46th Annual Academy Awards Results and Commentary (1974)
©A.M.P.A.S.®
- Date of Ceremony: Tuesday, April 2, 1974
- For films released in: 1973
- Host(s): John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds (video) and David Niven
The 46th Annual Academy Awards were hosted by John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds, and David Niven when they were presented at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion on Tuesday, April 2, 1974.
The Sting won seven of its ten nominated categories including Best Picture, a Best Director for George Roy Hill and an eighth Oscar for Edith Head in Costume Design.
Jack Lemmon won Best Actor for Save the Tiger while Glenda Jackson won her second Best Actress for A Touch of Class.
71-year-old John Houseman won Best Supporting Actor for The Paper Chase, while, at age ten, Tatum O’Neal became the youngest winner ever in a competitive category, taking home the Oscar for her supporting role in Paper Moon.
Marvin Hamlisch scored a hat trick, taking home three Oscars: Best Music, Original Song alongside Alan and Marilyn Bergman for “The Way We Were”, Best Music, Original Dramatic Score for The Way We Were and Best Music, Scoring Original Song Score and/or Adaptation for The Sting.
The legendary Katharine Hepburn, who had won three Best Actress Oscars but never attended the ceremony, made a rare public appearance to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to her friend, Lawrence Weingarten. She received a standing ovation and then said, “I’m living proof that a person can wait forty-one years to be unselfish.” Actress Susan Hayward, who had been diagnosed with brain cancer, made her final public appearance.
One of the events that this night is most remembered for is the streaker who ran behind David Niven as he was about to introduce Elizabeth Taylor. Commenting on the naked runner, Niven quipped, “Isn’t it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?” Much debate has ensued over the years as to whether producer Jack Haley, Jr. was in on the stunt and even whether Niven’s line was actually ad-libbed.
Results
Best Picture
- The Sting
Tony Bill [Producer], Michael Phillips [Producer] and Julia Phillips [Producer]
Best Directing
- The Sting
George Roy Hill
Best Actor
- Save the Tiger
Jack Lemmon
Best Actress
- A Touch of Class
Glenda Jackson
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
- The Paper Chase
John Houseman
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
- Paper Moon
Tatum O'Neal
Best Foreign Language Film
- Day for Night
Best Art Direction
- The Sting
Henry Bumstead [Art Direction] and James Payne [Set Decoration]
Best Cinematography
- Cries and Whispers
Sven Nykvist
Best Costume Design
- The Sting
Edith Head
Best Documentary (Feature)
- The Great American Cowboy
Kieth Merrill
Best Documentary (Short Subject)
- Princeton: A Search for Answers
Julian Krainin and DeWitt L. Sage Jr.
Best Film Editing
- The Sting
William Reynolds
Best Music (Original Dramatic Score)
- The Way We Were
Marvin Hamlisch
Best Music (Scoring: Original Song Score and Adaptation -or- Scoring: Adaptation)
- The Sting
Marvin Hamlisch
Best Music (Song)
- The Way We Were "The Way We Were"
Marvin Hamlisch [Music by], Alan Bergman [Lyrics by] and Marilyn Bergman [Lyrics by]
Best Short Subject (Animated)
- Frank Film
Frank Mouris
Best Short Subject (Live Action)
- The Bolero
Allan Miller and William Fertik
Best Sound
- The Exorcist
Robert Knudson and Chris Newman
Best Writing (Screenplay - based on material from another medium)
- The Exorcist
William Peter Blatty
Best Writing (Story and Screenplay - based on factual material or material not previously published or produced)
- The Sting
David S. Ward
Honorary Award
- Henri Langlois
Note: …for his devotion to the art of film, his massive contributions in preserving its past and his unswerving faith in its future. - Groucho Marx
Note: …in recognition of his brilliant creativity and for the unequaled achievements of the Marx Brothers in the art of motion picture comedy.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
- Lawrence Weingarten
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
- Lew Wasserman
Scientific or Technical Award (Class II)
- Joachim Gerb [of The Arnold and Richter Company] and Erich Kastner [of The Arnold and Richter Company]
Note: …for the development and engineering of the Arriflex 35BL motion picture camera. - Magna-Tech Electronic Co. Inc.
Note: …for the engineering and development of a high-speed re-recording system for motion picture production. - William W. Valliant [of PSC Technology Inc.], Howard F. Ott [of Eastman Kodak Company] and Gerry Diebold [of The Richmark Camera Service Inc.]
Note: …for the development of a liquid-gate system for motion-picture printers. - Harold A. Scheib [of Research Products Incorporated], Clifford H. Ellis [of Research Products Incorporated] and Roger W. Banks [of Research Products Incorporated]
Note: …for the concept and engineering of the Model 2101 optical printer for motion picture optical effects.
Scientific or Technical Award (Class III)
- Rosco Laboratories Inc.
Note: …for the technical advances and the development of a complete system of light-control materials for motion picture photography. - Richard H. Vetter [of Todd-AO Corporation]
Note: …for the design of an improved anamorphic focusing system for motion picture photography.