39th Academy Awards
The 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967, hosted by Bob Hope at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California.
The Academy Awards broadcast faced the threat of cancellation due to a strike involving the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Fortunately, the dispute was resolved just three hours before the ceremony was set to begin. Bob Hope, during his opening monologue, alluded to this uncertainty, noting that even as late as 30 minutes before the event, it was still unclear whether the telecast would proceed.
In a rare occurrence during the period with five Best Picture nominees, only two were nominated for Best Director this year: Fred Zinnemann for A Man for All Seasons and Mike Nichols for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. The latter was the second film in Oscars history to be nominated in every eligible category, as well as the first of three to date to receive acting nominations for the entire credited cast.
For the second time in Oscars history, two siblings were nominated in the same category: Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave, both nominated for Best Actress for their performances in Morgan! and Georgy Girl, respectively. This had previously occurred in 1941, when sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland were each nominated for Best Actress.
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.
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.
Uniquely, this year marked the only instance in the history of the Academy Awards where all nominees for Best Actress were born outside the United States. Among the audience was Patricia Neal, who had not made a Hollywood appearance since she suffered a near-fatal stroke two years prior, and she received a standing ovation from the crowd. California's governor at the time, Ronald Reagan, also attended the ceremony, having been a longtime member and supporter of the Academy.
Additionally, this event marked the final year in which separate awards were presented for black-and-white and color films in categories such as Cinematography, Art Direction-Set Decoration, and Costume Design. One standout moment in the broadcast was Mitzi Gaynor's performance of the song "Georgy Girl," which is frequently hailed as one of the most celebrated performances in Oscar history.
Winners and nominees
Nominees were announced on February 20, 1967. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.
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