Shannen Doherty, Richard Simmons, Extra Honored

Whereas the Emmy Awards 2024 celebrated the accomplishments of beloved TV exhibits and expertise, the occasion additionally paused to pay tribute to the chums, colleagues and icons the neighborhood misplaced this 12 months.

Shannen Doherty, Phil Donahue and Richard Simmons have been among the many stars honored in the course of the 76th annual ceremony’s “In Memoriam” tribute, which pays homage to luminaries who’ve left an affect on the trade and who died over the previous 12 months.

Different stars whose lives and careers have been celebrated included Richard Lewis, Bob Newhart, Louis Gossett Jr., Gena Rowlands, Martin Mull, Piper Laurie, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Likelihood Perdomo, Carl Weathers, Dabney Coleman, Richard Moll, Susan Wojcicki, Donald Sutherland and James Earl Jones.

Earlier than performing his track “I Am Not Okay” for the tribute, Jelly Roll instructed the viewers, “I consider that music is therapeutic. I consider that music can heal. I additionally consider that storytelling is simply as cathartic.

“I hope that this track can act as a therapeutic second for these mourning the storytellers now we have misplaced this 12 months,” he continued. “In case you are feeling misplaced or alone tonight, I would like you to know that it is okay to not all the time be okay.”

Doherty died on July 13 at age 53, practically a decade after she was recognized with most cancers.

The actress landed her first main position as Jenny Wilder on Little Home on the Prairie at age 11 earlier than starring within the 1989 darkish comedy Heathers. Her breakout position as Brenda Walsh on Beverly Hills, 90210 catapulted her to a stratospheric stage of fame. One other iconic position — as Prue Halliwell on the WB supernatural drama Charmed — adopted.

Within the a long time after, Doherty labored steadily, popping up in TV films, showing with a number of of the unique 90210 solid members on the short-lived revival BH90210 and launching the Let’s Be Clear podcast. The actress additionally grew to become a fierce most cancers advocate, looking for to show that folks with most cancers may nonetheless reside full lives and make significant contributions.

“We’re vibrant, and now we have such a distinct outlook on life,” Doherty instructed PEOPLE in 2023. “We’re individuals who need to work, embrace life and hold shifting ahead.”

Famend because the “King of Daytime Discuss,” Donahue, who died on Aug. 18 at age 88 following an extended sickness, modified the face of daytime TV with The Phil Donahue Present. This system, which ran for 29 years, gained popularity of its superstar interviews and for tackling difficult subjects, from racism to baby abuse within the Catholic Church.

After wrapping his eponymous discuss present in 1996, Donahue wrote and directed Physique of Struggle, a 2007 documentary about an Iraq Struggle veteran, and cowrote the 2020 e-book What Makes a Marriage Final with spouse Marlo Thomas.

In Could, Donahue instructed PEOPLE the “one factor” that served because the “basis of the 7,000 episodes” he taped was “curiosity.”

“I nonetheless consider that, regardless of our variations, we’re all a part of this sprawling international household, and we simply must get to know one another in order that we are able to share the world collectively,” he added.

Simmons, who died on July 13 at age 76 from unintentional blunt traumatic accidents, grew to become a pop-culture health icon, releasing greater than 50 exercise movies — together with his memorable franchise Sweatin’ to the Oldies — authoring 5 bestselling books, internet hosting weight-loss cruises and educating courses at his Slimmons studios in Beverly Hills, California.

In his closing interview with PEOPLE in July, the elusive and humble star mirrored on his legacy.

“I by no means considered myself as a celeb,” Simmons stated. “Folks don’t know this: I’m a extremely shy particular person and slightly little bit of an introvert. When that curtain goes up, that’s a distinct story. I’m there to make folks blissful. However the accolades I get from emails … we’ll reply over 100 emails.”

“And so they’ll say, ‘I’m your No. 1 fan.’ And I write again, ‘Don’t say that, as a result of I’m a human being identical to you. And I do know that you just do good issues, too,’ ” he added.

Lewis, who died on Feb. 27 after a coronary heart assault, was greatest recognized for his trademark self-deprecating humor, which he confirmed in numerous standup performances and TV and movie roles.

He held a long-standing position on Larry David‘s Curb Your Enthusiasm, showing in additional than 40 episodes between 2000 and 2021. He was additionally recognized for being an everyday visitor on The Late Present with David Letterman and The Howard Stern Present.

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Lewis’s appearing profession additionally noticed him in TV exhibits with a starring position reverse Jamie Lee Curtis within the sitcom Something however Love from 1989 to 1992, in later small-screen appearances on seventh Heaven, Impolite Awakening, Bojack Horseman and Blunt Discuss, and in movies together with 1993’s Robin Hood: Males in Tights and 1995’s Leaving Las Vegas.

Lewis, who penned a 2000 memoir titled The Different Nice Despair, instructed The Washington Put up in 2020, “No, I am not a really blissful man. I am thrilled to be alive. I am grateful for who’s in my life. I’ve obtained nice mates, an excellent spouse, a canine, and I’ve an excellent profession.”

See PEOPLE’s full protection of the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they’re broadcasting reside on ABC from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.