Award ceremony for films of 1978
The
51st Academy Awards
ceremony, organized by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
(AMPAS), honored
films released in 1978
and took place on April 9, 1979, at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
in Los Angeles, beginning at 7:00 p.m.
PST
/ 10:00 p.m.
EST
. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented
Academy Awards
(commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by
ABC
, was produced by
Jack Haley Jr.
and directed by
Marty Pasetta
.
[4]
Comedian and talk show host
Johnny Carson
hosted the show for the first time.
[5]
Three days earlier, in a ceremony held at
The Beverly Hilton
in
Beverly Hills, California
, the
Academy Awards for Technical Achievement
were presented by hosts
Gregory Peck
and
Christopher Reeve
.
[6]
The Deer Hunter
won five awards at the main awards ceremony, including
Best Picture
.
[7]
Other winners included
Coming Home
with three awards,
Midnight Express
with two, and
The Buddy Holly Story
,
California Suite
,
Days of Heaven
,
Death on the Nile
,
The Flight of the Gossamer Condor
,
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs
,
Heaven Can Wait
,
Scared Straight!
,
Special Delivery
,
Superman
,
Teenage Father
, and
Thank God It's Friday
with one. The telecast was watched by 46.3 million viewers and earned a 34.6
Nielsen rating
in the United States.
[2]
[3]
Ceremony
[
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]
The ceremony, held at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion
in
Downtown Los Angeles
, was hosted by late-night talk host
Johnny Carson
for the first time.
[8]
Jack Elliott
and
Allyn Ferguson
served as musical directors for the telecast.
[9]
Singers
Sammy Davis Jr.
and
Steve Lawrence
performed a medley called "Oscar's Only Human," which was composed of movie songs that were not nominated for Best Original Song.
[10]
Initially, the academy's music branch protested the segment and urged that it be dropped from the ceremony, but it was kept after Haley threatened to leave his position as producer and pull Carson from emcee duties.
[11]
It is also remembered for being the final public appearance of Oscar-winning actor
John Wayne
, where he was given a standing ovation before presenting the award for
Best Picture
.
[12]
On June 11, two months after the ceremony, he died from complications from
stomach cancer
at age 72.
[12]
[13]
This was also the final public appearance for
Jack Haley
, the father of producer
Jack Haley Jr.
, who presented the
Best Costume Design
with his
Wizard of Oz
co-star
Ray Bolger
.
[14]
Winners and nominees
[
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]
The nominees for the 51st Academy Awards were announced on February 20, 1979, by Academy president
Howard W. Koch
and actress
Susan Blakely
.
[15]
[16]
The Deer Hunter
and
Heaven Can Wait
tied for the most nominations with nine each.
[17]
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on April 9.
[18]
Best Director nominees
Warren Beatty
and
Buck Henry
became the second pair of directors nominated in that category for the same film;
Jerome Robbins
and
Robert Wise
had won for co-directing 1961's
West Side Story
.
[19]
Furthermore, Beatty was the first person to earn acting, directing, producing, and screenwriting nominations for the same film. While
Orson Welles
had previously achieved the same feat for
Citizen Kane
, rules at the time determined that the studio releasing the film, as opposed to the individual producers, were the official nominees for Best Picture.
[20]
[21]
With
Jon Voight
and
Jane Fonda
's respective wins in the Best Actor and Best Actress categories,
Coming Home
was the fourth film to win both lead acting awards.
[22]
Best Supporting Actress winner
Maggie Smith
became the only person to win an Oscar for playing an Oscar loser in
California Suite
.
[22]
Awards
[
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]
Winners are listed first, highlighted in
boldface
and indicated with a double dagger (‡).
[23]
Academy Honorary Awards
[
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]
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
[
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]
The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.
[28]
Special Achievement Award
[
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]
Multiple nominations and awards
[
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]
The following fourteen films had multiple nominations:
|
The following three films received multiple awards.
|
Presenters and performers
[
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]
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers:
[31]
Presenters
[
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]
Performers
[
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]
See also
[
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]
References
[
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]
- ^
Osborne 2013
, p. 252
- ^
a
b
"Top-10 Most Watched Academy Awards Broadcasts"
.
Nielsen N.V.
February 18, 2009.
Archived
from the original on January 27, 2016
. Retrieved
August 25,
2015
.
- ^
a
b
"New Shows Disappointing"
.
Boca Raton News
. April 20, 1979.
Archived
from the original on June 7, 2022
. Retrieved
August 25,
2015
– via
Google News Archive
.
- ^
"War Film, Comedy Head List"
.
Spokane Daily Chronicle
.
Cowles Publishing Company
. April 6, 1979. p. 7.
Archived
from the original on June 7, 2022
. Retrieved
August 24,
2015
– via Google News Archive.
