Academy Awards anniversary highlights
Gregory Peck indicates his one Oscar after winning his first, after five nominations, as he poses with actress Sophia Loren at the Academy Awards at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Los Angeles. (April 8, 1963) Credit: AP
What will we remember about this year's Oscar broadcast? We won't know until the broadcast ends tonight, but it's certain somebody will do something or say something that will stay in our memories forever. Meanwhile, let's take a look back at some memorable Oscar anniversaries we're observing this year:
50 YEARS AGO
April 8, 1963
(films of 1962)
BEST PICTURE "Lawrence of Arabia"
BEST ACTOR Gregory Peck, "To Kill a Mockingbird"
BEST ACTRESS Anne Bancroft, "The Miracle Worker"
SUPPORTING ACTOR Ed Begley, "Sweet Bird of Youth"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Patty Duke, "The Miracle Worker"
HOST Frank Sinatra
MEMORABLE MOMENT Joan Crawford accepts the best actress award for the absent Bancroft -- a calculated move designed to irk Bette Davis, her "Whatever Happened to Baby Jane" co-star and longtime rival. (Davis was nominated for best actress, but not Crawford.)
40 YEARS AGO
March 27, 1973
(films of 1972)
BEST PICTURE "The Godfather"
BEST ACTOR Marlon Brando, "The Godfather"
BEST ACTRESS Liza Minnelli, "Cabaret"
SUPPORTING ACTOR Joel Grey, "Cabaret"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Eileen Heckart, "Butterflies Are Free"
HOSTS Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston and Rock Hudson
MEMORABLE MOMENTBrando refuses the Oscar, sending American Indian activist Sacheen Littlefeather to represent him. He was boycotting the ceremony to protest the movie industry's treatment of American Indians.
30 YEARS AGO
April 11, 1983
(films of 1982)
BEST PICTURE "Gandhi"
BEST ACTOR Ben Kingsley, "Gandhi"
BEST ACTRESS Meryl Streep, "Sophie's Choice"
SUPPORTING ACTOR Louis Gossett Jr., "An Officer and a Gentleman"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Jessica Lange, "Tootsie"
HOSTS Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, Richard Pryor and Walter Matthau
MEMORABLE MOMENT The eclectic hosting quartet mangle the opening song, "It All Comes Down to This." "Liza was forced to carry the number, Walter was singing in his own zone somewhere, Dudley was just trying to walk down these steps without falling, and Richard Pryor, well, I think they told him the next day that he was there," said Buz Kohan, the song's writer.
20 YEARS AGO
March 29, 1993
(films of 1992)
BEST PICTURE "Unforgiven"
BEST ACTOR Al Pacino, "Scent of a Woman"
BEST ACTRESS Emma Thompson, "Howards End"
SUPPORTING ACTOR Gene Hackman, "Unforgiven"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Marisa Tomei, "My Cousin Vinny"
HOST Billy Crystal
MEMORABLE MOMENT Crystal comes onstage atop a giant Oscar statuette that was pulled by his "City Slickers" co-star, Jack Palance. Palance again shows off his talent for one-armed pushups, which became a running gag at the previous year's Oscarcast.
10 YEARS AGO
March 23, 2003
(films of 2002)
BEST PICTURE "Chicago"
BEST ACTOR Adrien Brody, "The Pianist"
BEST ACTRESS Nicole Kidman, "The Hours"
SUPPORTING ACTOR Chris Cooper, "Adaptation"
SUPPORTING ACTRESS Catherine Zeta-Jones, "Chicago"
HOST Steve Martin
MEMORABLE MOMENT Brody passionately kisses presenter Halle Berry. When he finished kissing the shocked Berry, Brody tells her, "Bet you didn't know that was in the gift bag."
