38th Academy Awards


The 38th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1965, were held on April 18, 1966, at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope, and were the first Oscars to be broadcast live in color. Lynda Bird Johnson, daughter of President Lyndon B. Johnson, attended the ceremony, escorted by actor George Hamilton.
The most successful films of the year were The [Sound of Music (film)|The Sound of Music] and Doctor Zhivago, each with ten nominations and five wins, with the former winning Best Picture. Both films are in the top 10 inflation-adjusted commercially successful films ever made, and both would go on to appear on the American Film Institute list of the greatest American films of the twentieth century.
The Sound of Music was the first Best Picture winner without a screenwriting nomination since Hamlet, and would be the last until Titanic at the 70th Academy Awards. Othello became the third film to receive four acting nominations without one for Best Picture. William Wyler received the last of his record twelve Best Director nominations for The Collector.

Awards

Nominees were announced on February 21, 1966. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
The Sound of MusicRobert Wise, producer
Robert WiseThe Sound of Music
  • * William WylerThe Collector
  • * John SchlesingerDarling
  • * David LeanDoctor Zhivago
  • * Hiroshi TeshigaharaWoman in the Dunes
  • Lee MarvinCat Ballou as Kid Shelleen / Tim Strawn
  • * Richard BurtonThe Spy Who Came [In from the Cold (film)|The Spy Who Came In from the Cold] as Alec Leamas
  • * Laurence OlivierOthello as Othello
  • * Rod SteigerThe Pawnbroker as Sol Nazerman
  • * Oskar WernerShip of Fools as Dr. Wilhelm "Willi" Schumann
  • Julie ChristieDarling as Diana Scott
  • * Julie AndrewsThe Sound of Music as Maria von Trapp
  • * Samantha EggarThe Collector as Miranda Grey
  • * Elizabeth HartmanA Patch of Blue as Selina D'Arcey
  • * Simone SignoretShip of Fools as La Condesa
  • Martin BalsamA Thousand Clowns as Arnold Burns
  • * Ian BannenThe [Flight of the Phoenix (1965 film)|The Flight of the Phoenix] as "Ratbags" Crow
  • * Tom CourtenayDoctor Zhivago as Pavel "Pasha" Antipov
  • * Michael DunnShip of Fools as Carl Glocken
  • * Frank FinlayOthello as Iago
  • Shelley WintersA Patch of Blue as Rose-Ann D'Arcey
  • * Ruth GordonInside Daisy Clover as Lucile Clover
  • * Joyce RedmanOthello as Emilia
  • * Maggie SmithOthello as Desdemona
  • * Peggy WoodThe Sound of Music as the Mother Abbess
  • DarlingFrederic Raphael
  • * Casanova 70Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Mario Monicelli, Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni and Suso Cecchi d'Amico
  • * Those Magnificent Men in their Flying MachinesJack Davies and Ken Annakin
  • * The Train – Franklin Coen and Frank Davis
  • * The Umbrellas of CherbourgJacques Demy
  • Doctor ZhivagoRobert Bolt from Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak
  • * Cat BallouWalter Newman and Frank Pierson from The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor
  • * The CollectorStanley Mann and John Kohn from The Collector by John Fowles
  • * Ship of FoolsAbby Mann from Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter
  • * A Thousand ClownsHerb Gardner from A Thousand Clowns by Herb Gardner
  • The Shop on Main Street
  • * Blood on the Land
  • * Dear John
  • * Kwaidan
  • * Marriage Italian Style
  • The [Eleanor Roosevelt Story]
  • * The [Battle of the Bulge... The Brave Rifles]
  • * The Forth Road Bridge
  • * Let My People Go: [The Story of Israel]
  • * To Die in Madrid
  • To Be Alive!
  • * Mural on Our Street
  • * Nyitany
  • * Point of View
  • * Yeats Country
  • The ChickenClaude Berri
  • * Fortress of Peace – Lothar Wolff
  • * Skaterdater
  • * Snow
  • * Time PieceJim Henson
  • The Dot and the Line
  • * Clay or the Origin of Species
  • * The Thieving Magpie
