Reel Classics: the classic movie site


Classic Movie Articles

General Topics | Specific Films | Tech-Talk | Personal Statements

Article:

All About Oscar:
Academy Award Trivia and Statistics

The Most Oscars | The Most Nominations | The Only | Other Oscar Trivia | The Youngest | The Oldest | Academy Award Facts | Sources

Below is a listing of the answers to many Academy Awards-related trivia questions based on the statistical results of the awards over the years.  This information has been compiled by Elizabeth through statistical analysis of the results and with the help of a few news articles cited below.  Feel free to check up on any of the listings below and let me know if you dispute or disagree with anything.

Last updated: 22 January 2009

THE MOST OSCARS

  • To any Film: (tie) BEN-HUR (1959), TITANIC (1997) and THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) (11)
    • runners up...
    • WEST SIDE STORY (1961) (10)
    • (tie) GIGI (1958), THE LAST EMPEROR (1987) and THE ENGLISH PATIENT (1996) (9)
  • To any Film without winning Best Picture: CABARET (1972) (8)
    • runner up... (tie) A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951) and STAR WARS (1977) (6)
  • To any Film in Acting categories: (tie) A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951) and NETWORK (1976) (3)
  • To any Individual: Walt Disney (26: 22 Competitive Awards, 4 Honorary Awards)
  • To any Producer: (tie) Sam Spiegel, Irving Thalberg, Darryl F. Zanuck and Saul Zaentz (3)
  • To any Short-Film Producer: Walt Disney (18: 12 Best Animated Short Subject, 6 Best Live-Action Short Subject)
    • runners up...
    • Fred Quimby (7: all Best Animated Short Subject)
    • Gordon Hollingshead (5: all Best Live-Action Short Subject)
  • Best Director: John Ford (4)
  • Best Actor: (tie) Marlon Brando, Gary Cooper, Daniel Day-Lewis, Tom Hanks, Dustin Hoffman, Fredric March, Jack Nicholson and Spencer Tracy (2)
  • Best Supporting Actor: Walter Brennan (3)
    • runner up... (tie) Michael Caine, Melvyn Douglas, Anthony Quinn, Jason Robards and Peter Ustinov (2)
  • To any Actor: (tie) Walter Brennan (3: all Best Supporting Actor) and Jack Nicholson (3: 2 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor)
  • Best Actress: Katharine Hepburn (4)
  • Best Supporting Actress: (tie) Dianne Wiest and Shelley Winters (2)
  • To any Actress: Katharine Hepburn (4: all Best Actress)
    • runner up... Ingrid Bergman (3: 2 Best Actress, 1 Best Supporting Actress)
  • Best Cinematography: (tie) Leon Shamroy and Joesph Ruttenberg (4)
    • runner up... (tie) Conrad L. Hall, Winton C. Hoch, Arthur Miller, Vittorio Storaro, Robert Surtees and Freddie Young (3)
  • Best Writing: (tie) Charles Brackett, Paddy Chayefsky, Francis Ford Coppola and Billy Wilder (3)
  • Best Art-Set Direction: Cedric Gibbons (11)
    • runner up... Edwin B. Willis (8)
  • Best Costume Design: Edith Head (8)
    • runner up... Irene Sharaff (5)
  • Best Music (Scoring): Alfred Newman (9)
    • runner up... John Williams (5)
  • Best Music (Song): (tie) Sammy Cahn, Alan Menken, Johnny Mercer and Jimmy Van Heusen (4)
  • Any Best Music: Alfred Newman (9: all Best Scoring)
    • runner up... Alan Menken (8: 4 Best Scoring, 4 Best Song)
  • Best Editing: (tie) Ralph Dawson, Michael Kahn, Daniel Mandell and Thelma Schoonmaker (3)
  • Best Makeup: Rick Baker (6)
    • runner up... Ve Neill (3)
  • Best Sound: (tie) Douglas Shearer (5, as head of the winning Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio sound department) and Fred Hynes (5, as head of the winning Todd-AO studio sound department)
    • runner up... (tie) Bob Beemer, Mark Berger, Scott Millan, Gary Rydstrom and Gary Summers (4)
  • Best Foreign Language Film (by country): Italy (13)

