59th Academy Awards

The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 30, 1987, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in 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 Oscars) in 23 categories honoring films released in 1986. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and directed by Marty Pasetta.[2][3] Actors Chevy Chase, Paul Hogan, and Goldie Hawn co-hosted the show. Hawn hosted the gala for the second time, having previously been a co-host of the 48th ceremony held in 1976. Meanwhile, this was Chase and Hogan's first Oscars hosting stint.[4] Eight days earlier, in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 22, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Catherine Hicks.[5]

59th Academy Awards
Official poster
DateMarch 30, 1987
SiteDorothy Chandler Pavilion
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Hosted byChevy Chase, Goldie Hawn and Paul Hogan
Produced bySamuel Goldwyn Jr.
Directed byMarty Pasetta
Highlights
Best PicturePlatoon
Most awardsPlatoon (4)
Most nominationsPlatoon and A Room with a View (8)
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
Duration3 hours, 25 minutes[1]
Ratings37.19 million
27.5% (Nielsen ratings)

Platoon won four awards including Best Picture.[6][7] Other winners included Hannah and Her Sisters and A Room with a View with three awards, Aliens with two awards, and Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got, The Assault, Children of a Lesser God, The Color of Money, Down and Out in America, The Fly, A Greek Tragedy, The Mission, Precious Images, Round Midnight, Top Gun, and Women – for America, for the World with one.

Winners and nominees

The nominees for the 59th Academy Awards were announced on February 11, 1987, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Robert Wise, president of the Academy, actor Don Ameche, and actress Anjelica Huston.[8] Platoon and A Room with a View led all nominees with eight each.[9]

The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 30, 1987. Marlee Matlin was the first deaf performer to win an Oscar and the youngest winner in the Best Actress category.[10][11] Best Actor winner Paul Newman was the fourth actor to have been nominated for portraying the same character in two different films, having previously earned a nomination for his role as "Fast Eddie" Felson in 1961's The Hustler.[12] By virtue of his victory in the Best Actor category, Newman and wife Joanne Woodward, who won Best Actress for her performance in 1957's The Three Faces of Eve, became the second married couple to win acting Oscars.[11] Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got and Down and Out in America's joint win in the Best Documentary Feature category marked the fourth occurrence of a tie in Oscar history.[13]

Awards
Oliver Stone, Best Director winner
Paul Newman, Best Actor winner
Marlee Matlin, Best Actress winner
Michael Caine, Best Supporting Actor winner
Dianne Wiest, Best Supporting Actress winner
Woody Allen, Best Original Screenplay winner
Fons Rademakers, Best Foreign Language Film winner
Herbie Hancock, Best Original Score winner
Giorgio Moroder, Best Original Song co-winner

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double dagger ().[14]

Honorary Academy Awards

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Multiple nominations and awards

Presenters and performers

The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.[17][18]

Presenters
Name(s)Role
Hank SimsAnnouncer for the 59th annual Academy Awards
Robert Wise (AMPAS president)Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony
Shirley MacLainePresenter of the awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay
Marlee MatlinPresenter of the award for Best Sound
Don Ameche
Anjelica Huston		Presenters of the award for Best Supporting Actress
Chevy ChasePresenter of the award for Best Sound Effects Editing
Lauren BacallPresenter of the award for Best Costume Design
Christopher Reeve
Isabella Rossellini		Presenters of the award for Best Art Direction
Jennifer JonesPresenter of the award for Best Cinematography
Helena Bonham Carter
Matthew Broderick		Presenters of the award for Best Documentary Short Subject
Richard DreyfussPresenter of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to Steven Spielberg
Leonard Nimoy
William Shatner		Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects
Oprah WinfreyPresenter of the award for Best Documentary Feature
Jeff Bridges
Sigourney Weaver		Presenters of the award for Best Supporting Actor
Bernadette PetersPresenter of the award for Best Original Song
Bette MidlerPresenter of the award for Best Original Score
Bugs Bunny
Tom Hanks		Presentations of the award for Best Animated Short Film
Rodney DangerfieldPresenter of the award for Best Makeup
Sônia Braga
Michael Douglas		Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film
William HurtPresenter of the award for Best Actress
Molly RingwaldPresenter of the award for Best Film Editing
Anthony QuinnPresenter of the award for Best Foreign Language Film
Karl MaldenPresenter of the Honorary Academy Award to Ralph Bellamy
Elizabeth TaylorPresenter of the award for Best Director
Bette DavisPresenter of the award for Best Actor
Dustin HoffmanPresenter of the award for Best Picture

