A night at the Oscars usually guarantees some kind of drama. Whether it’s a long overdue win, a surprise snub, an unexpected calamity, or a Hollywood A-lister taking to the stage to hit a presenter, you never know quite what’s going to unfold at the biggest awards show in Tinseltown. Over the years, there have been all kinds of Oscar moments that have been memorable for reasons good and bad – well-deserved recognition for iconic stars and filmmakers, hilarious song-and-dance numbers, pointed speeches, and wrong-winner snafus. In the wake of one of the most unforgettable Academy Awards nights of all time, Empire presents a rundown of the most historic, hilarious, and holy-crap-what-just-happened moments ever. Strap in.
55) Driving Me Crazy
1990 – The Best Picture line up in 1990 wasn't a list of classics, but Born On The Fourth Of July, Field Of Dreams or My Left Foot would have all been less surprising than the victory of Driving Miss Daisy. The film has now become the most cited instance of Oscar getting it wrong – although Paul Haggis' Crash win in 2006 (and the recent victory for Green Book) has given it a run for its money.
54) Greer Garson Accepts... At Length
1943 – It may be because of Greer Garson that winners are now chased off the stage by the orchestra. When accepting Best Actress for Mrs. Miniver, Garson rambled on with thanks for over six minutes, reputedly the longest acceptance speech in Oscar history.
53) Tears Of A Clown
1973 – The figure who turned up to accept an honorary award in 1973 was almost unrecognisable without his trademark dark moustache and cigar, but Groucho Marx was still every bit the comedian as he accepted a lifetime prize. The laughs were soon drowned by tears as he saluted the comedy brothers he'd now lost.
52) Will And Steve Prettified
2006 – If you ask Will Ferrell and Steve Carell to present an award, you're going to get something good. The pair arrived on stage in 2006 to present the prize for Best Makeup. To salute the artists, they arrived painted up like two auditionees for a regional tour of Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?
51) Where's Welles?
1971 – Having been snubbed for Citizen Kane, Orson Welles was bestowed an honorary Oscar in 1971. However, it was collected by John Huston since Welles was out of the country filming. And by 'out of the country', he meant 'in a bar in Los Angeles watching the show on TV and waiting for Huston to come and get drunk with him'.
50) "Awww, shit!"
1995 – Many people expected Samuel L. Jackson to win the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for Pulp Fiction. None, apparently, more than Jackson. When Martin Landau was named victor, Jackson forgot the generally accepted reaction of 'rictus grin and polite applause' in favour of a less gracious, "Awww, shit".
49) Jon Stewart's Dreams
2006 – Everyone was surprised when Daily Show host Jon Stewart was asked to host the 2006 Oscars, given the possibility for political upset. Apparently nobody was more surprised than Stewart, whose opening bit featured every recent host (and Mel Gibson) turning down the chance to return, culminating in him waking up and realising it's true - and that he's in bed with George Clooney. It's laughs like this that got him invited back for 2008.
48) Ellen Snaps Spielberg
2007 – Ellen Degeneres was widely criticised for being too nice in her shot at hosting in 2007. But her cuddly compering featured a lot of fun moments, none more than the bit where she asked Steven Spielberg to take a picture of her with Clint Eastwood so she could use it on Myspace. She actually used it.
47) "Amadeus!"
1984 – Laurence Olivier was so overcome by the standing ovation that greeted him when he took the stage to present Best Picture in 1984 that the rules of award presenting eluded him. Instead of reading out any of the nominees, he simply opened the envelope and declared the winner: "Amadeus!"
46) Joan Upstages Bette
1963 – There was famously no love lost between Joan Crawford and Bette Davis. So, when Davis was Oscar nominated for Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? and Crawford wasn't, the latter wrote to all the nominees offering to accept their award if they couldn't attend. Anne Bancroft was announced as winner for The Miracle Worker, but was on Broadway at the time, so it was Crawford who took to the stage while Davis glared furiously.
45) A Lil' Oscar For Lil' Shirley
1934 – Most of those fortunate enough to receive a career recognition award have one foot in the grave and the other shuffling close to the edge. Shirley Temple was given an Honorary Juvenile Award in 1934 "in grateful recognition for her contribution to screen entertainment". She was six.