THE MOST NOMINATIONS

  • To any Film: (tie) ALL ABOUT EVE (1950) and TITANIC (1997) (14)
    • runner up... (tie) GONE WITH THE WIND (1939), FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953), MARY POPPINS (1964), WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966), FORREST GUMP (1994), SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE (1998), LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RINGS (2001) and CHICAGO (2002), THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON (2008) (13)
  • To any Film without winning: (tie) THE TURNING POINT (1977) and THE COLOR PURPLE (1985) (11)
    • runners up...
    • GANGS OF NEW YORK (2002) (10)
    • (tie) THE LITTLE FOXES (1941) and PEYTON PLACE (1957) (9)
  • To any Film without receiving a Best Picture nomination: THEY SHOOT HORSES, DON'T THEY? (1969) (9)
  • To any Animated Film: (tie) BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991) and WALL-E (2008) (6)
  • To any Film in Acting categories: (tie) MRS. MINIVER (1942), ALL ABOUT EVE (1950), FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953), ON THE WATERFRONT (1954), PEYTON PLACE (1957), TOM JONES (1963), BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), THE GODFATHER, PART II (1974) and NETWORK (1976) (5)
  • To any Film in Acting categories without winning: (tie) PEYTON PLACE (1957) and TOM JONES (1963) (5)
    • runner up... SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) (4)
  • To any Film without receiving any acting nominations: THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) (11)
  • To any Individual: Walt Disney (59)
  • To any Individual without winning: Kevin O'Connell (20)
    • runner up... (tie) Roland Anderson and Alex North (15)
  • To any Individual in consecutive years: Walt Disney (22: 1941-1962)
  • To any Producer: Hal B. Wallis (15)
  • To any Producer without winning: (tie) Pandro S. Berman and Stanley Kramer (6)
  • To any Short-Film Producer: Walt Disney (54: 39 Best Animated Short Subject, 12 Best Live-Action Short Subject; 3 Best Documentary Short Subject)
    • runners up...
    • Gordon Hollingshead (22: 20 Best Live-Action Short Subject, 2 Best Documentary Short Subject)
    • Pete Smith (16: all Best Live-Action Short Subject)
    • (tie) Stephen Bosustow and Fred Quimby (13: all Best Animated Short Subject)
  • To any Short-Film Producer without winning: Walter Lantz (10: all Best Animated Short Subject)
  • To any Short-Film Producer in consecutive years: Walt Disney (22: 1941-1962)
  • Best Director: William Wyler (12)
  • Best Director without winning: (tie) Robert Altman, Clarence Brown, Alfred Hitchcock and King Vidor (5)
  • Best Actor: (tie) Laurence Olivier and Spencer Tracy (9)
  • Best Actor without winning: Peter O'Toole (8)
  • Best Supporting Actor: (tie) Arthur Kennedy, Jack Nicholson, Claude Rains and Walter Brennan (4)
  • Best Supporting Actor without winning: (tie) Arthur Kennedy and Claude Rains (4)
  • To any Actor: Jack Nicholson (12: 8 Best Actor, 4 Best Supporting Actor)
    • runners up...
    • Laurence Olivier (10: 9 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor)
    • (tie) Spencer Tracy (9: all Best Actor) and Paul Newman (9: 8 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor)
    • (tie) Marlon Brando (8: 7 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor), Jack Lemmon (8: 7 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor), Peter O'Toole (8: all Best Actor) and Al Pacino (8: 5 Best Actor, 3 Best Supporting Actor)
    • (tie) Richard Burton (7: 6 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor) and Dustin Hoffman (7: all Best Actor)
  • To any Actor without winning: Peter O'Toole (8: all Best Actor)
    • runners up...
    • Richard Burton (7: 6 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor)
    • (tie) Albert Finney (5: 4 Best Actor, 1 Best Supporting Actor) and Arthur Kennedy (5: 1 Best Actor, 4 Best Supporting Actor)
  • To any Actor in consecutive years: (tie) Marlon Brando (4: 1951-1954) and Al Pacino (4: 1972-1975)
