Chuck Norris’ Walker, Texas Ranger co-star Judson Mills has slammed the Emmys organizers after the legendary actor’s name was left out of the ceremony’s traditional In Memoriam segment.
Chuck Norris, who died in March at the age of 86, was one of the biggest television stars of the 1990s. For nine seasons, he played the lead role in CBS’ hit series Walker, Texas Ranger, which ran from 1993 to 2001 and aired 203 episodes.
Norris remained with the show throughout its entire run and returned as Cordell Walker in the 2005 television movie Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire.
In an interview with TMZ, Judson Mills called the Emmys’ decision not to include Norris in the In Memoriam tribute a “horrible” and “tragic” mistake.
Mills played Francis Gage during the final two seasons of Walker, Texas Ranger and in the television movie Trial by Fire, working alongside Norris.
“A tragic mistake. And I can only assume that it really was a horrible mistake. But my first thought was Gina, the family and his fans,” Mills said, referring to Norris’ widow, Gena O’Kelley.
“I’m sure Chuck would encourage everyone to forgive. He was a person who believed, ‘It’s not all about me.’ But when you’re talking about an icon of that magnitude, someone who had an impact not only on Hollywood but on the entire world, to see him not acknowledged at all, and for his family not to receive that recognition, was very upsetting,” the actor continued.
“It definitely hurt me. My God, he was a legend,” Mills added.
Chuck Norris was far from the only well-known actor left out of the Emmys’ In Memoriam segment.
Nicholas Brendon, best known for his role in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, was also absent from the tribute. The omission was particularly noticeable because Buffy stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz reunited during the ceremony itself.
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