Mantooth, Jon Cypher and Gene Shalit.
Jamie Lee Curtis then appeared to remember James Burrows and Rob Reiner. Curtis noted Burrows’ contribution to television comedy directing across more than 1,000 episodes before turning to Reiner, who died with his wife Michele in December 2025.
Curtis also noted that Reiner had received a posthumous Emmy for his guest performance in The Bear, giving him a record 48-year gap between acting Emmy wins. His father, Carl Reiner, had previously held the record with a 37-year gap.
Curtis described Reiner as generous, kind and funny, adding that he and Michele were deeply missed.
The broadcast memorial also prompted discussion about who was not included in the televised montage. Chuck Norris, Nicholas Brendon, Peter Cullen, Daveigh Chase, Patrick Muldoon, Jaye P. Morgan and Grizz Chapman were among the notable names absent from the broadcast presentation. Some people omitted from the televised segment were included in the Television Academy’s expanded online memorial database.
The omissions illustrate the difficult editorial choices involved in a televised memorial covering an industry that loses a substantial number of performers and production professionals each year. Inclusion in a broadcast montage is separate from whether a person is recognised by the Academy in its broader records.
The Emmy tributes also formed part of a wider evening of remembrance. Earlier in the ceremony, Sally Field paid tribute to Dolly Parton, while Reba McEntire performed “Appalachian Memories” in honour of Parton.
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