The 67th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

(AMPAS) took place on March 27, 1995, at the

Shrine Auditorium The Shrine Auditorium is a landmark large-event venue in Los Angeles, California. It is also the headquarters of the Al Malaikah Temple, a division of the Shriners. It was designated a Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monument (No. 139) in 1975, an ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as the Oscars) in 23 categories honoring the films released in 1994. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by

Gilbert Cates Gilbert Cates ( né Katz; June 6, 1934 – October 31, 2011) was an American film director and television producer, director of the Geffen Playhouse, a member of Cates/Doty Productions, and founding dean of the UCLA School of Theater, Film an ...

and directed by Jeff Margolis. Comedian

David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer, producer, and auto racing team owner. He hosted late-night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982, debut of ''Late N ...

hosted the show for the first time. Three weeks earlier in a ceremony held at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in

Beverly Hills, California Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hills ...

on March 4, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host

Jamie Lee Curtis Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, and children's author. Known for List of Jamie Lee Curtis performances, her performances in the horror and slasher film, slasher genres, she is regarded as a scream qu ...

. ''

Forrest Gump ''Forrest Gump'' is a 1994 American comedy-drama film directed by Robert Zemeckis. An adaptation of the Forrest Gump (novel), 1986 novel by Winston Groom, the screenplay of the film is written by Eric Roth. It stars Tom Hanks in the title rol ...

'' won six awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included ''

Ed Wood Edward Davis Wood Jr. (October 10, 1924 – December 10, 1978) was an American filmmaker, actor, and pulp novelist. In the 1950s, Wood directed several B movie, low-budget science fiction, crime and horror films that later became cult c ...

'', ''

The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical coming-of-age drama film directed by Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, produced by Don Hahn, and written by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, and Linda Woolverton. Produced by Walt Disney ...

'', and ''

Speed In kinematics, the speed (commonly referred to as ''v'') of an object is the magnitude of the change of its position over time or the magnitude of the change of its position per unit of time; it is thus a non-negative scalar quantity. Intro ...

'' with two awards and ''

The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert ''The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert'' is a 1994 Australian road comedy film written and directed by Stephan Elliott. The plot follows two drag queens (played by Hugo Weaving and Guy Pearce) and a transgender woman (Terence S ...

''; '' Blue Sky'', '' Bob's Birthday'', '' Bullets Over Broadway'', ''

Burnt by the Sun ''Burnt by the Sun'' (, Transliteration, translit. ''Utomlyonnye solntsem'', literally "wearied by the sun") is a 1994 Russian drama film starring, directed, written, and produced by Nikita Mikhalkov and co-written by Azerbaijani screenwrite ...

'', '' Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'', '' Legends of the Fall'', '' The Madness of King George'', '' Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision'', ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American independent crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino from a story he conceived with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; It tells four intertwining tales of crime and violence ...

'', '' A Time for Justice'', and '' Trevor'' with one. The telecast garnered more than 48 million viewers in the United States, making it the most watched Oscars telecast since the 55th Academy Awards in 1983.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 67th Academy Awards were announced on February 14, 1995, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in

, by

Arthur Hiller Arthur Hiller, (November 22, 1923 – August 17, 2016) was a Canadian television and film director with over 33 films to his credit during a 50-year career. He began his career directing television in Canada and later in the U.S. By the late ...

, the then-president of the Academy, and actress Angela Bassett. ''

'' earned the most nominations with thirteen. It was the most nominated film since 1966's '' Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' and the fifth film to earn that many nominations. '' Bullets Over Broadway'', ''

'', and ''

The Shawshank Redemption ''The Shawshank Redemption'' is a 1994 American Prison film, prison Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont, based on the 1982 Stephen King novella ''Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption''. The film t ...

'' tied for second with seven each. The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 27, 1995. For only the second time in Oscar history, three of the four acting winners were previous winners. The 11th ceremony held in 1939 previously accomplished this feat. Best Actor winner

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

became the fifth performer to win consecutive acting Oscars and the second person to do so in the aforementioned category since

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 Classical Hollywood cinema, Hollywood's Golden Age, Tracy was the ...

won for his performances in '' Captains Courageous'' (1937) and '' Boys Town'' (1938). He also was the sixth person to win Best Actor twice. Best Supporting Actress winner Dianne Wiest became the first person to win two acting Oscars for performances in films directed by the same person. She first won in that same category for her role in

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

's 1986 film ''

Hannah and Her Sisters ''Hannah and Her Sisters'' is a 1986 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. It tells the intertwined stories of an extended family over two years that begins and ends with a family Thanksgiving#Thanksgiving dinner, Than ...