  • Best Actress: (tie) Katharine Hepburn and Meryl Streep (12)
  • Best Actress without winning: Deborah Kerr (6)
  • Best Supporting Actress: Thelma Ritter (6)
    • runner up... (tie) Ethel Barrymore, Lee Grant, Agnes Moorehead, Geraldine Page, Maggie Smith and Maureen Stapleton (4)
  • Best Supporting Actress without winning: Thelma Ritter (6)
  • To any Actress: Meryl Streep (15: 12 Best Actress, 3 Best Supporting Actress)
    • runners up...
    • Katharine Hepburn (12: all Best Actress)
    • Bette Davis (10: all Best Actress)
    • Geraldine Page (8: 4 Best Actress, 4 Best Supporting Actress)
    • (tie) Ingrid Bergman (7: 6 Best Actress, 1 Best Supporting Actress), Jane Fonda (7: 6 Best Actress, 1 Best Supporting Actress) and Greer Garson (7: all Best Actress)
  • To any Actress without winning: (tie) Deborah Kerr (6: all Best Actress) and Thelma Ritter (6: all Best Supporting Actress)
    • runner up... (tie) Irene Dunne (5: all Best Actress), Glenn Close (5: 2 Best Actress, 3 Best Supporting Actress) and Kate Winslet (5: 3 Best Actress, 2 Best Supporting Actress)
  • To any Actress in consecutive years: (tie) Bette Davis (5: 1938-1942) and Greer Garson (5: 1941-1945)
  • Best Cinematography: (tie) Charles B. Lang, Jr. and Leon Shamroy (18)
    • runner up... Robert Surtees (16)
  • Best Cinematography without winning: George J. Folsey (13)
  • Best Writing: Woody Allen (14)
  • Best Writing without winning: Federico Fellini (8)
  • Best Art-Set Direction: Cedric Gibbons (40)
    • runner up... Edwin B. Willis (32)
  • Best Art-Set Direction without winning: Roland Anderson (15)
  • To any Art-Set Director in consecutive years: Hal Pereira (12: 1952-1963)
    • runner up... Cedric Gibbons (11: 1936-1946)
  • Best Costume Design: Edith Head (35)
    • runners up...
    • Charles LeMaire (16)
    • Irene Sharaff (15)
    • Jean Louis (14)
    • Dorothy Jeakins (12)
  • Best Costume Design without winning: Patricia Norris (5)
  • To any Costume Designer in consecutive years: Edith Head (19: 1948-1966)
    • runner up... Charles LeMaire (10: 1950-1959)
  • Best Music (Scoring): Alfred Newman (43, including 2 as head of the nominated studio music department)
  • Best Music (Scoring) without winning: Alex North (14)
  • Best Music (Song): Sammy Cahn (26)
    • runner up... Johnny Mercer (18)
  • Best Music (Song) without winning: Mack David (8)
    • runner up... (tie) Jimmy McHugh and John Williams (5)
  • Any Best Music: (tie) Alfred Newman (45, including 2 as head of the nominated 20th Century-Fox studio music department) and John Williams (45)
  • Any Best Music without winning: Alex North (15)
  • To any Musician in consecutive years: Alfred Newman (20: 1937-1956)
  • Best Editing: (tie) Michael Kahn, Barbara McLean and William H. Reynolds (7)
    • runner up... (tie) Gerry Hambling, Frederic Knudtson, Harold F. Kress, William A. Lyon, Walter Murch, Thelma Schoonmaker and Ralph E. Winters (6)
  • Best Editing without winning: (tie) Gerry Hambling and Frederic Knudtson (6)
  • Best Makeup: Rick Baker (10)
    • runners up...
    • Greg Cannom (9)
    • Ve Neill (8)
  • Best Sound: Kevin O'Connell (20)
    • runners up...
    • John Livadary (17, as head of the nominated Columbia studio sound department)
    • Gordon Sawyer (16, as head of the nominated Samuel Goldwyn studio sound department)
    • (tie) Nathan Levinson (15, as head of the nominated Warner Bros. studio sound department) and Douglas Shearer (15, as head of the nominated Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio sound department)
  • Best Sound without winning: Kevin O'Connell (20)
    • runner up... (tie) Greg P. Russell (12) and Loren L. Ryder (12, as head of the nominated Paramount studio sound department)
  • To any Sound personnel in consecutive years: John Livadary (13: 1934-1946, as head of the nominated Columbia studio sound department)
    • runner up... Douglas Shearer (12: 1934-1945, as head of the nominated Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio sound department)
  • To any country for Best Foreign Language Film: France (35)

