55th Academy Awards
The 55th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, honored films released in 1982 and took place on April 11, 1983, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards in 24 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Howard W. Koch and directed by Marty Pasetta. Actors Walter Matthau, Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, and Richard Pryor hosted the show. Matthau and Pryor hosted the gala for the second time; the former was a co-host of the 48th ceremony in 1976 while the latter co-hosted the 49th ceremony held in 1977. Meanwhile, Minnelli and Moore hosted for the first time. Two weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 27, the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by host Dyan Cannon.
Gandhi won eight awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial with four awards, An Officer and a Gentleman with two, Begin the Beguine, If You Love This Planet, Just Another Missing Kid, Missing, Quest for Fire, A Shocking Accident, Sophie's Choice, Tango, Tootsie, and Victor/Victoria with one. The telecast garnered 53.2 million viewers in the United States.
Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 55th Academy Awards were announced on February 17, 1983, by Academy president Fay Kanin and actor Karl Malden. Gandhi received the most nominations with eleven total; Tootsie came in second with ten. The winners were announced at the awards ceremony on April 11. Best Supporting Actress winner Jessica Lange was the second actress to earn both lead and supporting acting nominations in the same year after Teresa Wright who earned a nomination for Best Actress for 1942's The Pride of the Yankees while winning Best Supporting Actress in the same year for Mrs. Miniver. Louis Gossett Jr. became the first African-American winner for Best Supporting Actor.Awards
Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.Honorary Academy Award
- To Mickey Rooney in recognition of his 60 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.Films with multiple nominations and awards
| Awards | Film |
| 8 | Gandhi |
| 4 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial |
| 2 | An Officer and a Gentleman |
Presenters and performers
The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.Ceremony information
In October 1982, the Academy hired film producer Howard W. Koch to produce the ceremony for the eighth time. "I am delighted that the Academy will have the benefit of Howard Koch's experience and creativity again this year," said AMPAS President Fay Kanin in a press release announcing the selection. "We are extremely proud of the Awards programs Howard has produced for us in years past, and look forward to an equally graceful and exciting presentation this year. Five months later, it was announced that actors Walter Matthau, Liza Minnelli, Dudley Moore, and Richard Pryor would share hosting duties for the gala. According to news reports, AMPAS originally sought late night talk show host Johnny Carson to emcee the festivities again, but he declined the offer due to Carson having personal issues related to the recent breakup with his wife.Marty Pasetta directed the telecast; Bill Conti served as conductor and musical director. Actor John Moschitta Jr., who was known for his fast talking delivery in commercials, made an appearance at the beginning of the ceremony explaining the voting rules and procedures. Several members of the Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps from the University of Southern California made an appearance at the beginning of the performance of Best Original Song nominee "Up Where We Belong" from the film An Officer and a Gentleman. Peter Allen and Bernadette Peters performed a medley of songs in tribute to songwriter Irving Berlin. Ethel Merman was initially slated to perform alongside Allen and Peters, but she cancelled her appearance after suffering a stroke.
Box office performance of Best Picture nominees
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 16, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $496 million. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees, with $329 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Tootsie, The Verdict, Missing, and Gandhi.Critical reviews
Thomas Sabulis wrote in the St. Petersburg Times, "The television show itself was one of the poorest academy presentations in recent memory." He also criticized production elements such as the opening number Kristy McNichol mispronouncing nominees names. Writing for the Austin American-Statesman, Diane Holoway commented, "In the quarter of a century or so that I've been watching the gala event, this was the sloppiest production ever. And clocking in at well over three hours, it was one of the longest." Mansfield News Journal's Ray Dyson commented, "The Academy Awards ceremony ran true to form Monday night. Every year when the biggest awards in moviedom are passed out there are two predictions that always come true — it will go too long and it will be boring." He praised the Irving Berlin tribute and actor John Moschitta's humorous and rapid recitation of the Academy voting rules, but found the telecast to be listless and filled with technical glitches.Television critic Howard Rosenberg of Los Angeles Times wrote, "This telecast continues to be one of the best shows around, perhaps not as tightly produced as the Tonys, but unequaled for charisma and ogling charisma." The New York Times film critic Vincent Canby said, The 55th presentation, last Monday night, was everything one could have wished it to be, including dignified." However, he criticized the decision to reward Gandhi with the Best Picture award saying, "E.T. and Tootsie are films. Gandhi is a laboriously illustrated textbook." The News & Observer entertainment editor Bill Morrison noted that the lack of suspense amongst the winners and repetitive "thank yous" in the acceptance speeches bogged down the ceremony, but he reserved praise for co-host Moore calling him "a delightful emcee."