Performers
Name(s) Role Performed
Lionel NewmanMusical arranger and ConductorOrchestral
Academy Awards chorus
Dom DeLuise
Pat Morita
Telly Savalas		Performers"Fugue for Tinhorns" from Guys and Dolls
Bernadette PetersPerformerSang brief introductions to each nominee for Best Original Song
Natalie Cole
James Ingram		Performers"Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail
Peter CeteraPerformer"Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid, Part II
Melba Moore
Lou Rawls		Performers"Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun
Tony BennettPerformer"Life in a Looking Glass" from That's Life!
Levi StubbsPerformer"Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" from Little Shop of Horrors
Academy Awards chorusPerformers"Fugue for Tinhorns" during the closing credits

Ceremony information
Chevy Chase (left) and Goldie Hawn (right) co-hosted the 59th Academy Awards, along with Paul Hogan (not pictured)

Determined to revive interest surrounding the awards and reverse declining ratings, the Academy hired Samuel Goldwyn Jr. in November 1986 to produce the telecast for the first time.[19] The following March, Goldwyn announced that comedian Chevy Chase, actress and Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn, and actor and Best Original Screenplay nominee Paul Hogan would share co-hosting duties for the 1987 ceremony.[20] Actor Robin Williams was initially named a co-host, but he was forced to withdraw from emceeing duties due to his commitment toward his role in the upcoming film Good Morning, Vietnam.[21]

One of the biggest priorities for Goldwyn was to shorten the length of the show to at least three hours or less. In view of his goal, he told reporters regarding winner's acceptance speeches, "We are actually going to give them 45 seconds. The light (next to the camera) will start blinking at 45 seconds and go red at 55 seconds. After one minute we will either cut to a commercial or go to something else. We've also asked multiple winners to flip a coin and pick a spokesman."[22] Furthermore, instead of each Best Original Song nominee being performed separately, all five songs were performed as part of a musical number featuring actress Bernadette Peters singing brief introductions to each one.[23] Although Goldwyn attempted to move the Documentary and Short Film Categories to a separate ceremony from the broadcast, the AMPAS Board of Governors refused to do so.[24]

Several other people were involved with the production of the ceremony. Oscar-winning costume designer Theoni V. Aldredge was hired as fashion consultant for the awards ceremony and supervised a "fashion show" segment showcasing the five nominees for Best Costume Design.[25][26] Lionel Newman served as musical director and conductor for the ceremony.[27] Actors Dom DeLuise, Pat Morita, and Telly Savalas performed the song "Fugue for Tinhorns" from the musical Guys and Dolls at the start of the ceremony.[28]

Box office performance of nominated films

At the time of the nominations announcement on February 11, the combined gross of the five Best Picture nominees at the US box office was $119 million with an average of $23.9 million.[29] Platoon was the highest earner among the Best Picture nominees with $39.3 million in the domestic box office receipts. The film was followed by Hannah and Her Sisters ($35.4 million), Children of a Lesser God ($22.1 million), A Room with a View ($11.5 million), and The Mission ($11.1 million).[29]

