| 58th Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
 Official poster | |
| Date | March 24, 1986 |
| Site | Dorothy Chandler Pavilion Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Hosted by | Alan Alda Jane Fonda Robin Williams |
| Produced by | Stanley Donen |
| Directed by | Marty Pasetta |
| Highlights | |
| Best Picture | Out of Africa |
| Most awards | Out of Africa (7) |
| Most nominations | The Color Purple andOut of Africa (11) |
| TV in the United States | |
| Network | ABC |
| Duration | 3 hours, 11 minutes[1] |
| Ratings | 37.8 million 27.3% (Nielsen ratings) |
The58th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 24, 1986, at theDorothy Chandler Pavilion inLos Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m.PST / 9:00 p.m.EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presentedAcademy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories honoringfilms released in 1985. The ceremony, televised in the United States byABC, was produced byStanley Donen and directed byMarty Pasetta.[2] ActorsAlan Alda,Jane Fonda, andRobin Williams co-hosted the show. Fonda hosted the gala for the second time, having previously been a co-host of the49th ceremony held in 1977. Meanwhile, this was Alda and Williams's first Oscars hosting stint.[3] Eight days earlier, in a ceremony held atThe Beverly Hilton inBeverly Hills, California, on March 16, theAcademy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by hostMacdonald Carey.[4]
Out of Africa won seven awards, includingBest Picture. Meanwhile, fellow Best Picture nomineeThe Color Purple failed to win any of its eleven nominations.[5][6] Other winners includedCocoon andWitness with two awards andAnna & Bella,Back to the Future,Broken Rainbow,Kiss of the Spider Woman,Mask,Molly's Pilgrim,The Official Story,Prizzi's Honor,Ran,The Trip to Bountiful,White Nights, andWitness to War: Dr. Charlie Clements with one. The telecast received mixed reviews, and it garnered 37.8 million viewers in the United States.
The nominees for the 58th Academy Awards were announced on February 4, 1986, by Academy presidentRobert Wise and actressPatty Duke.[7]The Color Purple andOut of Africa led all nominees with eleven each.[8] Winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 24, 1986.[6] With its 11 nominations and zero wins,The Color Purple joined 1977'sThe Turning Point as the most nominated films in Oscar history without a single win.[9] By virtue of her fatherJohn and grandfatherWalter's wins for Best Director and Best Supporting Actor respectively for 1948'sThe Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Best Supporting Actress winnerAnjelica Huston made them the first three-generation Oscar winning family.[10] For the first time in Oscars history, all lead acting nominees were born in the United States.[11] Argentina'sThe Official Story became the firstLatin American film to win theBest Foreign Language Film category.[12]
Winners are listed first, highlighted inboldface and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[13]
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The award recognizes individuals whose humanitarian efforts have brought credit to the motion picture industry.[15]
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The following individuals, in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.[17][18]
| Name | Role | Performed |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Newman | Musical arranger Conductor | Orchestral |
| Teri Garr | Performer | "Flying Down to Rio" during the opening number |
| Irene Cara | Performer | "Here's to the Losers" byFrank Sinatra during the tribute to Oscar losers throughout history |
| Gregg Burge | Performer | "Surprise, Surprise" fromA Chorus Line |
| Tata Vega | Performer | "Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)" fromThe Color Purple |
| Stephen Bishop Marilyn Martin | Performers | "Separate Lives" fromWhite Nights |
| Huey Lewis and the News | Performers | "The Power of Love" fromBack to the Future |
| Lionel Richie | Performer | "Say You, Say Me" fromWhite Nights |
| June Allyson Leslie Caron Marge Champion Cyd Charisse Kathryn Grayson Howard Keel Ann Miller Jane Powell Debbie Reynolds Esther Williams | Performers | "Once a Star, Always a Star" during theMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals tribute |
| Barbra Streisand | Performer | "Putting It Together" fromSunday in the Park with George during the Best Director presentation |
