There are many people in the movie industry who are
considered legends, those who were nominated and deserved the Academy Award but
never received that elusive Oscar®. Some
of the names will even strike you as What?
That can't be true. He/She must have won at least once.
So, in no particular order, here is a cross-section of
deserving but passed over nominees for the movie industry's coveted statuette.
1) Alfred Hitchcock
With a string of directorial masterpieces to his credit, he
never won one of the prized statuettes.
However, in 1968 he was presented an honorary Oscar® for his body of
work.
2) Cary Grant
He made it look easy which sometimes prevented people from
realizing just how good he was—adept at light comedy (and even slapstick) as
well as drama. However, in 1970 he was
presented an honorary Oscar® for his body of work.
3) Peter O'Toole
He holds the record for the most Best Actor nominations (8)
without a win with his most famous role probably Lawrence of Arabia. My personal favorite of Peter O'Toole's films
is My Favorite Year, one of his few
comedy films. However, in 2003 he was
presented an honorary Oscar® for his body of work.
4) Deborah Kerr
Many outstanding roles, certainly From Here To Eternity and also The
King And I, nominated six times but no wins. However, in 1994 she was presented an
honorary Oscar® for her body of work.
5) Richard Burton
Many outstanding performances including an exceptional one
in Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf. Six nominations, five of them for Best Actor, but no wins.
6) Albert Finney
The British actor is probably best known for Tom Jones, one of his earlier
films. He's had five nominations and no
wins. My favorite Albert Finney film
(along with an incredible cast including several Oscar® winners) is Murder On The Orient Express with his
marvelous portrayal of Hercule Poirot.
7) Angela Lansbury
Today she's best known for her award winning role of Jessica
Fletcher, the retired school teacher turned mystery novelist and amateur sleuth
in the long running television series Murder,
She Wrote. In addition to
television, she has an impressive award winning string of Broadway productions
and before that three nominations for films.
One of her Oscar® nominations was for a riveting performance in the
original film of The Manchurian Candidate
with Frank Sinatra and Laurence Harvey (she played his mother even though they
were only a few months apart in age).
8) Fred Astaire
Although best known for a stellar career in a long string of
very successful musicals (many with his long time partner, Ginger Rogers), his
one and only nomination came for a dramatic role in Towering Inferno.
9) Charlie Chaplin
He is one of the most pivotal stars of the early days of
Hollywood. Even though he never won for
either acting or directing, I wasn't sure whether to add him to this list of never won an Oscar® because he did win
one for Best Original Musical Score in 1952 for Limelight. However, in 1972
he was presented with an honorary Oscar® for his body of work and received the
longest standing ovation in Academy Awards history (over twelve minutes).
There are, of course, many more nominated
actors/actresses/directors who deserve but haven't yet had their name engraved
on an Oscar®.
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