46th Academy Awards
The 46th Academy Awards were presented on Tuesday, April 2, 1974, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. The ceremonies were presided over by Burt Reynolds, Diana Ross, John Huston, and David Niven.
The Sting won 7 awards, including Best Picture and Best Director for George Roy Hill. The Exorcist and The Way We Were were the only other films to win multiple awards. Marvin Hamlisch won 3 awards, making him the third person to achieve this feat and, to date, the only person who has won 3 Oscars in one year without winning Best Picture., it is the most recent ceremony in which the 3 highest-grossing films of the year were nominated for Best Picture.
Winners and nominees
Nominations announced on February 19, 1974. Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.Honorary Awards
- To Henri Langlois for his devotion to the art of film, his massive contributions in preserving its past and his unswerving faith in its future.
- To Groucho Marx in recognition of his brilliant creativity and for the unequalled achievements of the Marx Brothers in the art of motion picture comedy.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Awards
Streaking incident
During the awards ceremony a streaker named Robert Opel ran across the stage naked while flashing a peace sign with his hand. In response, host David Niven jokingly 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?" Terrence O'Flaherty, a columnist from San Francisco, responded by saying that "there's only one trouble with streaking—the wrong people usually do it. The ones who should have removed their clothes were Cher Bono, Twiggy and Elizabeth Taylor".The incident would be referenced 50 years later during the 96th Academy Awards in 2024; host Jimmy Kimmel brought up the streaker and asked the audience, "can you imagine a naked man at the Oscars today?" Eventually, a "nude" John Cena, holding the award envelope for Best Costume Design over his crotch, emerged from backstage.
Multiple nominations and awards
| Nominations | Film |
| 10 | The Exorcist |
| 10 | The Sting |
| 6 | The Way We Were |
| 5 | American Graffiti |
| 5 | Cries and Whispers |
| 5 | A [Touch of Class (film)|A Touch of Class] |
| 4 | Paper Moon |
| 3 | Cinderella Liberty |
| 3 | The Last Detail |
| 3 | The [Paper Chase (film)|The Paper Chase] |
| 3 | Save the Tiger |
| 3 | Tom Sawyer |
| 2 | The Day of the Dolphin |
| 2 | Jonathan [Livingston Seagull (film)|Jonathan Livingston Seagull] |
| 2 | Last Tango in Paris |
| 2 | Serpico |
| 2 | Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams |
| Awards | Film |
| 7 | The Sting |
| 2 | The Exorcist |
| 2 | The Way We Were |