Of the 50 grossing movies of the year, 55 nominations went to 18 films on the list. Only Crocodile Dundee (2nd), Aliens (6th), The Color of Money (11th), Stand By Me (12th), Peggy Sue Got Married (18th), Platoon (23rd), Hannah and Her Sisters (29th), The Morning After (38th), The Color of Money (40th), and Crimes of the Heart (43rd) were nominated for Best Picture, directing, acting, or screenplay.[30] The other top 50 box office hits that earned nominations were Top Gun (1st), The Karate Kid Part II (3rd), Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (4th), An American Tail (5th), Heartbreak Ridge (17th), Poltergeist II: The Other Side (19th), The Fly (22nd), and Little Shop of Horrors (30th).[30]

Critical reviews

The show received a mixed reception from media publications. Some media outlets were more critical of the show. Columnist Jerry Roberts of the Daily Breeze remarked "The whole mess was like some kind of geek show from a carnival row that had incestuously multiplied itself into a gargantuan sequin-lined ego battle royal accompanied by a firestorm of ballyhooing." Despite Chase and Hawn's best efforts to liven up the broadcast, he commented, "The lumbering procedure completely defeated them."[31] Television critic Tom Shales of The Washington Post wrote, "As usual, the Academy Awards show was marked by missed cues, noisy moving scenery, plunging necklines, inane scripted chatter and, as has often happened in recent years, few galvanizing or gratifying surprises." He also quipped that the segment showcasing the Best Costume Design nominees slowed down the ceremony's pace.[32] The Philadelphia Inquirer's film critic Carrie Rickey observed, "As pace goes, the Academy Awards show was like watching a race between slugs and snails." She later wrote, "Oscarsclerosis is the show's most critical condition, the result of a telecast larded, once again, with too many Vegas-style production numbers."[33]

Other media outlets received the broadcast more positively. Film critic John Hartl of The Seattle Times noted that the ceremony "was well-paced and filled with comics and comic film clips." He also complimented producer Goldwyn for hiring comics including host Chase and presenters such as Rodney Dangerfield for helping "to keep the show light and funny."[34] The New York Times columnist Janet Maslin wrote, "This was the trimmest, most varied and best-paced program in years." She also commented that without the witty banter of hosts Hogan and Chase, "The show would have seemed notably lacking in luster."[35] Television editor Michael Burkett of the Orange County Register commented, "Monday night's 59th installment was very nearly everything you could have wished it to be: quite entertaining, relatively fast-moving, unusually short on tastelessness and tackiness drenched in nostalgia, and featuring enough superbly chosen film clips for a monster round of Visual Trivial Pursuit.[36]

Ratings and reception

The American telecast on ABC drew in an average of 37.19 million people over its length, which was a 2% decrease from the previous year's ceremony.[37] However, the show drew higher Nielsen ratings compared to the previous ceremony with 27.5% of households watching over a 43 share.[38] Many media outlets pointed out that the broadcast earned higher ratings compared to the final game of the 1987 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament which was airing on CBS that same night.[39]