44) "I do all my own stunts"
2006 – One thing you must not do when presenting an Oscar is embarrass yourself. So we have to love Jennifer Garner for her appearance at the 2006 awards. The actress tripped on her dress, leading to a possible blooper moment for the ages. But instead of blushing/weeping/committing hari-kiri she laughed, "I do all my own stunts". Subsequent public trippers include Jennifer Lawrence in 2013 and Rami Malek in 2019.
43) Anna Paq-wins
1994 – Anybody under the age of eighteen is usually just making up the cute-faced numbers in the acting categories. Anna Paquin went and surprised everybody by winning for her supporting role in The Piano. Any reservations that an accent that dodgy shouldn't have been rewarded were melted by her charmingly stunned gaping at the podium.
42) Superman Returns
1996 – Christopher Reeve had never been the greatest of actors, but his appearance at the 1996 awards brought the crowd to its feet and a tear to the eye. Following his paralysing horse riding accident, the former Superman wheeled onstage to deliver a speech about social responsibility. Many an eye was misty as the camera flashed around the room.
41) Not Easy Being Green Screen
2006 – To enliven his bit as presenter of the award for Best Visual Effects, Ben Stiller arrived on stage clad in green unitard so that he might be digitally erased by the power of visual effects and have the award present itself. The only hitch? Everyone could see him perfectly clearly. Fun fact: This gag was the idea of Night At The Museum and Free Guy director Shawn Levy.
40) Nurse Ratched Melts
1976 – Thanking your mum and dad is the biggest cliché in the Oscar speech book. But Louise Fletcher managed to make it extremely moving as she accepted Best Actress for One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which would win the big five that evening. Though too emotional to speak clearly, she managed to say thanks to her profoundly deaf parents using sign language. A lot of people instantly had something in their eye.
39) How Green Was My What?!
1942 – Oscar's got it wrong many times (A Beautiful Mind? Driving Miss Daisy?!), but none is more memorable than the fact that Citizen Kane, the film still renowned as perhaps the best ever made, was beaten to Best Picture by How Green Was My Valley – a good (but not that good) John Ford movie.
38) Shaft!
1972 – Blaxploitation movies have rarely bothered the Oscar voters. So it was a surprise and a curious delight to see Isaac Hayes win Best Original Song for the theme from Shaft. Watching Hayes sing about the "private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks" to the buttoned up crowd, was one of the ceremony's more amusing, and downright funky, moments. Right on!
37) The Show Under-runs!
1958 – One thing the Oscars is famous for, other than bad dresses and Jack Nicholson, is overrunning. If a ceremony comes in under four hours, you can consider it rather swift. But in 1958, the almost unthinkable happened and the telecast actually ran short, forcing host Jerry Lewis to fill desperately for twenty minutes.
36) Lambs Bleats (Sorry, Beats) Everyone
1992 – Horror films aren't supposed to do well at the Oscars. But Silence Of The Lambs, directed by Jonathan Demme, a man whose last movie had been Married To The Mob, scared up all kinds of success. It became one of only three films to win all five major Oscars (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Screenplay), the other two being It Happened One Night and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest.
35) "The British Are Coming!"
1981 – Chariots Of Fire is little remembered now, other than for that Vangelis theme, but its seven nominations and four wins were considered a huge deal at the time, with Colin Welland memorably declaring, as he collected a Best Original Screenplay prize, "The British are coming!" He was partly right, since UK cinema has been very well represented in the past couple of decades, but we'd been doing alright for a while thanks, Colin.
34) Gooding Jr.'s Gush
1996 – It was supposed to be Tom Cruise's night. Jerry Maguire was expected to be the movie that finally won Hollywood's biggest star an Oscar. But, while Cruise went home empty-handed, his co-star Cuba Gooding Jr. grabbed Best Supporting Actor. Even as the band struck up to usher him off stage, Gooding Jr. charged through his speech, thanking – and loving – everyone and bringing the audience to its feet.