''. '' Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life'' and '' Trevor''s joint win in the Best Live Action Short category marked the fifth occurrence of a tie in Oscar history; the next tie would occur at the

85th Academy Awards The 85th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2012 and took place on February 24, 2013, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p ...

in 2013.

Awards

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger ().

Honorary Award

* To

Michelangelo Antonioni Michelangelo Antonioni ( ; ; 29 September 1912 – 30 July 2007) was an Italian film director, screenwriter, and editor. He is best known for his "trilogy on modernity and its discontents", ''L'Avventura'' (1960), ''La Notte'' (1961), and '' ...

in recognition of his place as one of the cinema's master visual stylists.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

Multiple nominations and awards

The following 17 films received multiple nominations: The following four films received multiple awards:

Presenters and performers

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

Presenters

Performers

Ceremony information

Despite earning critical praise for the previous year's ceremony, actress and comedian Whoopi Goldberg announced that she would not host the ceremony for a second consecutive year saying, "I've had a great time, but I've done it." She added that her role in the upcoming movie '' Bogus'' would jeopardize her busy schedule. In addition, her

Comic Relief Comic Relief is a British charity, founded in 1986 by the comedy scriptwriter Richard Curtis and comedian Sir Lenny Henry in response to the 1983–1985 famine in Ethiopia. The concept of Comic Relief was to get British comedians to make t ...

co-host and veteran Oscar emcee

Billy Crystal William Edward Crystal (born March 14, 1948)On page 17 of his book ''700 Sundays'', Crystal displays his birth announcement, which gives his first two names as "William Edward", not "William Jacob" is an American comedian, actor, and filmmaker. ...

declined to host the show citing his commitment to his film '' Forget Paris'' which he directed, wrote, starred in, and produced. Producer Gil Cates hired actor, comedian, and '' Late Show'' host

as host of the 1995 ceremony. Cates explained his decision to hire the late-night talk show host saying, "He's punctual, he's well groomed, and he knows how to keep an audience awake." ABC entertainment president Ted Harbert also approved of the choice stating, "If Dave likes the experience, this could be a great answer for the show, just the way

Johnny Carson John William Carson (October 23, 1925 – January 23, 2005) was an American television host, comedian, and writer best known as the host of NBC's ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' (1962–1992). Carson is a cultural phenomenon and w ...

did the show for many years." As with previous ceremonies he produced, Cates centered the show on a theme. This year, he christened the show with the theme "Comedy and the Movies" commenting "This year, because of the earthquakes and floods and

Bosnia Bosnia and Herzegovina, sometimes known as Bosnia-Herzegovina and informally as Bosnia, is a country in Southeast Europe. Situated on the Balkans, Balkan Peninsula, it borders Serbia to the east, Montenegro to the southeast, and Croatia to th ...

and

Rwanda Rwanda, officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of East Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator, Rwanda is bordered by ...

, it was a (terrible) year, and therefore seemed a great year to celebrate what movies can really give us, which is an opportunity to go for two hours in the dark and laugh together. Even with television, it's not a community experience unless you have a very big family. So it's unique to movies and theater, and it's this very human thing." In tandem with the theme, the ceremony's opening number featured a montage produced by Chuck Workman featuring scenes of humorous moments from a variety of both comedic and non-comedic films projected on a large screen on the stage. During that segment, actors

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 L ...

, Kathy Najimy, and Mara Wilson performed a modified version of the song " Make 'Em Laugh" from the film '' Singin' in the Rain'', using blue screen technology to make it appear that they were jumping in and out of the montage on the screen. Several collections of film clips were shown throughout the broadcast highlighting various aspects of comedy such as troupes and dialogue. Several other people were also involved with the production of the ceremony.

