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Zach Braff Says Emmys Passed On Nick Cordero For Memorial Tribute Despite Supporters’ Campaign

Nick Cordero was not included in the Emmy Award’s In Memoriam segment Sunday night, and Zach Braff, the late actor’s friend and former Broadway co-star, says it wasn’t for supporters’ lack of trying.

“For those wondering: The Emmys chose to leave Nick Cordero out of the memorial montage,” Braff tweeted today. “I had no idea one had to campaign to get their loved one in. We did. They passed.”

Braff also tweeted a note he said he received from Emmy staffers that said, “Those involved in the In Memoriam selection process are very aware of the sad passing of Mr Cordero due to coronavirus and we assure that his name has been given every consideration for inclusion. With so many people passing in any given year, we simply cannot ensure any particular individual is included, nor do we release the name of those included prior to the telecast.”

In a third tweet, Braff also called attention to the absence in the segment of his Scrubs co-star Sam Lloyd. “I should mention too, that they also left out Sam Lloyd,” Braff tweeted. “I would have never even considered ‘campaigning’ for Sam because he had more TV credits than most actors I know.”

Although Cordero, who died July 5 following a 95-day battle with COVID-19, was known primarily as a Broadway performer, he played the recurring role of Victor Lugo in CBS’ Blue Bloods, and appeared in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Queer as Folk and Lillyhammer. (On the film side, Cordero appeared in, among others, the 2017 heist film Going In Style, director by Braff, Cordero’s co-star in Broadway’s 2014 musical Bullets Over Broadway.

Cordero’s album Live Your Life: Live at Feinstein’s/54 Below was released posthumously last week and hit #1 on the iTunes album chart its first night.

Among those honored in the Emmy In Memoriam tribute were Naya Rivera, Carl Reiner, Diana Rigg, Chadwick Boseman, Regis Philbin, Diahann Carroll and others who died in 2020. Among those who passed this year but were not included in the segment were Cordero, Kelly Preston, Kobe Bryant and Kenny Rogers, who appeared in multiple TV movies and hosted an early ’70s variety series.

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