33) Honouring The Master
1990 – Incredibly, and perhaps shamefully, the great Akira Kurosawa was only once nominated for an Oscar, and that for directing Ran, very late in his career. The director of Rashomon, Yojimbo, The Seven Samurai and The Hidden Fortress was finally awarded an honorary Oscar in 1990 by Steven Spielberg and George Lucas, two of his greatest fans.
32) Benigni Babbles
1998 – This was one of those moments that seemed entertaining at the time, but most people with access to an Oscar ballot would rather sweep under the red carpet. Benigni beat Tom Hanks and Ian McKellen, among others, to Best Actor for Life Is Beautiful. Leaping over chairs, he then delivered a bonkers speech that delighted most and baffled all as he ranted about firmaments and shagging the audience. We have to assume everybody that year was drunk.
31) Jubilant Julia
2001 – Hollywood's box office queen received the recognition of her peers in 2001 for Erin Brockovich and didn't hold back in her delight. The famous smile went into overtime and, as she thanked everyone she'd ever met, she ordered 'Tom Conti' to hold off on the exit music. It was actually Bill Conti, who never starred in Shirley Valentine.
30) Farewell To The Duke
1979 – Arriving to a thunderous ovation to present Best Picture, John Wayne looked a shadow of his former self. But he said, "Oscar and I have something in common. Oscar came onto the Hollywood scene in 1928. So did I. We're both a little weather beaten, but we plan to stick around, for a whole lot longer". Two months later he passed away.
29) Ali Vs. Rocky
1976 – The greatest boxers of the movie world and the real world met on stage at the 1976 ceremony. As Sylvester Stallone, aka Rocky Balboa, prepared to present an award, Muhammad Ali snuck up behind him. The two got into a mock argument and then a mock tussle, which Ali, naturally, won.
28) Tom Hanks Inadvertently Outs His Teacher
1994 – In an emotional acceptance speech for his first Best Actor Oscar for Philadelphia, Hanks gave recognition to someone who would rather have been left out. He saluted his high school drama teacher, Rawley Farnsworth, calling him one of "the finest gay Americans". Only problem was, nobody knew Farnsworth was gay. The bumble eventually became the inspiration for the movie In & Out.
27) Billy Does Hannibal
1992 – Billy Crystal was worried that his opening gag at the 1992 ceremony might fall flat. But, as he was wheeled onto the stage on a trolley, trussed up as Hannibal Lecter, he set the tone for what would be one of the most consistently funny awards shows ever. It secured his place as one of Oscar's most beloved hosts.
26) Forrest Rules
1995 – When he took the stage to be named writer of Best Original Screenplay for Pulp Fiction, Quentin Tarantino predicted that "this will be the only time I'm up here tonight". He was right, as Forrest Gump inexplicably went on to take Best Director and Picture. It also beat The Shawshank Redemption, which won exactly nothing.
25) The Matt And Ben Show
1998 – If there was a single soul in the world who didn't love Matt Damon and Ben Affleck after their acceptance speech for Best Original Screenplay for Good Will Hunting, they were probably a pod-person. The childhood pals stammered and giggled with all the enthusiasm of a pair of schoolboys let loose among Hollywood royalty.
24) Hattie McDaniel Wins
1940 – Oscar ground was broken at the 1940 ceremony as Hattie McDaniel became the first Black actor nominated and the first to win Best Supporting Actress. It would, however, be another 23 years before a Black actor, Sidney Poitier, won in either of the leading categories and 62 years before Halle Berry won Best Actress.
23) South Park Frockery
2000 – If you invite the South Park boys, Trey Parker and Matt Stone, to the Oscars, well, you're just asking for it. The pair, nominated for Best Original Song for 'Blame Canada', arrived dressed in outfits made famous by, respectively, Jennifer Lopez and Gwyneth Paltrow. They've since admitted that at the time they were more shit-faced than Mr Hanky The Christmas Poo, so it's probably best they never made it to the podium.
22) Michael Moore Loses The Crowd
2003 – The world wondered whether the Academy would put aside politics and reward Michael Moore for Bowling For Columbine, the biggest and best documentary of the year, given the sensitive political climate and the director's public disapproval – OK, outright hatred – of George W. Bush. When Moore won, he was as outspoken as ever and his Bush-baiting was equally cheered and jeered.
