Jelly Roll Honors James Earl Jones, Bob Newhart, More During Touching Emmys Tribute

Bob Newhart, James Earl Jones, Peter Marshall, Shannen Doherty, and more luminaries were honored during the heartfelt In Memoriam segment led by Jelly Roll at Sunday’s Emmy Awards. Jimmy Kimmel then hit the stage to crack a few jokes in honor of Newhart’s deadpan humor.

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The country star started his heartstring-tugging performance with “ I Am Not Okay ,” his single about his struggles with mental health, by sharing a sweet message. “I believe that music is therapeutic. I believe that music can heal. I also believe that storytelling is just as cathartic,” he said onstage. “I hope this song can act as a healing moment for those mourning the storytellers we’ve lost this year.”

As Jelly Roll belted the soulful lyrics to “I Am Not Okay” while backed by violinists, a slideshow of tributes flashed behind him including Phil Donahue ( Donahue ), Gena Rowlands ( The Notebook ), fitness coach Richard Simmons, and Dr. Ruth Westheimer ( The Dr. Ruth Show ).

Jelly Roll’s segment closed with a tribute to James Earl Jones, whose booming voice was synonymous with Darth Vader in the Star Wars franchise and Mufasa in The Lion King . The renowned actor died Monday at age 93 .

After the country singer’s touching rendition, Kimmel took the stage to remember Newhart, who died in July at age 94 , and his work in The Bob Newhart Show and Newhart . (Younger generations were introduced to Newhart through Elf and The Big Bang Theory. )

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“And the Emmy for deceased industry professional we will miss the most goes to…” started Kimmel before honoring Newhart’s career. “He did not have range. He didn’t need to have range. Bob had what very few comedians have, especially today, a degree in accounting. Bob was a humble, politely hilarious man.”

“He got his first Emmy nomination in 1962 and didn’t win one until 2013. 51 years later, which is a great lesson. And that lesson is, Jon Stewart, you should be ashamed of yourself,” Kimmel continued. “You said you were retiring. Newhart was one of our most loved and funniest people for more than 60 years, and we will miss him for many years to come.”

Martin Mull, Joyce Randolph, Dan Wilcox, Robert Butler, Jerry Foley, Jamie Kellner, Piper Laurie, Terry Carter, Richard Moll, Leo Chaloukian, Rob Halcomb, Chance Perdomo, and Donald Sutherland were among those honored during the segment. (Matthew Perry, and many other stars, were not included in the segment as they were honored at the delayed 2023 Emmy Awards back in January.)

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