Farrah Fawcett's Oscar omission wasn't an accident

The exclusion of Farrah Fawcett from the "In Memoriam" montage at the Oscars was not an oversight -- and the academy says it's not surprised that some people are upset at her omission.

Bruce Davis, the executive director of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said Tuesday (March 9) that the academy left Fawcett out of this year's montage because she was much better known as a TV star. He told the AP that the committee that puts together the tribute "was kind of figuring that probably the Farrah Fawcett and Gene Barry omissions would be the ones we'd get the most comments on."

Fawcett's family issued a statement Tuesday saying they were "bereft with this exclusion of such an international icon who inspired so many for so many reasons."

Davis acknowledged that the decision wasn't an easy one: "There's nothing you can say to people, particularly to family members, within a day or two of the show that helps at all. They tend to be surprised and hurt, and we understand that and we're sorry for it."

Fawcett appeared in about a dozen feature films in her career, along with more than 20 TV movies and numerous series, most notably "Charlie's Angels." She was part of the memorial tribute at the 2009 Emmy Awards.