THE ONLY

  • The only write-in Oscar winner: Hal Mohr, Best Cinematography for A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM (1935)
  • The only silent film to win Best Picture: WINGS (1927)
  • The only X-rated Best Picture: MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
  • The only Best Pictures to sweep every category in which they were nominated:
    • THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE RETURN OF THE KING (2003) (11)
    • THE LAST EMPEROR (1987) (9)
    • GIGI (1958) (9)
    • IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934) (5)
  • The only films to win the 'Big Five' Academy Awards (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress and Screenplay): IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934), ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975) and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991).
  • The only Best Pictures to be honored only in that category:
    • THE BROADWAY MELODY (1928/1929)
    • GRAND HOTEL (1931/1932)
    • MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
  • The only Best Pictures to win fewer total Oscars than at least one other picture the same year:
    • GRAND HOTEL (1931/1932)
    • MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
    • THE GREAT ZIEGFELD (1936)
    • YOU CAN'T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938)
    • REBECCA (1940)
    • CASABLANCA (1943)
    • ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949)
    • THE GREATEST SHOW ON EARTH (1952)
    • MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
    • THE GODFATHER (1972)
    • ROCKY (1976)
    • ANNIE HALL (1977)
    • CHARIOTS OF FIRE (1981)
    • MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004)
  • The only movies to win both Best Actor and Best Actress awards:
    • IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
    • ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
    • NETWORK (1976)
    • COMING HOME (1978)
    • ON GOLDEN POND (1981)
    • THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
    • AS GOOD AS IT GETS (1997)
  • The only performer to be nominated in both the leading and supporting categories for the same role: Barry Fitzgerald for GOING MY WAY (1944).
  • The only performer to win two Oscars for the same performance: Harold Russell, Best Supporting Actor for THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946) and Honorary Oscar for bringing hope to other veterans.
  • The only performers to be nominated for playing the same character in two different films:
    • Bing Crosby as Father O'Malley in GOING MY WAY (1944) and THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S (1945).
    • Peter O'Toole as King Henry II in BECKET (1964) and THE LION IN WINTER (1968).
    • Al Pacino as Michael Corleone in THE GODFATHER (1972) (Supporting Actor) and THE GODFATHER: PART II (1974) (Leading Actor).
    • Paul Newman as 'Fast' Eddie Felson in THE HUSTLER (1961) and THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986).
    • Cate Blanchette as Queen Elizabeth I in ELIZABETH (1998) and ELIZABETH: THE GOLDEN AGE (2007).
  • The only actresses nominated as both Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in the same year: Fay Bainter (1938), Teresa Wright (1942), Jessica Lange (1982), Sigourney Weaver (1988), Holly Hunter (1993), Emma Thompson (1993), Julianne Moore (2002) and Cate Blanchette (2007).
  • The only actors nominated as both Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor in the same year: Al Pacino (1992) and Jamie Foxx (2004).
  • The only performers directing themselves to acting Oscars: Laurence Olivier in HAMLET (1948) and Roberto Begnini in LIFE IS BEAUTIFUL (1997).
  • The only performers ever to refuse an Oscar: George C. Scott, Best Actor for PATTON (1970) and Marlon Brando, Best Actor for THE GODFATHER (1972).
  • The only Best Director Oscar winner to win for the only film he ever directed: Jerome Robbins for WEST SIDE STORY (1961).
  • The only individuals to receive Oscar nominations in four different categories: Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick, Warren Beatty, Kenneth Branagh, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen.
  • The only families with three generations of Oscar winners:
    • The Hustons - Walter Huston, Best Supporting Actor (1948); Walter's son John Huston as Best Director and Best Screenplay (1948); John's daughter Angelica Huston as Best Supporting Actress (1985).
    • The Coppolas - Carmine Coppola, Best Music (Original Dramatic Score) (1974); Carmine's son Francis Ford Coppola, Best Writing (1970, 1972, 1974), Best Director (1974) and Best Picture (1974); Francis' daughter Sophia Coppola, Best Writing (2003).
  • The only women ever nominated as Best Director:
    • Lina Wertmuller for SEVEN BEAUTIES (1976)
    • Jane Campion for THE PIANO (1993)
    • Sofia Coppola for LOST IN TRANSLATION (2003)
  • The only animated film ever to be nominated as Best Picture: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991).
  • The only Oscar winners to present their own awards: Walt Disney, Best Animated Short Subject (1932); Irving Berlin, Best Original Song (1942).
  • The only Oscar winner named Oscar: Oscar Hammerstein II

