34th Academy Awards - Academy Guns

The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962 at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California. They were hosted by Bob Hope; this was the seventh time Hope hosted the Oscars.

Legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini received his first Best Director nomination for his film La Dolce Vita, though the movie itself failed to garner a nomination for Best Picture.

Sophia Loren became the first actor or actress to win for an acting Oscar for a non-English-speaking role.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface

Academy Honorary Awards

• William L. Hendricks
• Fred L. Metzler
• Jerome Robbins

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

• Stanley Kramer

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• George Seaton

News and recap

The most memorable event of the night was when Stan Berman, a New York City cabdriver, awarded Bob Hope a homemade Oscar after he had slipped through security and made his way to the stage. Both Jackie Gleason (in "The Hustler") and Judy Garland (in "Judgment At Nuremberg") were heavily favored to win the awards for best supporting actor and actress. However, they were defeated by George Chakiris and Rita Moreno as part of the "West Side Story" sweep. The musical film wound up winning a total of ten Academy Awards including Best Picture. For the first time, two directors shared the award in the Directing category (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins for "West Side Story").

Presenters and performers

Presenters

• Eddie Albert and Dina Merrill (Presenters: Costume Design Awards)
• Fred Astaire (Presenter: Best Picture)
• Carroll Baker and Richard Chamberlain (Presenters: Art Direction-Set Decoration Awards)
• Charles Brackett (Presenter: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to George Seaton)
• Macdonald Carey and Shirley Knight (Presenters: Best Visual Effects)
• George Chakiris and Carolyn Jones (Presenters: Documentary Awards)
• Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin (Presenters: Music Awards)
• Wendell Corey (Presenter: Honorary Award to Fred L. Metzler)
• Joan Crawford (Presenter: Best Actor)
• Vince Edwards and Shelley Winters (Presenters: Cinematography Awards)
• Anthony Franciosa and Joanne Woodward (Presenters: Best Sound Recording)
• Arthur Freed (Presenter: Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to Stanley Kramer)
• George Hamilton and Glynis Johns (Presenters: Short Subjects Awards)
• Rock Hudson (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress)
• Eric Johnston (Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film)
• Shirley Jones (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor)
• Gene Kelly (Presenter: Honorary Award to Jerome Robbins)
• Burt Lancaster (Presenter: Best Actress)
• Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick (Presenters: Writing Awards)
• Debbie Reynolds (Presenter: Best Original Song)
• Rosalind Russell (Presenter: Best Director)

Performers

• Ann-Margret ("Bachelor in Paradise" from Bachelor in Paradise)
• Gogi Grant ("Pocketful of Miracles" from Pocketful of Miracles)
• Johnny Mathis ("Love Theme from El Cid (The Falcon and the Dove)" from El Cid)
• Gene Pitney ("Town Without Pity" from Town Without Pity)
• Andy Williams ("Moon River" from Breakfast at Tiffany's)

Multiple nominations and awards