Tales of Oscars’ long history
SO, looking at Oscars of yesteryear: 1970. Jane Fonda, hot in “They Shoot Horses Don’t They?” then cooled (although she did win twice). “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie” warmed up, and Maggie
Smith won. Newly unFonda of everybody, Jane’s Operation Hanoi began in ’72.
In 1966, the entire cast — Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton,
George Segal, Sandy Dennis — were nominated for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf ?”.
Best Actress in one of their very first roles: Katharine Hepburn, “Morning Glory,” 1934. Shirley Booth, “Come Back, Little Sheba,” 1953. Julie Andrews, “Mary Poppins,” 1965. Barbra Streisand, “Funny Girl,” 1969. Louise
Fletcher, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 1976. Marlee
Matlin, “Children of a Lesser God,” 1987.
In 1947, Ronald Reagan lauded Best Picture nominees as “glories of our past, memories of our present, inspiration for our future.” Nice, but had he turned from the script, he’d have seen the clips ran backwards. Also, upside down.
It’s been reported that one of Spencer Tracy’s statuettes for Best Actor got inscribed “Dick Tracy” ... In 1976, comic Marty Feldman threw the Oscar to the floor. It broke. He gave both winners half ... In 1934, emcee Will Rogers told the Best Director: “Come and get it, Frank.” Halfway there, Frank Capra real- ized it meant Frank Lloyd. In 1980, Ben Vereen escorted Dolly Parton. Johnny Carson’s “They make a lovely pair,” drew audience silence . . . 1976. If you can stomach it, O.J. was a presenter . . . And in 1996, daddy Paul Sorvino hugged Quentin Tarantino when daughter Mira got Best Supporting for “Mighty Aphrodite.”