The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will present the Oscar awards 
on March 5.  At every Oscar awards ceremony, they show a short film of people 
in the industry who have passed on since the last Oscars.  This reel isn't 
just for big-name stars: they often highlight the careers of lesser-known 
character actors, as well as technical people (like makeup professionals, 
cameramen, etc.).

And they often include people who have very recently passed, which means they 
have the ability to add footage to the memorial reel very close to the 
broadcast date.

I wrote to the Academy last week asking if Andreas was going to be included 
in the memorial reel, and haven't had a reply.  Someone on the moderated 
newsgroup had the wonderful idea that we should make sure that the Academy 
knows about Andreas's death, and that he's someone worthy of being honored 
therein.

You can write to the Academy through this form on their website:

http://www.oscars.org/contact/general.html

My suggestion is that you do _not_ emphasize his role as G'Kar, as that is 
connected to a television show, and the Academy is all about film.  Instead, 
remind them that Andreas was well known for playing "bad guys" or "heavies," 
like the one-armed man from "The Fugitive," but also in "Executive Decision," 
"Someone to Watch Over Me," "The Sicilian," etc. etc.  You can find a list of 
his film credits here:

http://imdb.com/name/nm0441537/

Remember, stress the film roles.  Particularly the big ones, the classic 
and/or blockbuster films, which I've listed above.

You might say something like "I've just heard about the death of Andreas 
Katsulas, who was a great character actor, often in the role of the bad guy, 
and who brought wonderful subtlety to all of his roles.  I have fond memories 
of him playing the one-armed man in "The Fugitive," but also of seeing him 
show up in numerous other great films like "Executive Decision" and "The 
Sicilian."  I hope you're going to include him in the memorial film you show 
at the Oscars - he's a real loss to the film community."

I think it would be a really nice tribute to Andreas to see his face up there 
on the screen at the Academy, being broadcast to millions of homes, and to 
know that the biggest stars in Hollywood today - and those watching them - 
are remembering him.

Thanks,

Amy

Following up on this matter:

Thanks very much to all who posted comments to the Academy on Andreas's 
behalf.  I telephoned them today to see how we were doing, and found out 
that, alas, there was a February 1st deadline for submissions for the 
memorial reel.  Any Academy member who passed after February 1, 2006, is 
eligible to be in _next_ year's memorial reel.

However, this effort was definitely not in vain; the Academy really does 
start planning for these things as soon as the current Oscars are finished, 
and so now they are well and truly informed about the fact that Andreas 
Katsulas has a large and loyal fanbase who is interested to see him 
represented in the memorial reel next year.  Also, I was able to provide them 
with information they needed about how to contact his agent, which will allow 
them to verify the date and details of his death, and obtain stills to be 
used in the reel.

Thanks again, so very much, and I hope our efforts have guaranteed that we'll 
be seeing Andreas's face up on the Academy screen in 2007.

Amy