OTHER OSCAR TRIVIA

  • Individuals to be involved in the most Best Picture Winners:
  • Individual to win the most Oscars at a single ceremony: Walt Disney (4 at the 26th Academy Awards in 1954).
  • The most consecutive years for an Individual to be nominated in a competitive category: Walt Disney (22 years: 1941-1962)
  • The longest film to win Best Picture: GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) (234 minutes)
  • The shortest film to win Best Picture: MARTY (1955) (91 minutes)
  • The first movie in color to win Best Picture: GONE WITH THE WIND (1939).
  • The last movie in black-and-white to win Best Picture: SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
    • runner up... THE APARTMENT (1960)
  • The first animated film to be nominated as Best Picture: BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)
  • The director responsible for the most Oscar-winning performances: William Wyler (14)
  • The director responsible for the most Oscar-nominated performances: William Wyler (35)
  • First black performer to win an Oscar: Hattie McDaniel, Best Supporting Actress for GONE WITH THE WIND (1939).
  • The performer with the most posthumous Academy Award nominations: James Dean (2) for EAST OF EDEN (1955) and GIANT (1956).
  • The first person ever to refuse an Oscar: Dudley Nichols, Best Screenplay for THE INFORMER (1935).
  • Ties for major awards:
    • Best Actor 1931: Wallace Beery in THE CHAMP and Fredric March in DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE.
    • Best Actress 1968: Katharine Hepburn in THE LION IN WINTER and Barbra Streisand in FUNNY GIRL.
  • The most frequent Oscar host: Bob Hope (18 times as host or co-host)
  • The most frequent site of the Academy Awards: The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion (25 times)

THE YOUNGEST

  • Competitive Oscar Winner: Tatum O'Neal (age 10), Best Supporting Actress for PAPER MOON (1973)
    • runners up...
    • Anna Paquin (age 11) for THE PIANO (1993)
    • Patty Duke (age 16) for THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962)
  • Oscar Recipient: Shirley Temple (age 6) given an Honorary Oscar in 1934
    • runners up...
    • Vincent Winter (age 7) given an Honorary Oscar in 1954
    • Margaret O'Brien (age 8) given an Honorary Oscar in 1944
  • Best Director Winner: Norman Taurog (age 32) for SKIPPY (1930/31)
    • runners up...
    • Lewis Milestone (age 33) for TWO ARABIAN KNIGHTS (1927/28)
    • Sam Mendes (age 34) for AMERICAN BEAUTY (1999)
  • Best Director Nominee: John Singleton (age 24) for BOYZ N THE HOOD (1991)
    • runners up...
    • Orson Welles (age 26) for CITIZEN KANE (1941)
    • Kenneth Branagh (age 29) for HENRY V (1989)
    • Claude Lelouch (age 29) for A MAN AND A WOMAN (1966)
    • M. Night Shyamalan (age 29) for THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
  • Best Actor Winner: Adrian Brody (age 29) for THE PIANIST (2002)
    • runners up...
    • Richard Dreyfuss (age 30) for THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)
    • Marlon Brando (age 30) for ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
  • Best Actor Nominee: Jackie Cooper (age 9) for SKIPPY (1930)
  • Best Actress Winner: Marlee Matlin (age 21) for CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD (1986)
  • Best Actress Nominee: Keisha Castle-Hughes (age 13) for WHALE RIDER (2003)
    • runners up...
    • Isabelle Adjani (age 20) for THE STORY OF ADELE H. (1975)
    • Keira Knightley (age 20) for PRIDE AND PREJUDICE (2005)
    • Ellen Page (age 20) for JUNO (2007)
    • Marlee Matlin (age 21) for CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD (1986)
  • Best Supporting Actor Winner: Timothy Hutton (age 19) for ORDINARY PEOPLE (1980)
    • runners up...
    • Cuba Gooding, Jr. (age 28) for JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)
    • George Chakiris (age 28) for WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
  • Best Supporting Actor Nominee: Justin Henry (age 8) for KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979)
    • runners up...
    • Haley Joel Osment (age 11) for THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
    • Brandon De Wilde (age 11) for SHANE (1953)
  • Best Supporting Actress Winner: Tatum O'Neal (age 10) for PAPER MOON (1973)
    • runners up...
    • Anna Paquin (age 11) for THE PIANO (1993)
    • Patty Duke (age 16) for THE MIRACLE WORKER (1962)
    • Anne Baxter (age 23) for THE RAZOR'S EDGE (1946)
    • Teresa Wright (age 24) for MRS. MINIVER (1942)
  • Best Supporting Actress Nominee: Tatum O'Neal (age 10) for PAPER MOON (1973)
    • runners up...
    • Mary Badham (age 10) for TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
    • Quinn Cummings (age 10) for THE GOODBYE GIRL (1977)
    • Abigail Breslin (age 10) for LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE (2006)
    • Patty McCormack (age 11) for THE BAD SEED (1956)
    • Anna Paquin (age 11) for THE PIANO (1993)