Bill Conti William Conti (born April 13, 1942) is an American composer and conductor. He is best known for his film scores, including ''Rocky'' (1976), '' Rocky II'' (1979), '' Rocky III'' (1982), '' Rocky V'' (1990), '' Rocky Balboa'' (2006), '' The Karat ...

served as musical director and conductor for the event. Production designer Roy Christopher designed a new stage for the ceremony which prominently featured a

proscenium A proscenium (, ) is the virtual vertical plane of space in a theatre, usually surrounded on the top and sides by a physical proscenium arch (whether or not truly "arched") and on the bottom by the stage floor itself, which serves as the frame ...

which was designed to resemble the iris of a camera. Moreover, Christopher commented that the iris motif was inspired by the

iris shot An iris shot is a technique used in silent film and sometimes television to emphasize a detail of a scene above all others, more commonly to end or open a scene. The film camera's iris is slowly closed or opened, so that what is visible on film app ...

prominently featured in several comedic films and shorts. Dancer Debbie Allen choreographed ''

'' musical number. Actors

Alec Baldwin Alexander Rae Baldwin III (born April 3, 1958) is an American actor and film producer. He is known for his leading and supporting roles in a variety of genres, from comedy to drama. He has received List of awards and nominations received by A ...

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, he was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in comedy-drama films. He received num ...

, Steve Martin, and

Rosie O'Donnell Roseann O'Donnell (born March 21, 1962) is an American talk show host, comedian, and actress. She began her comedy career as a teenager and received her breakthrough on the television series ''Star Search'' in 1984. After a series of television ...

participated in a pre-taped comedic sketch lampooning auditions for a role in ''

Cabin Boy A cabin boy or ship's boy is a boy or young man who waits on the officers and passengers of a ship, especially running errands for the captain. The modern merchant navy successor to the cabin boy is the steward's assistant. Duties Cabin boys ...

'', the film in which Letterman made his film acting debut.

Box office performance of nominees

At the time of the nominations announcement on February 14, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $468 million, with an average of $93.6 million per film. ''Forrest Gump'' was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $300 million in domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by ''Pulp Fiction'' ($76 million), ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' ($52 million), ''Quiz Show'' ($21 million) and ''The Shawshank Redemption'' ($16 million). Of the top 50 grossing movies of the year, 44 nominations went to 14 films on the list. Only ''Forrest Gump'' (2nd), ''The Client'' (12th), ''Pulp Fiction'' (14th), ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' (20th), and ''Nell'' (41st) were nominated for directing, acting, screenwriting, or Best Picture. The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were ''The Lion King'' (1st), ''True Lies'' (3rd), ''Clear and Present Danger'' (6th), ''Speed'' (7th), ''The Mask'' (8th), ''Interview with the Vampire'' (10th), ''Maverick'' (11th), ''Legends of the Fall'' (27th) and ''Little Women'' (31st).

Critical reception

The show received a negative reception from most media publications. John J. O'Connor of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' wrote, "Instead of keeping things moving smartly, Mr. Letterman stuck with his late-night shtick, too often leaving the show's pacing in shambles." He also added, "Within the show's first half-hour, with no strong hand at the helm, the audience simply sagged. Applause died long before most winners even reached the podium." Television critic John Carman of the ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. ...

'' commented, "Last night on ABC, no one got it. Hollywood's big event was wonderfully littered by technical errors, bad taste, low comedy and lower necklines." Moreover, he remarked, "Letterman, the rookie host, was off his game in his opening monologue. Maybe it was the big auditorium. Or a billion people in the television audience." Film critic

Andrew Sarris Andrew Sarris (October 31, 1928 – June 20, 2012) was an American film critic. He was a leading proponent of the auteur theory of film criticism. Early life Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Greek immigrant parents, Themis (née Kat ...

of ''

The New York Observer ''The New York Observer'' was a weekly newspaper established in 1987. In 2016, it ceased print publication and became the online-only newspaper ''Observer''. The media site focuses on culture, real estate, media, politics and the entertainment ...

'' quipped, "Not only was he not witty or funny, he never knew when to let bad enough alone." He concluded, "As the evening dragged on, it became obvious that Mr. Letterman had no gift for ad-libbing through the few unpredictable opportunities in a 'live' event like the Oscars." ''

People The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...

'' named the ceremony as one of the worst television broadcasts of 1995, summarizing it as follows: "a cranky skeptic visits the high temple of show business, mocks the gold-plated statuary and displays insufficient reverence for the gods. (Tom Hanks assisting with a stupid pet trick?!) We know who the winner wasn't." Some media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Television critic Joyce Millman of '' The San Francisco Examiner'' noted, "In his first stint as host of the Oscar telecast, David Letterman did the impossible—he made something entertaining from what is traditionally the most boring three hours of TV this side of a test pattern." ''

The Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway. On January 29, 2020, th ...

