The 41st Academy Awards were presented on April 14, 1969, the first to be staged at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion,

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. For the first time since the 11th Academy Awards, there was no host. ''

Oliver! ''Oliver!'' is a Coming-of-age story, coming-of-age Musical theatre, stage musical, with book, music and lyrics by Lionel Bart. The musical is based upon the 1838 novel ''Oliver Twist'' by Charles Dickens. It premiered at the Wimbledon Theatre ...

'' is the only Best Picture winner to receive a G-rating prior to winning the award (several earlier Best Picture winners have received this rating retroactively), as well as the last British film to win Best Picture until '' Chariots of Fire'' in 1981 and the last movie musical to win until ''

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'' in

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. The year was notable for the first—and so far, only—tie for

Best Actress Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress aw ...

(or any female acting category).

Katharine Hepburn Katharine Houghton Hepburn (May 12, 1907 – June 29, 2003) was an American actress in film, stage, and television. Her career as a Hollywood leading lady spanned over 60 years. She was known for her headstrong independence, spirited perso ...

in '' The Lion in Winter'' and

Barbra Streisand Barbara Joan "Barbra" Streisand (; born April 24, 1942) is an American singer, actress and director. With a career spanning over six decades, she has achieved success in multiple fields of entertainment, and is among the few performers awar ...

in '' Funny Girl'' shared the award. Hepburn also became the second actress and third performer overall to win an acting Oscar two years in a row, after

Luise Rainer Luise Rainer ( , ; 12 January 1910 – 30 December 2014) was a German-American-British film actress. She was the first thespian to win multiple Academy Awards and the first to win back-to-back; at the time of her death, thirteen days shy of her ...

in 1936 (''

The Great Ziegfeld ''The Great Ziegfeld'' is a 1936 American musical drama film directed by Robert Z. Leonard and produced by Hunt Stromberg. It stars William Powell as the theatrical impresario Florenz "Flo" Ziegfeld Jr., Luise Rainer as Anna Held, and ...

'') and 1937 ('' The Good Earth''), and

Spencer Tracy Spencer Bonaventure Tracy (April 5, 1900 – June 10, 1967) was an American actor. He was known for his natural performing style and versatility. One of the major stars of Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the first actor to win two cons ...

in 1937 (''

Captains Courageous ''Captains Courageous: A Story of the Grand Banks'' is an 1897 novel by Rudyard Kipling that follows the adventures of fifteen-year-old Harvey Cheyne Jr., the spoiled son of a railroad tycoon, after he is saved from drowning by a Portuguese f ...

'') and 1938 ('' Boys Town''). The previous year, Hepburn had won Best Actress for '' Guess Who's Coming to Dinner''. As the special effects director and designer for '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'',

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

was the recipient of the

Academy Award for Best Visual Effects The Academy Award for Best Visual Effects is an Academy Award given for the best achievement in visual effects. History of the award The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences first recognized the technical contributions of special effects ...

, the only Oscar he would ever win.

Cliff Robertson Clifford Parker Robertson III (September 9, 1923 – September 10, 2011) was an American actor whose career in film and television spanned over six decades. Robertson portrayed a young John F. Kennedy in the 1963 film '' PT 109'', and won the 19 ...

's performance in '' Charly'' was met with a generally mixed reception from critics and audiences. When he won the

Academy Award for Best Actor The Academy Award for Best Actor is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year. The ...

, it engendered some controversy: less than two weeks after the ceremony, ''

TIME Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...

'' mentioned the Academy's generalized concerns over "excessive and vulgar solicitation of votes" and said "many members agreed that Robertson's award was based more on promotion than on performance." ''

Young Americans ''Young Americans'' is the ninth studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 7March 1975 through RCA Records. The album marked a departure from the glam rock style of Bowie's previous albums, showcasing his interest in soul ...

'' was announced as the Documentary Feature winner, but on May 7, 1969, the film was disqualified when it was discovered that it had premiered in October 1967, thus making it ineligible for a 1968 award. ''

Journey into Self ''Journey into Self'' is a 1968 documentary film introduced by Stanley Kramer, produced and directed by Bill McGaw. The film portrays a 16-hour group-therapy session for eight well-adjusted people who had never met before. The session was led by ...

'', the first runner-up, was awarded the Oscar the following day. Controversy was created on Oscar night when

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He is best known as the host of '' The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson received six P ...

and

Buddy Hackett Buddy Hackett (born Leonard Hacker; August 31, 1924 – June 30, 2003) was an American actor, comedian and singer. His best remembered roles include Marcellus Washburn in ''The Music Man'' (1962), Benjy Benjamin in ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Wo ...

announced in a sketch on the evening's ''

Tonight Show ''The Tonight Show'' is an American late-night talk show that has aired on NBC since 1954. The show has been hosted by six comedians: Steve Allen (1954–1957), Jack Paar (1957–1962), Johnny Carson (1962–1992), Jay Leno (1992–2009 and 2010� ...

