| 26th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | March 25, 1954 |
| Site | RKO Pantages Theatre Hollywood, California NBC Center Theatre New York City, New York |
| Hosted by | Donald O'Connor (Hollywood) Fredric March (New York City) |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | From Here to Eternity |
| Most awards | From Here to Eternity (8) |
| Most nominations | From Here to Eternity (13) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | NBC |
The26th Academy Awards were held on March 25, 1954, simultaneously at theRKO Pantages Theatre inHollywood (hosted byDonald O'Connor), and theNBC Center Theatre in New York City (hosted byFredric March).
The second national telecast of the Awards show drew an estimated 43 million viewers.Shirley Booth, appearing in a play in Philadelphia, presented theAcademy Award for Best Actor through a live broadcast cut-in, having privately received the winner's name over the telephone from O'Connor.Gary Cooper pre-recorded his presentation of theAcademy Award for Best Actress while on location inMexico shootingGarden of Evil, with O'Connor then announcing the winner's name live.
All the major winners in this year were black-and-white films.Fred Zinnemann'sFrom Here to Eternity won eight awards from its thirteen nominations:Best Picture,Best Supporting Actor,Best Supporting Actress,Academy Award for Best Director,Best Screenplay (Daniel Taradash),Best Cinematography, Black-and-White (Burnett Guffey),Best Sound Recording, andBest Film Editing. It was the third film to receive five acting nominations. Its eight awards matched the record set byGone with the Wind in1939.Walt Disney won four awards, a record shared by him andSean Baker for most Oscars won by a single person in the same year (Bong Joon Ho won three at the92nd Academy Awards[1][a] and accepted a fourth for Best International Feature on behalf of South Korea.)
William Holden's acceptance speech forBest Actor forStalag 17 was simply "Thank You", making it one of the shortest speeches on record, as it was cut short by the broadcast cut to a commercial. Holden, frustrated, later personally paid for advertisements in the Hollywood trade publications to thank everyone he had wanted to in his speech, remarked that he felt that eitherBurt Lancaster orMontgomery Clift should have won the Oscar forFrom Here to Eternity instead of him, and expounded backstage on a system he felt valued commercials over program content;[4] NBC had cut to commercials during the middle of other acceptance speeches as well that evening.[4]
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Nominees were announced on February 15, 1954. Winners are listed first and highlighted inboldface.[5]
| Name(s) | Role |
|---|---|
| Elizabeth Taylor andMichael Wilding | Presenters of the Documentary Awards |
| Jack Webb | Presenter of the award for Best Sound Recording |
| Keefe Brasselle andMarilyn Erskine | Presenters of the Short Subject Awards |
| Esther Williams | Presenter of the award for Best Film Editing |
| Gene Tierney | Presenter of the awards for Costume Design |
| Gower Champion Marge Champion | Presenters of the award for Art Direction |
| Lex Barker andLana Turner | Presenters of the awards for Cinematography |
| Kirk Douglas | Presenter of the Writing awards |
| Irene Dunne | Presenter of the award for Best Director |
| Walter Brennan | Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actress |
| Mercedes McCambridge | Presenter of the award for Best Supporting Actor |
| Arthur Freed | Presenter of the Music awards |
| Gary Cooper | Presenter of the award for Best Actress |
| Shirley Booth | Presenter of the award for Best Actor |
| Cecil B. DeMille | Presenter of the award for Best Motion Picture |
| Merle Oberon | Presenter of the award for Best Special Effects |
| Charles Brackett | Presenter of the Honorary Awards |
| Tyrone Power | Presenter of the Scientific & Technical Awards |
| David O. Selznick | Presenter of the Irving G. Thalberg Award |
| Name(s) | Role |
|---|---|
| André Previn | Conductor the Academy Awards orchestra |
| Mitzi Gaynor andDonald O'Connor | Performers of "The Moon Is Blue" fromThe Moon Is Blue |
| Connie Russell | Performer of "Sadie Thompson's Song (Blue Pacific Blues)" fromMiss Sadie Thompson |
| Ann Blyth | Performer of "Secret Love" fromCalamity Jane |
| Dean Martin | Performer of "That's Amore" fromThe Caddy |
| Awards | Film |
|---|---|
| 8 | From Here to Eternity |
| 3 | Roman Holiday |
| 2 | The Robe |
