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IT was a Hollywood fairytale come true when Julie Andrews collected an Oscar for her movie debut as “practically perfect” nanny Mary Poppins.
Producer Jack Warner had earlier dashed her hopes of appearing in the film version of My Fair Lady – the musical she had helped turn into a major stage hit – saying she did not have enough movie experience, but Walt Disney realised her star quality and personally asked her to star as the magical nanny in his new musical film which mixed live actors and animation.
Mary Poppins and My Fair Lady were filmed around the same time, but when it came to the Oscars it was film newcomer Julie in her first Hollywood movie that was the night’s big winner at the 1965 Academy Awards.
The celebrity audience erupted into applause when actor Sidney Poitier read out her name and Julie made her way to the stage as the orchestra played Chim Chim Cheree. “I know you Americans are famous for your hospitality, but this is really ridiculous,” she smiled broadly as she clutched the Oscar. The British star also won a Golden Globe for Mary Poppins and could not resist thanking Jack Warner, who was in the audience, for not casting her in My Fair Lady.
Fellow Brit
Sam Mendes was a directorial wunderkind and was just 24 when he directed Dame Judi Dench in a production of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard in the West End. He became one of only a handful of directors to win the Best Director Oscar for their first feature film in 2000 with American Beauty.
Steven Spielberg presented him with the trophy and reminded everyone “this is his film directorial debut”.
admitted to being “a little overwhelmed” and thanked Spielberg for his generosity and wisdom and for handing him the script.
Sam has gone on to win further plaudits for his work on two of Daniel Craig’s 007 movies with Skyfall becoming the first Bond film to break the billion-dollar barrier at the box office.
His First World War movie 1917 also won three Oscars in 2019 and was nominated for seven more. Singer and actress Barbra Streisand’s movie debut in Funny Girl in 1969 also won her the Best Actress Oscar. It was also the first time there was a tie for the award and she shared the trophy with Katharine Hepburn for her performance in
The Lion In Winter.
Barbra had originally played funnywoman Fanny Brice on Broadway and won the role when it came to the film version. Her first line in the movie was “Hello, gorSam
geous” and she said the same words when she was handed her Oscar. Barbra said years later: “Now when I look at Funny Girl, I think I was gorgeous. I was too beautiful to play Fanny Brice.”
Tatum O Neal was just 10 when she won an Oscar in 1974 for her film debut in Paper Moon. She appeared in the movie with her father Ryan and her role as a budding con artist made her the youngest person to ever win a competitive Oscar.
Tatum said she used to keep her trophy on her dad’s television when she lived with him. “When I moved out I said ‘Sorry, Dad, but you have to part with my Oscar.” Anna Paquin was nine years old when director Jane Campion cast her to appear in The Piano, her 1993 film debut.
She played Holly Hunter’s young daughter in the film set in mid-19th century New Zealand and was 11 when she was presented with the award.
Shirley Booth also won an Oscar for her first film appearance in Come Back, Little Sheba in 1952 while Marleee Matlin’s debut in Children Of A Lesser God also proved Oscar worthy.
Eva Marie Saint had been a familiar face on television, but her first movie in 1954 earned her an Oscar. She appeared alongside Marlon Brando in On The Waterfront and it launched her film career, with her character memorably telling Brando’s “I didn’t say I didn’t love you, I said I want you to get out”.
The 1980 movie Ordinary People, about a family dealing with loss and grief, won four Oscars including the Best Director award for Robert Redford. It was the famous actor’s first time behind the camera and he was paid the Director’s Guild minimum wage for his work.
The film also saw 20-year-old newcomer Timothy Hutton land the Best Supporting Actor award for his first adult cinema role as troubled son Conrad – though it was not stictly his first appearance on the big screen. Hutton had been five when he made an uncredited appeareance in his father Jim Hutton’s comedy Never Too Late in 1965.
Timothy’s actor father passed away prior to filming Ordinary People and he dedicated his Oscar to him saying: “This is for my Dad. I wish he were here to see it.”
Anna Paquin was nine when director Jane Campion cast her in The Piano