  • Doctor ZhivagoMaurice Jarre
  • * The [Agony and the Ecstasy (film)|The Agony and the Ecstasy]Alex North
  • * The Greatest Story Ever ToldAlfred Newman
  • * A Patch of BlueJerry Goldsmith
  • * The Umbrellas of CherbourgMichel Legrand and Jacques Demy
  • The Sound of MusicIrwin Kostal
  • * Cat BallouFrank De Vol
  • * The Pleasure SeekersLionel Newman and Alexander Courage
  • * A Thousand ClownsDon Walker
  • * The Umbrellas of CherbourgMichel Legrand
  • "The Shadow of Your Smile" from The Sandpiper – Music by Johnny Mandel; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster
  • * "The Ballad of Cat Ballou" from Cat Ballou – Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack David
  • * "I Will Wait for You" from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy
  • * "The Sweetheart Tree" from The Great Race – Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
  • * "What's New Pussycat?" from What's New Pussycat? – Music by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David
  • The Great RaceTreg Brown
  • * Von Ryan's ExpressWalter Rossi
  • The Sound of MusicJames Corcoran and Fred Hynes
  • * The Agony and the EcstasyJames Corcoran
  • * Doctor ZhivagoA. W. Watkins and Franklin Milton
  • * The Great RaceGeorge Groves
  • * ShenandoahWaldon O. Watson
  • Ship of Fools – Art Direction: Robert Clatworthy; Set Decoration: Joseph Kish
  • * King Rat – Art Direction: Robert Emmet Smith; Set Decoration: Frank Tuttle
  • * A Patch of Blue – Art Direction: George Davis and Urie McCleary; Set Decoration: Henry Grace and Charles S. Thompson
  • * The Slender Thread – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Jack Poplin; Set Decoration: Robert R. Benton and Joseph Kish
  • * The Spy Who Came In from the Cold – Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen and Ted Marshall; Set Decoration: Josie MacAvin
  • Doctor Zhivago – Art Direction: John Box and Terence Marsh; Set Decoration: Dario Simoni
  • * The Agony and the Ecstasy – Art Direction: John DeCuir and Jack Martin Smith; Set Decoration: Dario Simoni
  • * The Greatest Story Ever Told – Art Direction: Richard Day, William J. Creber and David S. Hall ; Set Decoration: Ray Moyer, Fred M. MacLean and Norman Rockett
  • * Inside Daisy Clover – Art Direction: Robert Clatworthy; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
  • * The Sound of Music – Art Direction: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Ruby Levitt
  • Ship of FoolsErnest Laszlo
  • * In Harm's WayLoyal Griggs
  • * King RatBurnett Guffey
  • * MorituriConrad Hall
  • * A Patch of BlueRobert Burks
  • Doctor ZhivagoFreddie Young
  • * The Agony and the EcstasyLeon Shamroy
  • * The Great RaceRussell Harlan
  • * The Greatest Story Ever ToldWilliam C. Mellor and Loyal Griggs
  • * The Sound of MusicTed D. McCord
  • DarlingJulie Harris
  • * MorituriMoss Mabry
  • * A Rage to LiveHoward Shoup
  • * Ship of FoolsJean Louis and Bill Thomas
  • * The Slender ThreadEdith Head
  • Doctor ZhivagoPhyllis Dalton
  • * The Agony and the EcstasyVittorio Nino Novarese
  • * The Greatest Story Ever ToldMarjorie Best and Vittorio Nino Novarese
  • * Inside Daisy CloverEdith Head and Bill Thomas
  • * The Sound of MusicDorothy Jeakins
  • The Sound of MusicWilliam H. Reynolds
  • * Cat BallouCharles Nelson
  • * Doctor ZhivagoNorman Savage
  • * The Flight of the PhoenixMichael Luciano
  • * The Great RaceRalph E. Winters
  • ThunderballJohn Stears
  • * The Greatest Story Ever ToldJ. McMillan Johnson
  • Honorary Award

    • To Bob Hope for unique and distinguished service to our industry and the Academy.

    Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

    Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

    Multiple nominations and awards

    These films had multiple nominations:
    The following films received multiple awards.

    Presenters and performers

    The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.