THE OLDEST:

  • Oscar Winner: Jessica Tandy (age 80) Best Actress for DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989)
    • runner up... George Burns (age 80) Best Supporting Actor for THE SUNSHINE BOYS (1975)
  • Performer to receive an Oscar: Myrna Loy (age 85) given an Honorary Award in 1990.
    • runners up...
    • Groucho Marx (age 83) given an Honorary Award in 1973.
    • Charles Chaplin (age 82) given an Honorary Award in 1971.
    • Mary Pickford (age 82) given an Honorary Award in 1975.
    • Ralph Bellamy (age 82) given an Honorary Award in 1986.
  • Best Director Winner: Clint Eastwood (age 74) for MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004)
    • runners up...
    • Roman Polanski (age 69) for THE PIANIST (2003)
    • George Cukor (age 65) for MY FAIR LADY (1964)
    • Martin Scorsese (age 64) for THE DEPARTED (2006)
    • Clint Eastwood (age 62) for UNFORGIVEN (1992)
    • Carol Reed (age 62) for OLIVER! (1968)
    • Fred Zinnemann (age 59) for A MAN FOR ALL SEASONS (1966)
    • Richard Attenborough (age 59) for GANDHI (1982)
    • John Ford (age 59) for THE QUIET MAN (1952)
  • Best Director Nominee: John Huston (age 79) for PRIZZI'S HONOR (1985)
    • runners up...
    • Charles Crichton (age 78) for A FISH CALLED WANDA (1988)
    • Robert Altman (age 76) for GOSFORD PARK (2001)
    • David Lean (age 76) for A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984)
    • Clint Eastwood (age 76) for LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (2006)
  • Best Actor Winner: Henry Fonda (age 76) for ON GOLDEN POND (1981)
    • runners up...
    • John Wayne (age 62) for TRUE GRIT (1969)
    • George Arliss (age 62) for DISRAELI (1929/30)
    • Paul Newman (age 62) for THE COLOR OF MONEY (1986)
  • Best Actor Nominee: Richard Farnsworth (age 79) for THE STRAIGHT STORY (1999)
    • runners up...
    • Henry Fonda (age 76) for ON GOLDEN POND (1981)
    • Clint Eastwood (age 74) for MILLION DOLLAR BABY (2004)
    • Peter O'Toole (age 74) for VENUS (2006)
    • Laurence Olivier (age 71) for THE BOYS FROM BRAZIL (1978)
    • Paul Newman (age 70) for NOBODY'S FOOL (1994)
  • Best Actress Winner: Jessica Tandy (age 80) for DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989)
    • runners up...
    • Katharine Hepburn (age 74) for ON GOLDEN POND (1981)
    • Marie Dressler (age 63) for MIN AND BILL (1930/31)
    • Katharine Hepburn (age 61) for THE LION IN WINTER (1968)
    • Helen Mirren (age 61) for THE QUEEN (2006).
    • Geraldine Page (age 61) for THE TRIP TO BOUNTIFUL (1985)
  • Best Actress Nominee: Jessica Tandy (age 80) for DRIVING MISS DAISY (1989)
    • runners up...
    • Dame Edith Evans (age 80) for THE WHISPERERS (1967)
    • May Robson (age 75) for LADY FOR A DAY (1932/33)
    • Katharine Hepburn (age 74) for ON GOLDEN POND (1981)
    • Dame Judi Dench (age 72) for NOTES ON A SCANDAL (2006)
  • Best Supporting Actor Winner: George Burns (age 80) for THE SUNSHINE BOYS (1975)
    • runners up...
    • Melvyn Douglas (age 78) for BEING THERE (1979)
    • John Gielgud (age 77) for ARTHUR (1981)
    • Don Ameche (age 77) for COCOON (1985)
  • Best Supporting Actor Nominee: Hal Holbrook (age 82) for INTO THE WILD (2007)
    • runners up...
    • Ralph Richardson (age 82) for GREYSTOKE: THE LEGEND OF TARZAN, LORD OF THE APES (1984)
    • George Burns (age 80) for THE SUNSHINE BOYS (1975)
    • Melvyn Douglas (age 78) for BEING THERE (1979)
    • Paul Newman (age 78) for ROAD TO PERDITION (2002)
  • Best Supporting Actress Winner: Peggy Ashcroft (age 77) for A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984)
    • runners up...
    • Ruth Gordon (age 72) for ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)
    • Margaret Rutherford (age 71) for THE V.I.P.s (1963)
    • Helen Hayes (age 70) for AIRPORT (1970)
  • Best Supporting Actress Nominee: Gloria Stuart (87) for TITANIC (1997)
    • runners up...
    • Ruby Dee (age 83) for AMERICAN GANGSTER (2007)
    • Jessica Tandy (age 82) for FRIED GREEN TOMATOES (1991)
    • Eva Le Gallienne (age 82) for RESURRECTION (1980)
    • Ann Sothern (age 79) for THE WHALES OF AUGUST (1987)
    • Dame May Whitty (age 77) for MRS. MINIVER (1942)
    • Peggy Ashcroft (age 77) for A PASSAGE TO INDIA (1984)

