The 46th Academy Awards were presented on Tuesday, April 2, 1974, at the

Dorothy Chandler Pavilion The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion is one of the halls in the Los Angeles Music Center, which is one of the largest performing arts centers in the United States. The Music Center's other halls include the Mark Taper Forum, Ahmanson Theatre, and Walt ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. The ceremonies were presided over by Burt Reynolds, Diana Ross, John Huston, and

David Niven James David Graham Niven (; 1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was a British actor, soldier, memoirist, and novelist. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance as Major Pollock in '' Separate Tables'' (1958). Niven's other roles ...

. ''

The Sting ''The Sting'' is a 1973 American caper film set in September 1936, involving a complicated plot by two professional grifters (Paul Newman and Robert Redford) to con a mob boss ( Robert Shaw).'' Variety'' film review; December 12, 1973, pag ...

'' won 7 awards, including

Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

and

Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...

for

George Roy Hill George Roy Hill (December 20, 1921 – December 27, 2002) was an American film director. He is most noted for directing such films as ''Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid'' (1969) and ''The Sting'' (1973), both starring Paul Newman and Robert Re ...

. ''The Exorcist'' and ''

The Way We Were ''The Way We Were'' is a 1973 American romantic drama film directed by Sydney Pollack and starring Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford. Arthur Laurents wrote both the novel and screenplay based on his college days at Cornell University and his ...

'' were the only other films to win multiple awards. Marvin Hamlisch won 3 awards, the third person to achieve this feat and, to date, the only person who has won 3 Oscars in one year without winning Best Picture.

Winners and nominees

Nominations announced on February 19, 1974. Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double dagger ().

Streaking incident

The 46th Academy Awards ceremony is perhaps best remembered as the ceremony in which a streaker named Robert Opel ran across the stage naked while flashing a

peace sign A number of peace symbols have been used many ways in various cultures and contexts. The dove and olive branch was used symbolically by early Christians and then eventually became a secular peace symbol, popularized by a ''Dove'' lithograph by ...

with his hand. In response, host

jokingly quipped, "Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings?"

Other notable events

* First-time nominee George Lucas made his debut at the Academy Awards with his nostalgic teen drama ''

American Graffiti ''American Graffiti'' is a 1973 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film directed by George Lucas, produced by Francis Ford Coppola, written by Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz and Lucas, and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard (billed as Ronny ...

''. It was nominated for Best Picture ( Francis Ford Coppola and

Gary Kurtz Gary Douglas Kurtz (July 27, 1940 – September 23, 2018) was an American film producer whose list of credits includes ''American Graffiti'' (1973), ''Star Wars'' (1977), ''The Empire Strikes Back'' (1980), ''The Dark Crystal'' (1982) and ''Retu ...

), Director & Story and Screenplay Based on Factual Material or Material Not Previously Produced or Published (Lucas), Editor (

Marcia Lucas Marcia Lou Lucas (née Griffin; born October 4, 1945) * * is an American film editor and film producer. She is best known for her work editing Martin Scorsese's '' Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore'' (1973), ''Taxi Driver'' (1976), and '' New York, ...

) and Candy Clark for Best Supporting Actress. * Katharine Hepburn made her first and only appearance at the ceremony to present The Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to her longtime friend

Lawrence Weingarten Lawrence Weingarten (December 30, 1897 – February 5, 1975) was an American film producer. He was best known for working for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and producing some of the studio's most prestigious films such as ''Adam's Rib'' (1949), ''I'll Cr ...

. Whenever she won an Oscar, she always had either the presenter or another person associated with her film accept it on her behalf. Upon taking the stage, she received a standing ovation, to which she replied ''"I'm living proof that a person can wait forty-one years to be unselfish."'' * Coincidentally, Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and

Connie Stevens Connie Stevens (born Concetta Rosalie Ann Ingolia; August 8, 1938) is an American actress and singer. Born in Brooklyn, New York City to musician parents, Stevens was raised there until age 12, when she was sent to live with family friends in r ...