| Academy Awards Orchestra | Performers | "Oh, Lady Be Good!" fromLady, Be Good (orchestral) during the closing credits |
Determined to revive interest surrounding the awards and reverse declining ratings, the Academy hiredStanley Donen in December 1985 to produce the telecast for the first time.[20] The following February, actor and comedianRobin Williams was selected as host of the 1986 telecast.[21] ActorAlan Alda and two-time Oscar-winning actressJane Fonda were later announced to join Williams in sharing emceeing duties.[22]
Several other people were involved with the production of the ceremony.Marty Pasetta was hired as director of the telecast.[2]Lionel Newman served as musical director and conductor for the ceremony.[23] ActressTeri Garr performed the titular song fromFlying Down to Rio during the opening segment.[24] SingerIrene Cara sang theFrank Sinatra song "Here's to the Losers" in honor of unsuccessful Oscar nominees throughout history.[24] A song-and-dance number featuring actor and singerHoward Keel and several actresses includingCyd Charisse,Leslie Caron, andDebbie Reynolds paid tribute toMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer musicals.[12]
At the time of the nominations announcement on February 5, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $119 million with an average of $23.9 million.[25]Witness was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $68.7 million in the domestic box office receipts. The film was followed byOut of Africa ($55.6 million),The Color Purple ($46.4 million),Prizzi's Honor ($26.7 million) andKiss of the Spider Woman ($13.4 million).[25]
Of the 50 grossing films of the year, 42 nominations went to 12 films on the list. OnlyBack to the Future (1st),Cocoon (4th),Witness (5th),Jagged Edge (20th),The Color Purple (21st),Prizzi's Honor (30th),Agnes of God (32nd) were nominated for Best Picture, directing, acting, or screenplay.[26] The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations wereRambo: First Blood Part II (2nd),Mask (14th),White Nights (22nd),Silverado (27th),Young Sherlock Holmes (44th), andLadyhawke (46th).[26]
Terrence O'Flaherty of theSan Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Last night's sustained-release Oscar pill moved faster through the system than most, but from a standpoint of taste it was the worst in years." Regarding Alda, Fonda, and Williams's hosting performance, he commented, "Together they immediately placed a fatal suggestion in the viewer's mind that there must be a shortage of elegant people in the movie business today."[27]Chicago Tribune film criticGene Siskel noted that after co-host Williams opened the ceremony with a slew of humorous jokes, "The show regrettably returned to its old bad habits with a boring onstage production number intended to be a tribute to old movies."[28]The Record's Joel Pisetzner remarked, "The program might as well have begun with the announcement 'Dead, from L.A. it's Academy night!' "[29]
Television columnistJohn J. O'Connor ofThe New York Times quipped, "Suddenly, it seemed, somebody had listened to the complaints that had grown deadeningly familiar over the years." He also added, "Mr. Williams's improvisational, on-the-precipice style of humor brought the event's comic tone thumpingly into the 1980s."[30] Yardena Arar from theLos Angeles Daily News said, "This time, the ABC telecast didn't drown in the thank yous–or, for that matter, boring presentation speeches and production numbers." Furthermore, she observed, "The writing was by and large brisk, the production numbers fair (in the case of the Oscar-nominated songs) to fabulous (Keel's medley with a bevy of former leading ladies)."[31]Houston Chronicle television critic Ann Hodges remarked, "Oscar 1986 goes into the record books as a very good year–the year the Academy parked the pompous and let the show biz show." She also lauded the winners' acceptance speeches and the various musical numbers during the broadcast.[32]
The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 37.8 million people over its length, which was a 2% decrease from theprevious year's ceremony.[33] Moreover, the show drew lowerNielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 27.3% of households watching with a 43% share.[34] At the time, it earned the lowest viewership for an Academy Award telecast and the lowest ratings for any broadcast.[35]
In July 1986, the ceremony presentation received four nominations at the38th Primetime Emmys.[36][37] The following month, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety Program (Roy Christopher).[38]
