The 33rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1960, were held on April 17, 1961, hosted by

Bob Hope Leslie Townes "Bob" Hope (May 29, 1903 – July 27, 2003) was an American comedian, actor, entertainer and producer with a career that spanned nearly 80 years and achievements in vaudeville, network radio, television, and USO Tours. He appeared ...

at the

Santa Monica Civic Auditorium Santa Monica Civic Auditorium is a multi-purpose convention center at 1855 Main Street in Santa Monica, California, owned by the City of Santa Monica. It was built in 1958 and designed by Welton Becket and as a concert venue, it has a seating ca ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. This was the first ceremony to be aired on ABC television, which has aired the Academy Awards ever since (except between 1971 and 1975, when they were aired on NBC for the first time since the previous year).

Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an American filmmaker and screenwriter. His career in Hollywood (film industry), Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and ver ...

's '' The Apartment'' won Best Picture, the last black-and-white film to do so until ''

Schindler's List ''Schindler's List'' is a 1993 American epic historical drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and written by Steven Zaillian. It is based on the historical novel '' Schindler's Ark'' (1982) by Thomas Keneally. The film follows ...

'' and '' The Artist'' at the 66th and 84th Academy Awards, respectively.

Elizabeth Taylor Dame Elizabeth Rosemond Taylor (February 27, 1932 – March 23, 2011) was an English and American actress. She began her career as a child actress in the early 1940s and was one of the most popular stars of classical Hollywood cinema in the 19 ...

, who had a near-fatal bout with pneumonia a short time before the ceremony, was viewed as having received her Oscar out of sympathy rather than for her performance in ''

Butterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same ...

''.

Gary Cooper Gary Cooper (born Frank James Cooper; May 7, 1901May 13, 1961) was an American actor known for his strong, silent screen persona and understated acting style. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice and had a further three nominations, ...

was selected by the Academy Board of Governors to receive an

Academy Honorary Award The Academy Honorary Award – instituted in 1950 for the 23rd Academy Awards (previously called the Special Award, which was first presented at the 1st Academy Awards in 1929) – is given annually by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Mot ...

"for his many memorable screen performances and the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the motion picture industry". Cooper was too ill to attend the ceremony, though his condition was not publicly disclosed;

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military aviator. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morali ...

, a close friend of Cooper, accepted the Oscar on his behalf. Stewart's emotional speech hinted that something was seriously wrong, and the following day newspapers ran the headline, "Gary Cooper has cancer". Cooper died less than four weeks later. Rising star Hayley Mills was selected by the Academy Board of Governors as the year's recipient of the

Academy Juvenile Award The Academy Juvenile Award, also known informally as the Juvenile Oscar, was a Academy Honorary Award, Special Honorary Academy Awards, Academy Award bestowed at the discretion of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences#Current administr ...

for her breakthrough and acclaimed performance in

Walt Disney Walter Elias Disney ( ; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer, voice actor, and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the Golden age of American animation, American animation industry, he introduced several develop ...

's '' Pollyanna''. She was the last recipient of the award; going forward, juvenile actors could officially compete in competitive categories. This was the first year a red carpet lined the walk into the theater.

Winners and nominees

Nominees were announced on February 27, 1961. Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface.

Honorary Awards

*To

for his many memorable screen performances and the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the motion picture industry. *To

Stan Laurel Stan Laurel ( ; born Arthur Stanley Jefferson; 16 June 1890 – 23 February 1965) was an English comic actor, director and writer who was in the comedy double act, duo Laurel and Hardy. He appeared with his comedy partner Oliver Hardy in 107 sh ...

for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy. *To Hayley Mills for '' Pollyanna'', the most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Sol Lesser Sol Lesser (February 17, 1890 – September 19, 1980) was an American film producer. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1960 and was awarded the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1961. Biography In 1913, while living in San ...

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television and radio personality, comedian, musician, composer, writer, and actor. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-creator and ...

and Jayne Meadows (Presenters: Best Song) *

Polly Bergen Polly Bergen (born Nellie Paulina Burgin; July 14, 1930 – September 20, 2014) was an American actress, singer, television host, writer, and entrepreneur. She won an Emmy Award in 1958 for her performance as Helen Morgan (singer), Helen ...

and Richard Widmark (Presenters: Best Special Effects) *

Yul Brynner Yuliy Borisovich Briner (; July 11, 1920 – October 10, 1985), known professionally as Yul Brynner (), was a Russian-born actor. He was known for his portrayal of King Mongkut in the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage musical ''The King and I'' (19 ...

(Presenter: Best Actress) * Kitty Carlisle and Moss Hart (Presenters: Writing Awards) * Cyd Charisse and Tony Martin (Presenters: Cinematography Awards) * Betty Comden and Adolph Green (Presenters: Best Film Editing) * Wendell Corey and

Susan Strasberg Susan Elizabeth Strasberg (May 22, 1938 – January 21, 1999) was an American stage, film, and television actress. Thought to be the next Audrey Hepburn, Hepburn-type Ingénue, ingenue, she was nominated for a Tony Award at age 18, playing the ti ...

