From Catherine O'Hara to Dolly Parton: These heartwarming Emmys 2026 tributes stole the show

The Emmys 2026 honored a number of stars who passed away in the last year. Hollywood has seen a lot of deaths recently, including artists such as Dolly Parton, Catherine O'Hara, Eric Dane, Rob Reiner, and James Burrows, among others.

While it is not possible to pay individual tributes to everyone, the Emmys 2026 did its best to honor a few individually and then others through Noah Kahan's performance of Bridge Over Troubled Water.

All Emmys 2026 tributes

Dolly Parton, Rob Reiner, Catherine O'Hara, and James Burrows received individual tributes at the Emmys 2026. Artists who had known them personally and professionally spoke about them and honored the work they did and the lives they lived.

Catherine O'Hara was given a tribute by Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy

Catherine O'Hara was given a tribute by her on-screen children. Macaulay Culkin had played O'Hara's on-screen son in Home Alone and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. Dan Levy and Annie Murphy had played her on-screen son and daughter in Schitt's Creek. Culkin, Murphy, and Levy took the stage at the Emmys 2026 to honor the woman they had loved knowing and working with.

Culkin spoke about O'Hara, saying:

“You remember her as the forgetful mother, right?"

He continued:

“There are all kinds of words I could use to describe Catherine. She was encouraging. She was warm. She was funny, but the word that I think of is Mom. She was my mom. She was our mom… So she may have forgotten me twice. But we will always remember her.”

Annie Murphy talked about the times she had been approached by people after Catherine's death who wanted to express their condolences and love for her. Murphy concluded by saying:

“These are only very few of the interactions I’ve been lucky enough to have that remind me how profoundly Catherine has impacted the world, and it’s because she brought us joy.”

Dan Levy began his speech by saying:

"The greatest lesson I learned from Catherine both professionally and personally was to always say yes."

He went on to talk about how he now knows that it was always the right choice to say yes to all the risks Catherine wanted to take at work and some in her personal life. Levy went over how she asked to name her wig and change a few lines the night before shooting, all of which he thought it was right to say yes to. He ended his speech by saying:

“Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness.”

Sally Field and Reba McEntire paid tribute to Dolly Parton

The tribute to Dolly Parton began with Sally Field talking about the late musician. Field, who co-starred with Parton in the 1989 film Steel Magnolias, said:

"If there are truly angels on Earth, then we just lost one: Dolly Parton... She was genuine, and humble, and supportive, and blisteringly funny, with a bawdy sense of humor that would send a rude guy looking for a place to hide.''

Sally Field at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards - Show - Source: Getty

Field called her a wonderful humanitarian and said she will not be the only one on earth who will love her forever. Emmys 2026 then played an old video from the 1983 Emmys where Parton introduced Appalachian Memories to everyone. Country music star Reba McEntire then paid a tribute to Parton by singing an orchestra-backed version of Parton's Appalachian Memories. McEntire became visibly tearful during the song and ended by saying:

"I love you, Dolly. So much"

Jamie Lee Curtis paid tributes to James Burrows and Rob Reiner

Jamie Lee Curtis began her tribute to James Burrows and Rob Reiner by saying:

“For over 1,000 episodes of television, the great James Burrows set a standard of comedy directing that will be cherished and studied for generations to come.”

Curtis continued:

“And sadly, last year, we lost another cherished legend. Our beloved Meathead, Rob Reiner.”

Curtis then talked about how Reiner won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series posthumously last week for his role in The Bear. She ended her speech by saying:

“He was generous and kind and funny as h*ll and a friend to all. We all miss Rob and Michele, and all those we lost this year.”

The Emmys 2026 also paid tribute to many others who lost their lives in the past year by playing an in memoriam video montage as Noah Kahan sang Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon & Garfunkel. The late artists who were honored were James Van Der Beek, Demond Wilson, June Lockhart, Ted Turner, Patricia Crowley, Eric Dane, Hayden Panettiere, Louise Lasser, T.K. Carter, and Michael Wright, among others.

The Emmys 2026 ceremony is now streaming on Peacock.