It was recently announced that Ellen Degeneres will host next year’s Academy Awards, and now it looks like we might have some insight into who will be honored during the “In Memoriam” tribute.
It has not been six months since Venezuela’s president for life, Hugo Chavez, passed away. But the despot lives on, honored by a venerated showbiz tabloid, The Hollywood Reporter, listed among “Hollywood’s Notable Deaths of 2013.”
So a socialist dictator, whose radical policies plunged Venezuela into poverty, is a considered a “notable” Hollywood death…
“Maybe it's just me, but not really sure why TheBlaze is reporting today on Hollywood's most notable deaths,” Glenn said on radio this morning. “During the Oscar telecast, they feature a tribute to the most notable Hollywood deaths. And for some reason, it always honors the celebrities in show biz that died. But may I ask, one of the celebrities, the most notable death, Hollywood's most notable death of 2013 is Hugo Chavez. Now, help me out on this.”
Pat tried his hardest to come up with a logical explanation for Chavez’s inclusion, but he came up empty handed.
“Because he starred in Star Wars – I think it was Episode 6, right? He was Jar Jar Binks,” Pat guessed. “Oh, he was in Les Mis. He plays the inspector. Oh, it was Pirates of the Caribbean.”
No, no, and no.
Glenn, however, did come up with one possibility. “He was in a documentary from Finland called Chavez: Inside the Coup,” Glenn said. “But he played himself because it was [a documentary] about him.
It’s not unusual for political figures to make the list. For example, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch passed away earlier this year, and he is part of The Hollywood Reporter list. But, then again, Koch was a celebrity in his own right.
“So now, Ed Koch also died,” Glenn explained. “Ed Koch was in 13 acting roles and 80 appearances as himself. He also hosted The People's Court when it went back to TV in 1997.”
So just how did Chavez manage to make the cut, and will the Oscar’s dig up some dignified photo of him to display during its telecast?
“I mean, he's the hero of every single person who's in a movie in Hollywood,” Stu concluded. “Sean Penn basically made out with the guy.”