RANDOM OSCAR FACTS

  • The Oscar/Academy Award is officially named "The Academy Award of Merit."
  • The Oscar statuette weighs 8 1/2 pounds and is 13 1/2 inches tall.
  • From 1942 until the end of World War II, Oscars were made out of plaster to conserve metal. After the war, the winners received "real" replacement statues.
  • The only Oscar statuette ever made of wood was presented to Edgar Bergen in 1938 for his "outstanding comic creation," his ventriloquist dummy Charlie McCarthy.
  • There were twelve competitive award categories at the first Academy Awards ceremony in 1927.
  • The Best Supporting acting categories were introduced at the 9th Academy Awards in 1937.
  • Supporting actors and actresses received plaques instead of traditional statuettes until the 16th Academy Awards in 1944.
  • The Best Foreign Language Film category was introduced at the 29th Academy Awards in 1957.
  • The Best Animated Feature Film category was introduced at the 74th Academy Awards in 2002.
  • The Academy Awards show was first televised in 1953, when it was held at the RKO Pantages Theater in Hollywood.  It was first televised in color in 1966.
  • The Academy Awards ceremony has been postponed three times:
    • 1938 - one week (reason: floods)
    • 1968 - two days (reason: funeral of the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.)
    • 1981 - one day (reason: assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan).
  • The 1973 Academy Awards were interrupted by a streaker.

Sources include:

  • Gray, Timothy M.  "Oscar nominations packed with unique facts."  Variety (February 13, 2002).
  • Heinrich, Jim.  "Three For Three: More Actors Who Graced a Trio of Best Pictures."  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (April 2, 2001): G-2.
  • Perkins, Laura.  "Oscar Trivia And Fun Facts."  The San Francisco Chronicle (March 26, 2001): E6.
  • Gabrenya, Frank.  "Intrepid Trivia Buffs Show Themselves to tbe Oscar Winners."  The Columbus Dispatch (March 25, 2001): 5F.
  • Vancheri, Barbara.  "Oscar Trivia."  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (March 26, 2000): G3.
  • Avasthi, Surabhi.  "Your A-Z of Oscars: All the Thrills and the Spills of the Academy Awards Past and Present."  Daily News (New York) (March 24, 1996): 18.

Return to the Index of General Classic Movie Articles.


Buy Videos & DVDs
Find your movie at MoviesUnlimited.com.
Movies Unlimited

Buy Movie Posters
& Film Stills
MovieGoods
MovieGoods

Buy Movie Posters
In Affiliation with AllPosters.com
AllPosters

Classic Movie Merchandise
-- recommended links to dozens of online vendors selling classic movies & all kinds of related products.


printer-friendly pagePrinter-friendly version.   return to the topReturn to the top.
Last updated: March 10, 2011.
Reel Classics is a registered trademark of Reel Classics, L.L.C.
© 1997-2011 Reel Classics, L.L.C.  All rights reserved.  No copyright is claimed on non-original or licensed material.  Terms of Use.  Privacy Policy.