21) Snow And Lowe
1989 – This so-awful-it's-genius musical introduction to the 1989 ceremony has everything a perfect disaster needs. It's got a shrill Snow White impersonator, people dressed as giant stars, old celebrities looking confused, current celebrities looking bemused, and Rob Lowe looking like he's realised halfway through his horrible pastiche of 'Proud Mary' that he's made a horrible, horrible mistake.
20) Gwyneth Gushes
1999 – If you win an Oscar, you should look like it actually means something to you. Gwyneth Paltrow took that to heart as she accepted her gong for Shakespeare In Love. She didn't so much deliver a speech as a flood of sobs that dampened the first four rows of the audience. But she laughs about it now.
19) The Mafia Rules
2006 – Three 6 Mafia's excitement at winning Best Original Song for Hustle And Flow's 'Hard Out Here For A Pimp' was matched only by the assembled A-listers' palpable bemusement. But the rappers' moment in Oscar history was assured. Host Jon Stewart reflected the thoughts of the room when he said, "Three 6 Mafia have an Oscar and Martin Scorsese doesn't?"
18) Blame Canada!
2000 – The Best Original Song musical segments are usually a reason to go and make a cuppa, but Robin Williams' all-guns-blazing performance of South Park's anti-Canuck anthem was the highlight of the 2000 ceremony and one of the funniest in Oscar history. Typically, the song itself lost out to Phil Collins' pedestrian ballad 'You'll Be in My Heart' from Tarzan.
17) The Comedian Song
2007 – Comedians famously get very little love from the Oscar voters. Which made it the perfect subject for a manic song performed by Will Ferrell, John C. Reilly and Jack Black, who number billions of dollars in box office and precisely one Oscar nod between them (Reilly's nom for Chicago). The three took no prisoners in their tune, offering to elbow Leonardo DiCaprio in the larynx and beat Peter O'Toole down with a Nickelodeon award.
16) The Tramp Triumphant
1972 – Charlie Chaplin had already won two Oscars, an honorary one for "versatility and genius" in The Circus and for Best Score in Limelight, but his honorary award in 1972 was the one that mattered. After twenty years in exile, he came back to America to a hero's welcome and received the longest ovation in Oscar history, lasting almost twelve minutes. Not a dry eye in the house.
15) Palance's Press Ups
1992 – Honestly, we still have no clue why Jack Palance won Best Supporting Actor for his role in City Slickers, but we wouldn't mess with him. After taking to the stage to accept his award and joking that he could "crap bigger" than co-star and host Billy Crystal, Palance dropped to the floor and did a series of one-handed press-ups. He was 73!
14) Billy's Songs
1990 – Billy Crystal has become one of Oscar's most popular hosts and he made his mark in style with the opening of his first gig. In what became his signature, Crystal inserted himself into clips from the biggest films of the year, before bursting through the screen on which they were showing to a standing ovation. Then he sang a song about all the nominees. Crystal was so popular he returned to host seven more times.
13) Jackman On A Budget
2009 – Words like "lavish" and "spectacle" crop up frequently in reference to the Oscars, making the joke of Jackman's deliberately scruffy cut-price opening musical number all the funnier. With cardboard props and "Craigslist dancers" he serenaded Kate Winslet and duetted with an equally hilarious Anne Hathaway. The seeds of 2012's Les Miserables movie were clearly sown here.
12) Spielberg Finally Wins
1994 – Though he'd received nominations for his more multiplex friendly fare, Steven Spielberg wasn't given Oscar gold until he proved to the Academy that he could do absolutely anything he set his mind to. With Schindler's List he proved himself the most versatile living director and Oscar couldn't throw enough awards at him.
11) The King Reigns
2004 – The first two films in Peter Jackson's masterful Lord Of The Rings trilogy went home almost empty-handed from the Oscars, winning only a clutch of technical awards. Return Of The King looked like it might go the same way until, only a few prizes into the ceremony, it became clear this would be a sweep. Winning every prize it was up for, including Annie Lennox's odd song, the King ruled supreme.
