Eastwood said Garner broke the mold in the 50s that prevented TV stars from going to the big screen. The executive attitude at the time was why would anyone want to go and pay to see an actor in a mov5b4ie when they can see them for free on TV? Garner successfully did both and proved them wrong.

And THAT said I read recently that he actually didn't care for the Emmy ceremonies at all! He would never go to them, and I suspect he wouldn't be terribly broken up that they didn't give him the in memoriam attention he deserved.
I wonder if the attitude has something to do with that. Not just his ambivalence towards individual awards and playing the self lobbying game to win. He also was not shy about pushing back at producers and studio execs when he felt they were unfair toward the talent. His legacy won't be about all the shiny on his shelves.
*- Weddings are like funerals. Only you can smell your own flowers.
~Nick O'Malley

I agree wholeheartedly that he deserved more time than anyone else this year. That said, realistically the Emmy Awards shows are about what celebrities they can actually get up on screen to talk about other celebrities (ie Billy Crystal) and they're not really about quality or historical significance if they were, James Garner would have won more Emmys during his actual lifetime, especially for the excellent TV movies he did in his later years where he was nominated but never won.
THAT said he should have been the final person in the montage, not just stuck in with a bunch of other people. He was truly an important TV star. He wasn't just a movie star who happened to do a bit of TV once in a while.
And THAT said I read recently that he actually didn't care for the Emmy ceremonies at all! He would never go to them, and I suspect he wouldn't be terribly broken up that they didn't give him the in memoriam attention he deserved.

I came here to say exactly this. I know Robin Williams started in TV and recently had a series which was canceled after one year. He is simply not a TV guy.
I think timing played a role, and had Williams's death been contemporaneous with the Oscars the tribute would have been more appropriate.
I watched the whole damned thing, and I hate awards shows, and got only a snippet of Rockford and a couple of nice pictures of Garner. No words.
Then I figured it likely wouldn't have bothered JG, it shouldn't bother me!