See also

References
  1. Osborne 2008, p. 282
  2. "59th Annual Academy Awards Presentation". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 15, 2014. Retrieved July 11, 2014.
  3. "Shirley Verrett Is Star of Friday's Opera Gala". The Miami Herald. January 13, 1987. p. 5D.
  4. "Hosting chores". Variety. February 13, 2005. Archived from the original on 19 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
  5. "Past Scientific & Technical Awards Ceremonies". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  6. Harmetz, Aljean (March 31, 1987). ""Platoon" Wins Oscar as the Best Movie of 1986". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  7. Sharbutt, Jay (March 31, 1987). "'Platoon' Is Top Film; Newman Is Best Actor". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved May 23, 2014.
  8. Wiley & Bona 1996, p. 689
  9. Matthews, Jack (February 11, 1987). "Newman Gets 7th Chance; Will He Finally Get Oscar? : Nominated for 'Color of Money'". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 13, 2014. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  10. Brill 2006, p. 130
  11. Osborne 2008, p. 396
  12. Osborne 2008, p. 397
  13. Warner, Denise. "Best Sound Editing Oscar tie is sixth in Academy Awards history". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on March 25, 2015. Retrieved April 15, 2015.
  14. "The 59th Academy Awards (1987) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on November 9, 2014. Retrieved October 16, 2011.
  15. Deans, Laurie (February 13, 1987). "Directors' contract expires June 30 Strike threat prompts April flurry". The Globe and Mail. p. C3.
  16. "Complete list of Oscar nominations". Toronto Star. February 12, 1987. p. F6.
  17. Mull, Marrison (March 29, 1987). "59th Academy Awards: And the Presenters Are..." Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 17, 2014.
  18. Wiley & Bona 1996, p. 693
  19. "Goldwyn's Son to Produce Academy Awards Show". Observer–Reporter. November 13, 1986. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  20. Beck, Marilyn (March 20, 1987). "Paul Hogan at the Oscars: The Monologue, Please". Los Angeles Daily News. p. 4.
  21. Hartl, John (March 29, 1987). "The Academy Award Remain Live and Unpredictable". The Seattle Times. p. TV2.
  22. Ryan, Desmong (March 29, 1987). "Prescription For The Oscarcast Once Again, The Goal Is To Shorten And Sweeten The Annual Program". The Philadelphia Inquirer. p. 4.
  23. Kelley, Bill (March 31, 1987). "Academy Broadcast Committed Many Sins". Sun-Sentinel. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved July 18, 2014.
  24. Wiley & Bona 1996, p. 691
  25. Wiley & Bona 1996, p. 716
  26. Matthews, Jack (December 8, 1986). "Goldwyn Touch For Oscars". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 15, 2014.
  27. Osborne 2008, p. 387
  28. Wiley & Bona 1996, p. 694
  29. "1989 Academy Award Nominations and Winner for Best Picture". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on June 14, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2014.
  30. "1986 Domestic Grosses (as of February 10, 1987)". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on July 25, 2014. Retrieved May 25, 2014.
  31. Roberts, Jerry (March 31, 1987). "Tedium Overcomes Oscar's Best Efforts". Daily Breeze. p. A16.
  32. Shales, Tom (March 31, 1987). "Platoon' Seizes Oscar; Newman, Matlin Win; 'Hannah' and 'Room With A View' Take 3 Awards Each". The Washington Post. p. C1.
  33. Rickey, Carrie (April 1, 1987). "A Dull Start, And It Barely Rebounded Forget The Telecast: The Oscars Offer Hope For Hollywood Quality". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on July 28, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  34. Hartl, John (March 31, 1987). "No Surprises, But a Good Oscar Show". The Seattle Times. p. F1.
  35. Maslin, Janet (April 1, 1987). "TV Review: Academy Awards Ceremony on ABC". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 14, 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
  36. Beckett, Michael (March 31, 1987). "Little films were big winners and we went home happy". Orange County Register. p. C1.
  37. Gorman, Bill (March 8, 2010). "Academy Awards Averages 41.3 Million Viewers; Most Since 2005". TV by the Numbers (Tribune Media). Archived from the original on March 10, 2010. Retrieved March 12, 2010.
  38. Sharbutt, Jay (April 1, 1987). "Oscar Dunks NCAA". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on August 11, 2014. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
  39. Schwed, Mark (April 1, 1987). "Oscars Win Ratings War". The Bryan Times. Retrieved July 16, 2014.

Bibliography
  • Brill, Marlene Targ (2006). Illinois. New York, United States: Marshall Cavendish. ISBN 978-0-7614-1735-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Osborne, Robert (2008). 80 Years of the Oscar: The Complete History of the Academy Awards. New York, United States: Abbeville Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-7892-0992-4.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Wiley, Mason; Bona, Damien (1996), Inside Oscar: The Unofficial History of the Academy Awards (5 ed.), New York, United States: Ballantine Books, ISBN 978-0-345-40053-6, OCLC 779680732
Official websites
Analysis
Other resources
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