'', which was recorded three hours before the awards ceremony, that ''

'' would be the winner for Best Picture and that

Jack Albertson Harold Albertson (June 16, 1907 – November 25, 1981), known professionally as Jack Albertson, was an American actor, comedian, dancer and singer who also performed in variety. Albertson was a Tony, Oscar, and Emmy winning actor. For his perfo ...

would win for Best Supporting Actor. Columnist

Frances Drake Frances Drake (born Frances Morgan Dean; October 22, 1912 – January 18, 2000) was an American actress best known for playing Eponine in ''Les Misérables'' (1935). Early years Drake was born in New York City as Frances Morgan Dean to a ...

claimed that most observers believed Carson and Hackett "were playing a huge practical joke or happened to make a lucky guess". As Carson recalled it on the air years later, it created a huge controversy and people at

Price Waterhouse PricewaterhouseCoopers is an international professional services brand of firms, operating as partnerships under the PwC brand. It is the second-largest professional services network in the world and is considered one of the Big Four accounting ...

were fired. Referring to it as "The Great Carson Hoax", PricewaterhouseCoopers stated in a 2004 press release that it was "later proven that Carson and Hackett made a few lucky guesses for their routine, dispelling rumors of a security breach and keeping the integrity of the balloting process intact". The Academy later hired Carson five times to host the ceremony.

Winners and nominees

Nominees were announced on February 24, 1969. Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double dagger ().

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations: *''11 nominations'': ''

'' *''8 nominations'': '' Funny Girl'' *''7 nominations'': '' The Lion in Winter'' and ''

Star! The current incarnation of E! is a Canadian English language specialty channel owned by Bell Media. Based on the American cable network of the same name, E! is devoted to entertainment programming including news, film, television, celebrities a ...

'' *''4 nominations'': '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'', ''

Rachel, Rachel ''Rachel, Rachel'' is a 1968 American technicolor drama film produced and directed by Paul Newman and starring his wife, Joanne Woodward, in the title role and co-starring Estelle Parsons and James Olson. The screenplay, by Stewart Stern based ...

'', and ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

'' *''3 nominations'': '' Faces'' *''2 nominations'': ''

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'', ''

Bullitt ''Bullitt'' is a 1968 American neo-noir action thriller film directed by Peter Yates and produced by Philip D'Antoni. The picture stars Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, and Jacqueline Bisset. The screenplay by Alan R. Trustman and Harry Kleine ...

'', ''

Finian's Rainbow ''Finian's Rainbow'' is a musical with a book by E. Y. Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Burton Lane, produced by Lee Sabinson. The original 1947 Broadway production ran for 725 performances, while a film version was r ...

'', '' The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter'', '' Ice Station Zebra'', '' The Odd Couple'', ''

Planet of the Apes ''Planet of the Apes'' is an American science fiction media franchise consisting of films, books, television series, comics, and other media about a world in which humans and intelligent apes clash for control. The franchise is based on Frenc ...

'', '' The Producers'', '' Rosemary's Baby'', '' The Shoes of the Fisherman'', ''

The Subject Was Roses ''The Subject Was Roses'' is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for a film with the same title. Background The play premiered on Broadway at the Royale Theatre on May 25, 1964, s ...

'', '' The Thomas Crown Affair'', and ''

War and Peace ''War and Peace'' (russian: Война и мир, translit=Voyna i mir; pre-reform Russian: ; ) is a literary work by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy that mixes fictional narrative with chapters on history and philosophy. It was first published ...

'' The following films received multiple awards: *''5 wins'': ''

'' (five competitive, plus one honorary) *''3 wins'': '' The Lion in Winter'' *''2 wins'': ''

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Martha Raye Martha Raye (born Margy Reed; August 27, 1916 – October 19, 1994), nicknamed The Big Mouth, was an American comic actress and singer who performed in movies, and later on television. She also acted in plays, including Broadway. She was honored ...

Honorary Awards

Walter Matthau Walter Matthau (; born Walter John Matthow; October 1, 1920 – July 1, 2000) was an American actor, comedian and film director. He is best known for his film roles in '' A Face in the Crowd'' (1957), '' King Creole'' (1958) and as a coach of a ...

presented John Chambers his award for outstanding makeup achievement for ''

''. *

Diahann Carroll Diahann Carroll (; born Carol Diann Johnson; July 17, 1935 – October 4, 2019) was an American actress, singer, model, and activist. She rose to prominence in some of the earliest major film studio, major studio films to feature black cas ...

presented Onna White her award for outstanding choreography achievement for ''

''.

Presenters

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress who starred in a variety of European and American films, television movies, and plays.Obituary '' Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, she is ofte ...