(Presenters: Short Subjects Awards) *

Tony Curtis Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor with a career that spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 films, in roles co ...

and Janet Leigh (Presenters: Documentary Awards) *

Bobby Darin Bobby Darin (born Walden Robert Cassotto; May 14, 1936 – December 20, 1973) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor who performed Pop music, pop, Swing music, swing, Folk music, folk, rock and roll, and country music. Darin started ...

and

Sandra Dee Sandra Dee (born Alexandra Zuck; April 23, 1942 – February 20, 2005) was an American actress. Dee began her career as a child model, working first in commercials and then film in her teenage years. Best known for her portrayal of ingénues ...

(Presenters: Music Awards) * Greer Garson (Presenter: Best Actor) * Hugh Griffith (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress) *

Audrey Hepburn Audrey Kathleen Hepburn ( Ruston; 4 May 1929 – 20 January 1993) was a British actress. Recognised as a film and fashion icon, she was ranked by the American Film Institute as the third-greatest female screen legend from the Classical Holly ...

(Presenter: Best Motion Picture) * Jim Hutton and Paula Prentiss (Presenters: Best Sound) * Eric Johnston (Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film) *

Danny Kaye Danny Kaye (born David Daniel Kaminsky; ; January 18, 1911 – March 3, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, singer, and dancer. His performances featured physical comedy, idiosyncratic pantomimes, and rapid-fire novelty songs. Kaye starred ...

(Presenter: Honorary Award to Stan Laurel) * Gina Lollobrigida (Presenter: Best Director) * Tina Louise and Tony Randall (Presenters: Art Direction Awards) * Barbara Rush and

Robert Stack Robert Stack (born Charles Langford Modini Stack; January 13, 1919 – May 14, 2003) was an American actor and television host. Known for his deep voice and commanding presence, he appeared in over forty feature films. He starred in the America ...

(Presenters: Costume Design Awards) * Eva Marie Saint (Presenter: Best Supporting Actor) *

Shirley Temple Shirley Temple Black (born Shirley Jane Temple; April 23, 1928 – February 10, 2014) was an American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat, who was Hollywood's number-one box-office draw as a child actress from 1934 to 1938. Later, she was na ...

(Presenter: Juvenile Award to Hayley Mills) *

William Wyler William Wyler (; born Willi Wyler (); July 1, 1902 – July 27, 1981) was a German-born American film director and producer. Known for his work in numerous genres over five decades, he received numerous awards and accolades, including three Aca ...

(Presenter: Honorary Award to Gary Cooper)

Performers

* The Brothers Four ("The Green Leaves of Summer" from '' The Alamo'') *

Connie Francis Concetta Rosa Maria Franconero ( ; born December 12, 1937), known as Connie Francis, is a retired American Pop music, pop singer, actress, and top-charting female vocalist of the late 1950s and early 1960s. She is estimated to have sold more th ...

(" Never on Sunday" from '' Never on Sunday'') * The Hi-Lo's ("The Facts of Life" from '' The Facts of Life'') *

Jane Morgan Jane Morgan (born Florence Catherine Currier; May 3, 1924) is an American former singer and recording artist of traditional pop. Morgan initially found success in France and the UK before achieving recognition in the US, receiving six gold re ...

("The Second Time Around" from '' High Time'') *

Sarah Vaughan Sarah Lois Vaughan (, March 27, 1924 – April 3, 1990) was an American jazz singer and pianist. Nicknamed "Sassy" and "List of nicknames of jazz musicians, The Divine One", she won two Grammy Awards, including the Lifetime Achievement Award, ...

("The Faraway Part of Town" from '' Pepe'')

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations: *''10 nominations:'' '' The Apartment'' *''7 nominations:'' '' The Alamo'', '' Pepe'' and '' Sons and Lovers'' *''6 nominations:'' ''

Spartacus Spartacus (; ) was a Thracians, Thracian gladiator (Thraex) who was one of the Slavery in ancient Rome, escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major Slave rebellion, slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Historical accounts o ...

'' *''5 nominations:'' '' Elmer Gantry'', '' The Facts of Life'', '' Never on Sunday'' and '' The Sundowners'' *''4 nominations:'' '' Inherit the Wind'', '' Psycho'' and '' Sunrise at Campobello'' *''3 nominations:'' '' Exodus'' *''2 nominations:'' ''

BUtterfield 8 ''BUtterfield 8'' is a 1960 American drama film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Laurence Harvey. Taylor won her first Academy Award for her performance in a leading role. The film was based on a 1935 novel of the same ...

'', '' Can-Can'', '' Cimarron'' and '' The Virgin Spring'' The following films received multiple awards. *''5 wins:'' '' The Apartment'' *''4 wins:'' ''

'' *''3 wins:'' '' Elmer Gantry''

References

External links

The 33rd Annual Academy Awards
at

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

List of winners
at Infoplease {{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 33 Academy Awards ceremonies 1960 film awards 1960 awards in the United States 1961 in California 1961 in American cinema April 1961 in the United States 20th century in Santa Monica, California Events in Santa Monica, California