Emmys 2026: Tributes paid to Dolly Parton, Catherine O’Hara, Rob Reiner and others

Emotions ran high at the Emmy Awards 2026 on Tuesday (September 15, 2026) as tributes were paid to Dolly Parton, Catherine O’Hara, Rob Reiner and several others who passed away last year.

Sally Field and Reba McEntire took to the stage to pay heartfelt tributes to Parton, who died last month at 80. The ceremony took some time as Sally expressed her admiration for Parton. “I couldn’t see then what a real giant Dolly was — not just as an artist, but as a human. She was a humanitarian whose contributions have made a profound difference in the lives of so many in her home state of Tennessee and across our country,” she said.

Reba then performed an orchestra of Appalachian Memories, with the track chosen to honour Parton, who had performed it at the 1983 Emmy Awards.

After that, Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy honoured Catherine O’Hara during the In Memoriam segment. O’Hara died earlier this year in January at 71. Macaulay, who starred with her in Home Alone, was visibly emotional speaking about O’Hara. “She was encouraging, she was warm, funny. But the word that I think of is momma. She wasn’t just a wife and mother to Beau and Matthew and Luke, she was my mom. Our mom. And by extension, all of our moms. By the way, call your mother tonight,” Macaulay said.

Annie, O’Hara’s Schitt’s Creek co-star, spoke highly of the legendary actor’s warmth and kindness. Meanwhile, Dan recalled that the “greatest lesson” he learned from O’Hara was to “always say yes to everything”. “Say yes to giving her space to experiment and create. It will amaze you on a daily basis, and it will change your life. Say yes to her dinner invites and her stories and her wisdom and her generosity. Those are the things you will hold onto the tightest. Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness,” said the Schitt’s Creek actor.

Then, Noah Kahan performed ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ as images were displayed of all those from the TV industry who passed away last year, including, Anthony Head, Diane Ladd, Dolly, James Van Der Beek, Robert Duvall, Eric Dane, and Robert Carradine.

The segment ended with Jamie Lee Curtis remembering Rob Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner, who were murdered last year in December.

“Last year we lost another cherished legend, our beloved ‘Meathead,’ Rob Reiner. He was generous and kind and funny as hell and a friend to all,” she said while fighting back tears.