Mark Hamill Introduced The Tonys ‘In Memoriam’ Segment Honoring Carrie Fisher And Broadway Greats

— Esquire UK (@EsquireUK) June 12, 2017

Mark Hamill introduced the “In Memoriam” segment during the Tony Awards on Sunday evening, and the moment meant more for him than just any memorial video, as it honored his lifelong friend Carrie Fisher. While introducing the video, Hamill remarked how “We lost many beloved members of our theatrical family… legends of the stage, artists from behind the scenes, princes of show business… and a princess” this year and it was emotional for basically everyone involved. The loss of Fisher and her mother Debbie Reynolds has not become any less painful in the months since those tragic days.

— Chelsea Nachman (@chelseanachman) June 12, 2017

Fisher, of course, was best known for her roles on the silver screen, but made a significant impression with her work on stage as well. Specifically, her one-woman show “Wishful Drinking” which also aired as a TV special and was an autobiographical book.

In addition to Fisher and Reynolds, the segment also honored other Broadway performers such as Gene Wilder, Florence Henderson, and James Nederlander while a group of Broadway actors sang “It’s So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday.” Weirdly, the montage never took over television screens completely which made it hard to properly appreciate the visages of those lost in the last year, but that didn’t completely take away the emotional punch of the segment. Another year, another round of intense crying over the theater greats to which we said goodbye.