10) "This moment's so much bigger than me"
2002 – From Flintstones to the Oscar podium would be a long way for any actress to come. But Halle Berry's Best Actress award for Monster's Ball made her the first Black woman to ever win the prize, and the moment was not lost on her. When she managed to control her tears, Berry dedicated her award to all the women who had come before her and proclaimed the moment, "so much bigger than me". Then she cried again.
9) Hitchcock Honoured
1967 – Hitchcock never won a competitive Oscar. Yes, you read that right. So, after six nods and no wins, the honorary Irving G. Thalberg award was the least the Academy could bestow upon one of cinema's greatest. That his entire acceptance speech amounted to a simple, "Thank you" surely left them suitably admonished.
8) The Oscars All-Stars
1998 – A few moments of Titanic's glory were stolen at the 70th ceremony as the curtains were drawn back to reveal a huge crowd of past winners, all gathered together. Granted, without the subtitles you would never have guessed that little old lady was Shirley Temple, but it was impressive to see so much prize-winning talent on one stage.
7) Poitier Makes History
1963 – There are a few Oscar landmarks that mark a major moment in broader culture. Sidney Poitier's Best Actor win for Lilies Of The Field was just such an event. Poitier was the first Black actor to win the award for a leading role and it pushed him toward a career that would make him, for a time, the biggest star in Hollywood. Many owe him a debt.
6) "It's a tie!"
1968 – Before going on to announce the winner of Best Supporting Actress in 1968, Ingrid Bergman was instructed to read the contents of the envelope carefully. And not without reason. "It's a tie!" she cried in surprise from the podium. For the first and only time in Oscar history, two people won the award, in this case Barbra Streisand and Katharine Hepburn. They got a statue each, though.
5) Sacheen Littlefeather
1973 – Actors have always used a victory as a time to get their political views known. Marlon Brando took the opportunity when he won Best Actor for The Godfather. Staying away from the ceremony himself, he sent a Native American woman named Sacheen Littlefeather to announce that he could not accept the award due to the film industry's poor treatment of Native Americans.
4) Justice At Last
2007 – That Martin Scorsese didn't have an Oscar was a big black mark against the Academy for decades. He'd been nominated in the directing category five times and lost every one. So, when he was nominated a sixth time for The Departed, which was widely considered the best of the year, fingers were firmly crossed around the world. When Steven Spielberg, George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola arrived on stage to present the award it seemed, surely, inevitable. When Scorsese's name was finally pulled from the envelope you could hear the applause and sighs for miles around. The resultant picture of four of the greatest directors of modern cinema grinning like schoolboys is one for the wall of any dedicated movie fan.
3) The Streaker
1974 – Host David Niven was left unmoved when one of his segments was rudely interrupted by Robert Opel showing off his own little bald fella by streaking across the stage. Without missing a beat or twitching an eyebrow, Niven said, "The only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings".
2) Smith Vs. Rock
2022 – One for the ages. Presenting the award for Best Documentary Feature, Chris Rock cracked some quips to general laughs. But when Jada Pinkett Smith's shaved head attracted his attention and a G.I. Jane comparison – Rock possibly unaware of Pinkett Smith's alopecia – her husband was not amused. Will Smith took to the stage and struck Rock in the face, and when he returned to his seat could be heard shouting, "Leave my wife's name out of your fucking mouth." When Smith won Best Actor for King Richard minutes later, he steered his awkward and tearful speech into some thoughts about standing up for family. He finished his speech by saying: "I hope the Academy invites me back. Thank you."
1) "Moonlight won Best Picture!"
2017 – The ceremony clattered to an ignominious climax when the Oscar for Best Picture was initially awarded to the wrong film. Presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway initially congratulated the makers of La La Land, having mistakenly read out the contents of the envelope for Best Actress. The La La Land team duly bounded in delight to the stage, speeches were made – and then there followed minutes of confusion before La La Land’s producer, Jordan Horowitz, took the microphone to announce “This is not a joke; Moonlight won Best Picture.” The team behind Barry Jenkins’ drama then took the stage themselves for an awkward exchange of statues. A much-deserved (eventual) win, caught up in the most chaotic Oscar victory of all time.