Elizabeth Taylor was informed of her having won the Best Actress award in London, but was so frustrated by Richard Burton's loss of the Best Actor award that she refused to hold a press conference for two weeks.[1]
Six films won multiple Oscars this year—A Man for All Seasons, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Grand Prix, Fantastic Voyage, A Man and a Woman, and Born Free—a record that was later tied in 2010, 2012, and 2017, and surpassed in 2020/21, when seven films won at least two Oscars. Every Best Picture nominee was nominated for Best Actor as well, the only time in the era of five Best Picture nominees that each nominated film received a nomination in a single acting category.
The Academy Awards broadcast was almost canceled due to a strike involving the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), the theatrical performers union governing live telecasts. The dispute was settled only three hours before the ceremony was scheduled to begin; Bob Hope's opening monologue makes many references to this, including a claim that as late as 30 minutes before the ceremony began, it was uncertain whether the telecast would go on.[4]
This was the only time in the history of the Academy Awards that all Best Actress nominees were born outside of the United States.
Patricia Neal, making her first Hollywood appearance since a near-fatal stroke of two years before, received a standing ovation from the audience.
California's governor, Ronald Reagan, was among the guests in the audience. He was a longtime Academy member and supporter.
This was the last year that separate awards were given for black-and-white and color films in Cinematography, Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Costume Design.
Mitzi Gaynor's performance of the song "Georgy Girl" is often cited as being one of the most heralded performances on an Oscar broadcast.
Presenters and performers
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.