The 36th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1963, were held on April 13, 1964, 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 cap ...

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to ...

. They were hosted by

Jack Lemmon John Uhler Lemmon III (February 8, 1925 – June 27, 2001) was an American actor. Considered equally proficient in both dramatic and comic roles, Lemmon was known for his anxious, middle-class everyman screen persona in dramedy pictures, leadi ...

. Best Picture winner ''

Tom Jones Tom Jones may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Tom Jones (singer) (born 1940), Welsh singer *Tom Jones (writer) (1928–2023), American librettist and lyricist *''The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling'', a novel by Henry Fielding published in 1 ...

'' became the only film in history to garner three Best Supporting Actress nominations; it also tied the Oscar record of five unsuccessful acting nominations, set by '' Peyton Place'' at the

30th Academy Awards The 30th Academy Awards ceremony was held on March 26, 1958, to honor the best films of 1957. The Oscar for Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium was awarded to Pierre Boulle for ''The Bridge on the River Kwai'', despite the f ...

. This year's winner for Best Actress category was unique. Although playing a supporting role and having a relatively small amount on the screen, Patricia Neal won the Best Actress category for her role in '' Hud''. The movie also won for Best Supporting Actor for

Melvyn Douglas Melvyn Douglas (born Melvyn Edouard Hesselberg, April 5, 1901 – August 4, 1981) was an American actor. Douglas came to prominence in the 1930s as a suave leading man, perhaps best typified by his performance in the romantic comedy ''Ninotchk ...

and Best Cinematography – Black and White. It was the second and, to date, last film to win two acting awards without being nominated for Best Picture (the other being '' The Miracle Worker''). At age 71, Margaret Rutherford set a then-record as the oldest winner for Best Supporting Actress, a year after

Patty Duke Anna Marie "Patty" Duke (December 14, 1946 – March 29, 2016) was an American actress and mental health advocate. Over the course of her acting career, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awa ...

set a then-record as the youngest ever winner. Rutherford was also only the second Oscar winner over the age of 70 at the time of her win (the other was

Edmund Gwenn Edmund Gwenn (born Edmund John Kellaway; 26 September 1877 – 6 September 1959) was an English actor. On film, he is best remembered for his role as Kris Kringle in the Christmas film ''Miracle on 34th Street'' (1947), for which he won th ...

), as well as becoming the last woman born in the 19th century to win. This was the only time in Academy history that all Best Supporting Actress nominees were born outside the United States.

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 ...

became the first

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ha ...

actor to win

Best Actor Best Actor is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actors in a film, television series, television film or play. The term most often refers to the ...

, and '' An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge'' was the first Oscar-winning film to have aired on network television prior to the ceremony. Best Sound Effects was introduced this year, with ''

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World ''It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World'' is a 1963 American comedy film produced and directed by Stanley Kramer with a story and screenplay by William Rose and Tania Rose. The film, starring Spencer Tracy with an all-star cast of comedians, is a ...

'' winning the award.

Awards

Nominations announced on February 24, 1964. Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Sam Spiegel Samuel P. Spiegel (November 11, 1901December 31, 1985) was an American independent film producer born in the Galician area of Austria-Hungary. Financially responsible for some of the most critically acclaimed motion pictures of the 20th centur ...

Presenters and performers

Presenters

Julie Andrews Dame Julie Andrews (born Julia Elizabeth Wells; 1 October 1935) is an English actress, singer, and author. She has garnered numerous accolades throughout her career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy F ...

(Presenter: Best Foreign Language Film) * Anne Bancroft (Presenter: Best Actor) *

Anne Baxter Anne Baxter (May 7, 1923 – December 12, 1985) was an American actress, star of Hollywood films, Broadway productions, and television series. She won an Academy Award and a Golden Globe, and was nominated for an Emmy. A granddaughter of Fr ...

and

Fred MacMurray Frederick Martin MacMurray (August 30, 1908 – November 5, 1991) was an American actor. He appeared in more than one hundred films and a successful television series, in a career that spanned nearly a half-century. His career as a major film le ...

(Presenter: Art Direction Awards) * Ed Begley (Presenter: Best Supporting Actress) *

Rita Hayworth Rita Hayworth (born Margarita Carmen Cansino; October 17, 1918May 14, 1987) was an American actress, dancer and producer. She achieved fame during the 1940s as one of the era's top stars, appearing in 61 films over 37 years. The press coined th ...

(Presenter: Best Director) * Sammy Davis Jr. (Presenter: Music Awards) *

Angie Dickinson Angeline Dickinson (née Brown; born September 30, 1931) is an American actress. She began her career on television, appearing in many anthology series during the 1950s, before gaining her breakthrough role in ''Gun the Man Down'' (1956) wit ...

(Presenter: Best Special Effects) *

(Presenter: Best Supporting Actor) *

Shirley Jones Shirley Mae Jones (born March 31, 1934) is an American actress and singer. In her six decades in show business, she has starred as wholesome characters in a number of musical films, such as '' Oklahoma!'' (1955), ''Carousel'' (1956), and ''The M ...

(Presenter: Best Song) *

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty, April 24, 1934) is an American actress, author, and former dancer. Known for her portrayals of quirky, strong-willed and eccentric women, MacLaine has received numerous accolades over her seven-dec ...

(Presenter: Short Subjects Awards) *

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

(Presenter: Sound Awards) *

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 Actress) *

(Presenter: Best Film Editing) * Donna Reed (Presenter: Costume Design Awards) *

Debbie Reynolds Mary Frances "Debbie" Reynolds (April 1, 1932 – December 28, 2016) was an American actress, singer, and businesswoman. Her career spanned almost 70 years. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Most Promising Newcomer for her portra ...