- ^
"Frank Won't Sing Without G Notes".
Chicago Tribune
. October 3, 1978. p. 136.
- ^
"Past Scientific & Technical Awards Ceremonies"
.
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
. Archived from
the original
on February 13, 2014
. Retrieved
July 31,
2013
.
- ^
Siskel, Gene (April 10, 1979).
"Oscars to Fonda, Voight, 'Hunter'
"
.
Chicago Tribune
.
Archived
from the original on March 8, 2016
. Retrieved
August 24,
2015
.
- ^
Thomas, Bob (April 9, 1979).
"Oscar Show-A Thankless Chore"
.
Ludington Daily News
.
Archived
from the original on June 7, 2022
. Retrieved
August 25,
2015
– via Google News Archive.
- ^
Osborne 2013
, p. 413
- ^
Wiley & Bona 1996
, p. 560
- ^
Pond 2005
, p. 29
- ^
a
b
Osborne 2013
, p. 251
- ^
Hammond, Pete (July 3, 2016).
"How Michael Cimino's 'The Deer Hunter' Pioneered The Modern Day Oscar Campaign ? And Won"
.
Deadline Hollywood
.
Archived
from the original on April 17, 2020
. Retrieved
February 19,
2021
.
- ^
Smith, J.Y. (June 7, 1979).
"Jack Haley Dies, Was Tin Man in 'The Wizard of Oz'
"
.
The Washington Post
.
Archived
from the original on April 1, 2019
. Retrieved
October 31,
2020
.
- ^
Thomas, Bob (February 21, 1979). "1978 Oscar nominees announced".
San Bernardino Sun
. p. C1.
- ^
"The Deer Hunter, Heaven Can Wait top honors Oscar nominees listed".
The Globe and Mail
. February 21, 1979. p. P11.
- ^
Grant, Lee (February 21, 1979). "Two War Films on Oscar Ballot".
Los Angeles Times
. p. D1.
- ^
Harmetz, Aljean (April 11, 1979).
"2 Vietnam Films Cast Aside Ghosts on Way to Oscars"
.
The New York Times
.
Archived
from the original on November 12, 2020
. Retrieved
November 12,
2020
.
- ^
Kinn & Piazza 2002
, p. 215
- ^
Wiley & Bona 1996
, p. 1129
- ^
Emerson, Jim (February 11, 2007).
"Questions for the Academy"
.
Chicago Sun-Times
.
Archived
from the original on March 13, 2017
. Retrieved
March 21,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
Osborne 2013
, p. 423
- ^
"The 51st Academy Awards (1979) Nominees and Winners"
. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Archived
from the original on October 17, 2014
. Retrieved
October 31,
2011
.
- ^
"Academy Awards Acceptance Speech Database"
. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS).
Archived
from the original on July 16, 2020
. Retrieved
February 4,
2020
.
- ^
"Animator Walter Lantz, Creator of Woody Woodpecker, Is Dead"
.
The Buffalo News
. March 23, 1994.
Archived
from the original on July 17, 2020
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Thomas, David (Winter 2011).
"The Man Who Would Be King"
.
DGA Quarterly
.
Archived
from the original on May 20, 2020
. Retrieved
July 16,
2020
.
- ^
Kinn & Piazza 2002
, p. 217
- ^
"Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award"
. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Archived
from the original on November 16, 2020
. Retrieved
November 12,
2020
.
- ^
Schreger, Charles (February 10, 1979). "
'Close Encounters' - Take Two".
Los Angeles Times
. p. B5.
- ^
Franks 2005
, p. 246
- ^
Wiley & Bona 1996
, p. 562
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Franks, Don (2005),
Entertainment Awards: A Music, Cinema, Theatre and Broadcasting Guide, 1928 through 2003
(3rd ed.), Jefferson, North Carolina, United States:
McFarland & Company
,
ISBN
978-1-5791-2396-3
- Kinn, Gail; Piazza, Jim (2002),
The Academy Awards: The Complete Unofficial History
, New York, New York, United States:
Workman Publishing Company
,
ISBN
978-1-5791-2396-3
- Osborne, Robert (2013).
85 Years of the Oscar: The Complete History of the Academy Awards
. New York, New York, United States:
Abbeville Publishing Group
.
ISBN
978-0-7892-1142-2
.
- Pond, Steve (2005),
The Big Show: High Times and Dirty Dealings Backstage at the Academy Awards
, New York, New York, United States:
Faber and Faber
,
ISBN
978-0-5712-1193-7
- Wiley, Mason; Bona, Damien (1996),
Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards
(5 ed.), New York, New York, United States:
Ballantine Books
,
ISBN
978-0-3454-0053-6
,
OCLC
779680732
External links
[
edit
]
- Official websites
- Analysis
- Other resources