(Presenter: Best Actress and Best Cinematography) *

Jane Fonda Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...

Rosalind Russell Catherine Rosalind Russell (June 4, 1907November 28, 1976) was an American actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and singer,Obituary '' Variety'', December 1, 1976, p. 79. known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the H ...

and

Natalie Wood Natalie Wood ( Zacharenko; July 20, 1938 – November 29, 1981) was an American actress who began her career in film as a child and successfully transitioned to young adult roles. Wood started acting at age four and was given a co-starring r ...

(Presenters: Best Director) *

(Presenter: Best Special Visual Effects, Documentary Awards & the Honorary Award to Onna White) * Tony Curtis (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress, Short Subjects Awards and Documentary Awards) *

(Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film, Best Costume Design and Short Subjects Awards) *

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was a British-American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, singer and dancer. With a career that spanned nearly 80 years, Hope appeared in more than 70 short and feature films, with ...

(Presenter: Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to Martha Raye) *

Burt Lancaster Burton Stephen Lancaster (November 2, 1913 – October 20, 1994) was an American actor and producer. Initially known for playing tough guys with a tender heart, he went on to achieve success with more complex and challenging roles over a 45-yea ...

(Presenter: Best Actor, Best Special Visual Effects and the Scientific or Technical Awards) *

Mark Lester Mark Lester (born Mark A. Letzer; 11 July 1958) is an English former child actor, osteopath, and acupuncturist who starred in a number of British and European films in the 1960s and 1970s. In 1968 he played the title role in the film ''Oliver ...

(Presenter: Honorary Academy Award to Onna White) *

Henry Mancini Henry Mancini ( ; born Enrico Nicola Mancini, ; April 16, 1924 – June 14, 1994) was an American composer, conductor, arranger, pianist and flautist. Often cited as one of the greatest composers in the history of film, he won four Academy Award ...

and Marni Nixon (Presenter: Best Original or Adaptation Score) *Walter Matthau (Presenter: Best Film Editing and Best Foreign Language Film) *

Gregory Peck Eldred Gregory Peck (April 5, 1916 – June 12, 2003) was an American actor and one of the most popular film stars from the 1940s to the 1970s. In 1999, the American Film Institute named Peck the 12th-greatest male star of Classic Hollywood ...

(Presenter: Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (Not a Musical)) *

Pink Panther ''The Pink Panther'' is an American media franchise primarily focusing on a series of comedy-mystery films featuring an inept French police detective, Inspector Jacques Clouseau. The franchise began with the release of the classic film ''The Pi ...

(Presentation: Best Short Subject – Cartoons) *

Sidney Poitier Sidney Poitier ( ; February 20, 1927 – January 6, 2022) was an American actor, film director, and diplomat. In 1964, he was the first black actor and first Bahamian to win the Academy Award for Best Actor. He received two competitive ...

(Presenter: Best Picture) *

Don Rickles Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 – April 6, 2017) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He became known primarily for his insult comedy. His film roles include ''Run Silent, Run Deep'' (1958) with Clark Gable, Carl Reiner's ''Enter La ...

(Presenter: Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen) *

(Presenter: Best Original Score for a Motion Picture (Not a Musical), Best Sound and Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium Awards) *

Frank Sinatra Francis Albert Sinatra (; December 12, 1915 – May 14, 1998) was an American singer and actor. Nicknamed the " Chairman of the Board" and later called "Ol' Blue Eyes", Sinatra was one of the most popular entertainers of the 1940s, 1950s, and ...

(Presenter: Best Supporting Actor, Best Song Original for the Picture and Writing Awards) *

(Presenter: Best Art Direction and the Scientific or Technical Awards)

Performers

José Feliciano José Montserrate Feliciano García (born September 10, 1945) () is a Puerto Rican musician, singer and composer. He recorded many international hits, including his rendition of the Doors' "Light My Fire" and his self-penned Christmas song " F ...

(" The Windmills of Your Mind" from '' The Thomas Crown Affair'') *

Aretha Franklin Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Referred to as the " Queen of Soul", she has twice been placed ninth in '' Rolling Stone''s "100 Greatest Artists of All Time". Wit ...

("Funny Girl" from '' Funny Girl'') * Abbey Lincoln ("For Love of Ivy" from '' For Love of Ivy'') * Paula Kelly and the UCLA Band ("Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" from ''

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang'' is a 1968 musical-fantasy film directed by Ken Hughes with a screenplay co-written by Roald Dahl and Hughes, loosely based on Ian Fleming's novel '' Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang: The Magical Car'' (1964). The film stars ...

'') *

("Star!" from ''

'')

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 41 Academy Awards ceremonies 1968 film awards 1969 in Los Angeles 1969 in American cinema April 1969 events in the United States