Joan Rivers was left out of the Oscars’ ‘In Memoriam’ segment

The segment presented by Meryl Streep gave equal time to Golden Age legends and below-the-line veterans. In a departure from past years, there were no clips for any of the more recognizable names but rather a series of stylized photo illustrations. Academy officials have long urged attendees to avoid giving the impression that the tribute is a popularity contest by holding applause until the end.

The segment opened with Mickey Rooney followed by director Paul Mazursky and was applause-free, as far as telecast viewers could discern, in the Dolby Theater until the final image of director Mike Nichols flashed on screen.

Joan Rivers was a notable omission from the on-air list. The comedian who died in September had a limited film resume, to be sure, but she became a fixture of Hollywood’s awards season for her caustic red carpet hosting gigs. She also directed the 1978 Billy Crystal comedy “Rabbit Test.”

By contrast, film critic Charles Champlin made the cut. So did Maya Angelou, novelist-writer Gabriel Garcia Marquez and artist-designer H.R. Giger. Oscar watchers also noted that actress Polly Bergen, who had a memorable role in 1962’s “Cape Fear,” among other pics, was not mentioned on air although she like Rivers is featured in a photo gallery on the Oscars.com website.

Robin Williams was among the tragic losses recognized. The Oscar winner for “Good Will Hunting” committed suicide in August at the age of 63.

Highly regarded actors with long careers noted included Eli Wallach, Bob Hoskins, James Garner, Ruby Dee, Elizabeth Pena, Edward Herrmann, Virna Lisi and James Rebhorn. Renowned cinematographers Gordon Willis and Oswald Morris were recognized, as were writers Lorenzo Semple Jr., Stewart Stern and L.M. Kit Carson. Innovative makeup man Dick Smith was featured, after getting a shoutout earlier in the telecast from makeup/ hairstyling winner Mark Coulier (who shared his Oscar with Frances Hannon for “The Grand Budapest Hotel”).

Though several notable film business figures died early in 2014, including Philip Seymour Hoffman, Harold Ramis, Shirley Temple and “Midnight Rider” assistant director Sarah Jones, they were included in last year’s segment.