(Presenter: Documentary Awards) *

Edward G. Robinson Edward G. Robinson (born Emanuel Goldenberg; December 12, 1893January 26, 1973) was a Romanian-American actor of stage and screen, who was popular during the Hollywood's Golden Age. He appeared in 30 Broadway plays and more than 100 films duri ...

(Presenter: Writing 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 Picture) *

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

(Presenter: Cinematography Awards) * Tuesday Weld (Presenter: Best Sound Effects)

Performers

James Darren James William Ercolani (born June 8, 1936) known by his stage name James Darren, is an American television and film actor, television director, and singer. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in fi ...

("It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" from ''

'') *

Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid-1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States. His career re ...

("So Little Time" from ''

55 Days at Peking ''55 Days at Peking'' is a 1963 American epic historical war film dramatizing the siege of the foreign legations' compounds in Peking (now known as Beijing) during the Boxer Rebellion, which took place in China from 1899 to 1901. It was produ ...

'') * Katyna Ranieri ("

More More or Mores may refer to: Computing * MORE (application), outline software for Mac OS * more (command), a shell command * MORE protocol, a routing protocol * Missouri Research and Education Network Music Albums * ''More!'' (album), by Booka ...

" from '' Mondo Cane'') *

Andy Williams Howard Andrew Williams (December 3, 1927 – September 25, 2012) was an American singer. He recorded 43 albums in his career, of which 15 have been gold certified and three platinum certified. He was also nominated for six Grammy Awards. He hos ...

Call Me Irresponsible "Call Me Irresponsible" is a 1962 song composed by Jimmy Van Heusen with lyrics written by Sammy Cahn which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1963. According to the Mel Tormé book ''The Other Side of the Rainbow with Judy Garland o ...

" from ''

Papa's Delicate Condition ''Papa's Delicate Condition'' is a 1963 American comedy film starring Jackie Gleason and Glynis Johns. It was an adaptation of the Corinne Griffith memoir of the same name, about her father and growing up in Texarkana, Texas. Jimmy Van Heusen ( ...

'' and "

Charade Charade or charades may refer to: Games * Charades, originally "acting charades", a parlor game Films/TV * ''Charade'' (1953 film), an American film featuring James Mason * ''Charade'' (1963 film), an American film starring Cary Grant and Au ...

" from ''

'')

Multiple nominations and awards

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

'' *''9 nominations:'' ''

Cleopatra Cleopatra VII Philopator ( grc-gre, Κλεοπάτρα Φιλοπάτωρ}, "Cleopatra the father-beloved"; 69 BC10 August 30 BC) was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler.She was also a ...

'' *''8 nominations:'' '' How the West Was Won'' *''7 nominations:'' '' Hud'' *''6 nominations:'' '' The Cardinal'' and ''

'' *''5 nominations:'' '' 8½'', '' Lilies of the Field'' and ''

Love with the Proper Stranger ''Love with the Proper Stranger'' is a 1963 American romantic comedy-drama film made by Pakula- Mulligan Productions and Boardwalk Productions and released by Paramount Pictures. It was directed by Robert Mulligan and produced by Alan J. Pakula ...

'' *''4 nominations:'' ''

America America ''America America'' (British title ''The Anatolian Smile''—a reference to an ongoing acknowledgment of the character Stavros' captivating smile) is a 1963 American drama film directed, produced and written by Elia Kazan, adapted from his own b ...

'' *''3 nominations:'' ''

Captain Newman, M.D. ''Captain Newman, M.D.'' is a 1963 American comedy drama film directed by David Miller and starring Gregory Peck, Tony Curtis, Angie Dickinson, Robert Duvall, Eddie Albert and Bobby Darin. Peck's Brentwood Production also co-produced the film. ...

'', '' Irma la Douce'' and ''

Sundays and Cybele The Sundays were an English alternative rock band, formed in the late 1980s, which released three albums throughout the 1990s. The band's beginnings came with the meeting of singer Harriet Wheeler and guitarist David Gavurin while attending ...

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

'', ''

Bye Bye Birdie ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is a stage musical with music by Charles Strouse and lyrics by Lee Adams, based upon a book by Michael Stewart. Originally titled ''Let's Go Steady'', ''Bye Bye Birdie'' is set in 1958. The short story "Dream Man", authored ...

'', '' A New Kind of Love'', '' This Sporting Life'' and '' Twilight of Honor'' The following films received multiple awards. *''4 wins:'' ''

'' and ''

'' *''3 wins:'' '' How the West Was Won'' and '' Hud'' *''2 wins:'' '' 8½''

Sidney Poitier winning Best Actor

Sidney Poitier's Best Actor win for ''Lilies of the Field'' marked the first time a Black man won a competitive Oscar. This came five years after his first nomination for Best Actor in 1958's '' The Defiant Ones''. It would take almost forty years for another African-American male to win Best Actor, when

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

won in 2001 for ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gan ...

''.

Sammy Davis Jr. envelope error

Sammy Davis, Jr. was accidentally given the wrong winner's envelope when he was supposed to announce the award for Best Music Score for an Adaptation or Treatment, instead announcing the winner for Best Music Score - Substantially Original: John Addison for ''Tom Jones''. After a confused round of applause followed by silence, Davis acknowledged his mistake (joking, "Wait 'til the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&n ...

hears about this!"), and, having been given the right envelope, read the actual winner: Andre Previn for ''Irma la Douce''. Davis, Jr. then presented Best Music Score - Substantially Original, sarcastically asking "Guess who the winner is?" after reading all the nominees.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Academy Awards, 36 Academy Awards ceremonies 1963 film awards 1964 in California 1964 in American cinema April 1964 events in the United States Events in Santa Monica, California 20th century in Santa Monica, California