, who were all ex-wives of Eddie Fisher's, each appeared in some form. * This was Susan Hayward's last public appearance before she died of brain cancer in 1975. * At 10 years, 148 days of age,

Tatum O'Neal Tatum Beatrice O'Neal (born November 5, 1963) is an American actress. She is the youngest person ever to win an Academy Award, winning at age 10 for her performance as Addie Loggins in '' Paper Moon'' (1973) opposite her father, Ryan O'Neal. S ...

won Best Supporting Actress for her role in '' Paper Moon''. She became the youngest winner of an Oscar, a feat unmatched to this day. * During the ceremony, the whole in memoriam tribute was for legendary producer

Samuel Goldwyn Samuel Goldwyn (born Szmuel Gelbfisz; yi, שמואל געלבפֿיש; August 27, 1882 (claimed) January 31, 1974), also known as Samuel Goldfish, was a Polish-born American film producer. He was best known for being the founding contributor an ...

, who had died at age 94, three months prior to the event. He is the only person to have an Academy Awards ceremony dedicated solely to him. * Longtime film veteran/comedian Groucho Marx was presented with an Honorary Academy Award for his contributions to the cinema. *

Julia Phillips Julia Phillips (née Miller; April 7, 1944 – January 1, 2002) was an American film producer and author. She co-produced with her husband Michael (and others) three prominent films of the 1970s — ''The Sting'', ''Taxi Driver'', and ''Close E ...

became the first female producer to win for Best Picture. * With

being 10 years old and John Houseman being 71 years old, this was the biggest age gap ever for 2 acting wins.

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations: *''10 nominations'': ''

The Exorcist ''The Exorcist'' is a 1973 American supernatural horror film directed by William Friedkin and written for the screen by William Peter Blatty, based on his 1971 novel of the same name. It stars Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb, Kitty ...

'' and ''

'' *''6 nominations'': ''

'' *''5 nominations'': ''

'', ''

Cries and Whispers ''Cries and Whispers'' ( sv, Viskningar och rop, lit=Whispers and Cries) is a 1972 Swedish period drama film written and directed by Ingmar Bergman and starring Harriet Andersson, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin and Liv Ullmann. The film, set in ...

'' and '' A Touch of Class'' *''4 nominations'': '' Paper Moon'' *''3 nominations'': ''

Cinderella Liberty ''Cinderella Liberty'' is a 1973 American drama film adapted by Daryl Ponicsan from his 1973 novel of the same title. The film tells the story of a sailor who falls in love with a prostitute and becomes a surrogate father for her 10-year-old mix ...

'', ''

The Last Detail ''The Last Detail'' is a 1973 American comedy-drama film directed by Hal Ashby, from a screenplay by Robert Towne, based on the 1970 novel of the same name by Darryl Ponicsan. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Otis Young, Randy Quaid, Clifton James ...

'', '' The Paper Chase'', ''

Save the Tiger Save, SAVE, or Saved may refer to: Places *Save (Garonne), a river in southern France *Save River (Africa), a river in Zimbabwe and Mozambique *Sava, a river in Eastern Europe also known as Save *Savè, Benin, a commune and city * Save, Govuro ...

'' and ''

Tom Sawyer Thomas Sawyer () is the titular character of the Mark Twain novel ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876). He appears in three other novels by Twain: '' Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884), '' Tom Sawyer Abroad'' (1894), and '' Tom Sawyer, ...

'' *''2 nominations'': ''

The Day of the Dolphin ''The Day of the Dolphin'' is a 1973 American science fiction thriller film directed by Mike Nichols and starring George C. Scott. Based on the 1967 novel '' Un animal doué de raison'' (lit. ''A Sentient Animal''), by French writer Robert Merl ...

'', ''

Jonathan Livingston Seagull ''Jonathan Livingston Seagull'', written by American author Richard Bach and illustrated with black-and-white photographs shot by Russell Munson, is a fable in novella form about a seagull who is trying to learn about life and flight, and a homi ...

'', ''

Last Tango in Paris ''Last Tango in Paris'' ( it, Ultimo tango a Parigi; french: Le Dernier Tango à Paris) is a 1972 erotic drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci. The film stars Marlon Brando, Maria Schneider and Jean-Pierre Léaud, and portrays a recently wi ...

'', ''Serpico'' and ''Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams'' The following films received multiple awards. *''7 wins'': ''

'' *''2 wins'': ''

'' and ''

Presenters and performers

The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.

Presenters

Performers

References

External links

The Life of Oscar Streaker, Robert Opel @WFMU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 46 Academy Awards ceremonies 1973 film awards 1974 in Los Angeles 1974 in American cinema April 1974 events in the United States Television shows directed by Marty Pasetta

Winners and nominees

Streaking incident

Other notable events

Multiple nominations and awards

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Performers

See also

References

External links