'' columnist Alan Pergament praised Letterman's performance as host writing "David Letterman was a box full of chocolates on an Oscar night that was empty of much emotion until the expected ''Forrest Gump'' sweep in the final 15 minutes." He also added that despite a lack of surprises amongst the awards, the emotional and unexpected humorous moments provided depth and entertainment throughout the evening. Hal Boedeker of the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

'' gave an average review of the ceremony but singled out Letterman noting that he "proved Monday night that he's among Oscar's Top 10 Hosts. He's definitely at the top of the list with Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal and

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 ...

Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew an average of 48.28 million people over its length, which was a 7% increase from the previous year's ceremony. An estimated 81 million total viewers watched all or part of the awards. The show also drew higher

Nielsen ratings Nielsen Media Research (NMR) is an American firm that measures media audiences, including television, radio, theatre, films (via the AMC Theatres MAP program), and newspapers. Headquartered in New York City, it is best known for the Nielsen rat ...

compared to the previous ceremony with 32.5% of households watching over a 53 share. It also drew a higher 18–49 demographic rating with a 21.7 rating among viewers in that demographic. It was the most watched Oscars telecast since the 55th ceremony held in 1983. In July 1995, the ceremony presentation received six nominations at the 47th Primetime Emmys. Two months later, the ceremony won one of those nominations for Jeff Margolis's direction of the telecast.

"In Memoriam"

The annual "In Memoriam" tribute, presented by actress

Sigourney Weaver Susan Alexandra ( ; born October 8, 1949), better known by her stage name Sigourney Weaver, is an American actress. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is known for her pioneering portrayals of action heroines in Blockbuster (entertainme ...

, honored the following people: * Fernando Rey * Cameron Mitchell * Barry Sullivan * Giulietta Masina *

Peter Cushing Peter Wilton Cushing (26 May 1913 – 11 August 1994) was an English actor. His acting career spanned over six decades and included appearances in more than 100 films, as well as many television, stage and radio roles. He achieved recognition f ...

Frank Wells Franklin G. Wells (March 4, 1932 – April 3, 1994) was an American businessman who served as President and Chief Operating Officer of The Walt Disney Company from 1984 until his death in 1994. Life and career Wells was born in Coronado, Califo ...

– Executive * Noah Beery Jr. *

Woody Strode Woodrow Wilson Woolwine Strode (July 25, 1914 – December 31, 1994) was an American athlete, actor, and author. He was a decathlon, decathlete and American football, football star who was one of the first Black American players in the National ...

Jessica Tandy Jessie Alice Tandy (7 June 1909 – 11 September 1994) was a British actress. An icon in the film industry, she appeared in over 100 stage productions and had more than 60 roles in film and TV, receiving an Academy Award, four Tony Awards, a BAF ...

* Tom Ewell * Lionel Stander *

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

– Composer * Walter Lantz – Animator * Arthur Krim – Executive * Ferdinando Scarfiotti – Art Director * Robert Bolt – Screenwriter * Donald Pleasence * Harry Saltzman – Producer * Terence Young – Director *

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

* Henry Mancini – Composer * Martha Raye * George Peppard *

Gilbert Roland Luis Antonio Dámaso de Alonso (December 11, 1905 – May 15, 1994), known professionally as Gilbert Roland, was a Mexican-born American film and television actor whose career spanned seven decades from the 1920s until the 1980s. He was twice no ...

* Rossano Brazzi * Cabell 'Cab' Calloway * Mildred Natwick *

Macdonald Carey Edward Macdonald Carey (March 15, 1913 – March 21, 1994) was an American actor, best known for his role as the patriarch Dr. Tom Horton on NBC's soap opera '' Days of Our Lives''. For almost three decades, he was the show's central cast membe ...

* David Wayne * Raul Julia

References

Bibliography

* * *

Notes

External links

Official websites
Academy Awards Official website

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Official website

Oscar's Channel
at

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

(run by the

) Analysis
1994 Academy Awards Winners and History
Filmsite
Academy Awards, USA: 1995
Internet Movie Database Other resources * {{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 67 Academy Awards ceremonies 1994 film awards 1995 in Los Angeles David Letterman 1995 in American cinema March 1995 in the United States

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

Television shows directed by Jeff Margolis