An In Memoriam segment for those Hollywood has lost has been a staple at the Emmy Awards each year — but not everyone was a fan of this year's innovation, which included a standalone tribute to Glee's Cory Monteith from costar Jane Lynch. Just days before the 65th Primetime Emmy Awards went live at the Nokia Theatre in L.A. on Sunday, Sept. 22, Jack Klugman's son, Adam Klugman, complained that the late Canadian star's tribute is an insult to the memory of his late father, who was best known for his iconic role on The Odd Couple.
"I think it's criminal," Klugman said in an interview with the Associated Press. "My dad was at the inception of television and helped build it in the early days."
"It's an insult, and it really seems typical of this youth-centric culture that has an extremely short attention span and panders to only a very narrow demographic," Adam continued. "What about the people who should be introduced to somebody like my father? I don't mean to say anything disparaging about Cory, but he was a kid who had won no Emmys, and it was a self-induced tragedy."
A star of TV, film and the stage, Klugman's father was a three-time Emmy winner. He died at the age of 90 in December 2012, leaving behind Klugman, his wife Peggy Crosby, his other son David Klugman, and his stepsons Randy Wilson and Phil Crosby Jr.
Monteith died at the age of 31 from "a mixed drug toxicity" consisting of heroin and alcohol on July 13. Though Klugman's opinion had no effect on the show, Lynch's speech moved many. "Cory was a beautiful soul. He was not perfect, which many of us here tonight can relate to. His death is a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction."
She added: "To a generation that loved Cory so, please know, this gifted and wonderful young man was worthy of your love. And, if you were lucky enough to know Cory as we did, and witness firsthand Cory's goofy, breezy sense of humor, his natural instinct for inclusiveness and his unbridled sense of generosity day in and day out, I promise, you'd have loved him even more."
