In the end, there was no final curtain call for Brad Renfro.
The former child star, whose high-profile credits (The Client, Apt Pupil) were eventually overshadowed by his drug-fueled extracurriculars, died Jan. 15 of an accidental heroin overdose. He was 25.
But while his death rattled Hollywood, it failed to register with the older-skewing powers that be at the Motion Picture Academy, who declined to include him in Oscar's "in memoriam" segment paying tribute to fallen Industry folks.
The traditional montage featured remembrances of 43 actors, filmmakers, writers, technicians, studio suits and other insiders—some of whom virtually unknown to the general public. Indeed, only a few warranted more than polite applause from attendees in the Kodak Theater.
The Academy concluded the tribute with an image of Heath Ledger, the onetime Oscar nominee for Brokeback Mountain who was found dead from an accidental prescription drug overdose exactly one week after Renfro's passing.
(Coincidentally, nearly a decade ago, Renfro auditioned to play Mel Gibson's son in The Patriot, the role which launched Ledger's career.)
Renfro's family could be not reached for comment, however, TMZ reported that those close to the actor were hurt by the omission.
Academy publicist Leslie Unger told E! News that there was never any intention to slight or ignore Renfro in the posthumous honor roll.
"In any given year, we are not able to include everyone who has past away, and because we very much want to include people who worked in all aspects of filmmaking, not just actors and actresses, this means that sometimes well-known individuals are not included," Unger said.
Roy Scheider, the star of Jaws, All that Jazz and The French Connection and a former Oscar nominee, also failed to make the cut. But with good reason: His death on Feb. 10 outside the Feb. 1, 2007-Jan. 31, 2008 time frame covered by the ceremony's tribute. Look for him in next year's montage.
Renfro was discovered by a casting director in his hometown of Knoxville, Tennessee, at the age of 10 and hired for 1994's The Client opposite Susan Sarandon and Tommy Lee Jones. He followed that up a year later starring as Huck Finn in Disney's Tom and Huck.
Other notable credits included 1996's Sleepers (in an ensemble that included Robert De Niro, Dustin Hoffman, Brad Pitt and Kevin Bacon), 1998's Apt Pupil (playing opposite Ian McKellen), 2001's Ghost World (with Scarlett Johansson and Thora Birch) and 2005's The Jacket (with Naomi Watts and Adrien Brody).
Most recently he guested on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, starred in the little-seen indie drama 10th & Wolf and, before his death, finished The Informers, with Billy Bob Thornton and Winona Ryder, due out later this year.