Awards

1966 Oscars 38th Academy Awards

Posted by Joe Hummel IIIPosted 59 years ago April 18, 1966

1966 Oscars 38th Academy Awards

Winners Announced: April 18, 1966
Held at: Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Santa Monica, California
Host: Bob Hope
Eligibility Year: 1965

Table of Contents

Oscar Highlights and Achievements

The Sound of Music Sweeps: This iconic musical directed by Robert Wise dominated the night, bagging five Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director.
Best Actress Julie Christie: For her role in Darling, Julie Christie took home the Best Actress award, making her an instant Hollywood sensation.
Lee Marvin’s Double Role: For his dual roles in Cat Ballou, Lee Marvin won Best Actor, a role that showcased his versatility.
Shelley Winters’ Win: She clinched the Best Supporting Actress for her role in A Patch of Blue, making it her second Oscar win.
The Sound of Music and Doctor Zhivago were the two most nominated films, each with ten nominations and five wins.
Maria Von Trapp, whose memoir inspired The Sound of Music and made a cameo appearance in the film, was not invited to the premiere.
Von Trapp later inquired why, and producers told her no seats were left.
Although nominated for 5 Academy Awards, George Stevens’ production of The Greatest Story Ever Told is generally considered a flop.

Trivia

Bob Hope’s Hosting Legacy: This was the 14th time Bob Hope hosted the Academy Awards, a record that still stands for most times hosting.
First Televised Oscars: This was the first Oscars ceremony to be broadcast simultaneously in color on both coasts, a major tech milestone for the event.
First Win for Animated Short: The Dot and the Line became the first abstract and non-narrative film to win in the Best Animated Short category.
Youngest Composer to Win: At 29, John Barry became the youngest composer to win for Best Original Score, thanks to his work on Born Free.
Take our 1966 Quiz!

1966 Oscar Nominees and Winners

Best Picture:
The Sound of Music – Robert Wise (WINNER)
Darling – Joseph Janni
Doctor Zhivago – Carlo Ponti
Ship of Fools – Stanley Kramer
A Thousand Clowns – Fred Coe

Best Director:
Robert Wise – The Sound of Music (WINNER)
William Wyler – The Collector
John Schlesinger – Darling
David Lean – Doctor Zhivago
Hiroshi Teshigahara – Woman in the Dunes

Best Actor:
Lee Marvin – Cat Ballou as Kid Shelleen / Tim Strawn (WINNER)
Richard Burton – The Spy Who Came in from the Cold as Alec Leamas
Laurence Olivier – Othello as Othello
Rod Steiger – The Pawnbroker as Sol Nazerman
Oskar Werner – Ship of Fools as Dr. Wilhelm “Willi” Schumann

Best Actress:
Julie Christie – Darling as Diana Scott (WINNER)
Julie Andrews – The Sound of Music as Maria von Trapp
Samantha Eggar – The Collector as Miranda Grey
Elizabeth Hartman – A Patch of Blue as Selina D’Arcey
Simone Signoret – Ship of Fools as La Condesa

Best Supporting Actor:
Martin Balsam – A Thousand Clowns as Arnold Burns (WINNER)
Ian Bannen – The Flight of the Phoenix as “Ratbags” Crow
Tom Courtenay – Doctor Zhivago as Pavel “Pasha” Antipov
Michael Dunn – Ship of Fools as Carl Glocken
Frank Finlay – Othello as Iago

Best Supporting Actress:
Shelley Winters – A Patch of Blue as Rose-Ann D’Arcey (WINNER)
Ruth Gordon – Inside Daisy Clover as Lucile Clover
Joyce Redman – Othello as Emilia
Maggie Smith – Othello as Desdemona
Peggy Wood – The Sound of Music as the Mother Abbess

Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen:
Darling – Frederic Raphael (WINNER)
Casanova 70 – Agenore Incrocci, Furio Scarpelli, Mario Monicelli, Tonino Guerra, Giorgio Salvioni and Suso Cecchi d’Amico
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines – Jack Davies and Ken Annakin
The Train – Franklin Coen and Frank Davis
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Jacques Demy

Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium:
Doctor Zhivago – Robert Bolt from Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak (WINNER)
Cat Ballou – Walter Newman and Frank Pierson from The Ballad of Cat Ballou by Roy Chanslor
The Collector – Stanley Mann and John Kohn from The Collector by John Fowles
Ship of Fools – Abby Mann from Ship of Fools by Katherine Anne Porter
A Thousand Clowns – Herb Gardner from A Thousand Crowns by Herb Gardner

Best Foreign Language:
The Shop on Main Street (Czechoslovakia) (WINNER)
Blood on the Land (Greece)
Dear John (Sweden)
Kwaidan (Japan)
Marriage Italian Style (Italy)

Film Best Song:
“The Shadow of Your Smile” from The Sandpiper – Music by Johnny Mandel; Lyrics by Paul Francis Webster (WINNER)
“The Ballad of Cat Ballou” from Cat Ballou – Music by Jerry Livingston; Lyrics by Mack David
“I Will Wait for You” from The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Music by Michel Legrand; Lyrics by Jacques Demy
“The Sweetheart Tree” from The Great Race – Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
“What’s New Pussycat?” from What’s New Pussycat? – Music by Burt Bacharach; Lyrics by Hal David

Best Documentary Feature:
The Eleanor Roosevelt Story (WINNER)
The Battle of the Bulge… The Brave Rifles
The Forth Road Bridge
Let My People Go: The Story of Israel
To Die in Madrid

Best Documentary Short Subject:
To Be Alive! (WINNER)
Mural on Our Street
Nyitany
Point of View
Yeats Country

Best Short Subject, Live Action:
The Chicken – Claude Berri (WINNER)
Fortress of Peace – Lothar Wolff
Skaterdater
Snow
Time Piece – Jim Henson

Best Short Subject, Cartoons:
The Dot and the Line (WINNER)
Clay or the Origin of Species
The Thieving Magpie

Best Music Score – Substantially Original:
Doctor Zhivago – Maurice Jarre (WINNER)
The Agony and the Ecstasy – Alex North
The Greatest Story Ever Told – Alfred Newman
A Patch of Blue – Jerry Goldsmith
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Michel Legrand and Jacques Demy

Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment:
The Sound of Music – Irwin Kostal (WINNER)
Cat Ballou – Frank De Vol
The Pleasure Seekers – Lionel Newman and Alexander Courage
A Thousand Clowns – Don Walker
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg – Michel Legrand

Best Sound Effects:
The Great Race – Treg Brown (WINNER)
Von Ryan’s Express – Walter Rossi

Best Sound:
The Sound of Music – James Corcoran and Fred Hynes (WINNER)
The Agony and the Ecstasy – James Corcoran
Doctor Zhivago – A. W. Watkins and Franklin Milton
The Great Race – George Groves
Shenandoah – Waldon O. Watson

Best Art Direction, Black-and-White:
Ship of Fools – Art Direction: Robert Clatworthy; Set Decoration: Joseph Kish (WINNER)
King Rat – Art Direction: Robert Emmet Smith; Set Decoration: Frank Tuttle
A Patch of Blue – Art Direction: George Davis and Urie McCleary; Set Decoration: Henry Grace and Charles S. Thompson
The Slender Thread – Art Direction: Hal Pereira and Jack Poplin; Set Decoration: Robert R. Benton and Joseph Kish
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – Art Direction: Hal Pereira, Tambi Larsen and Ted Marshall; Set Decoration: Josie MacAvin

Best Art Direction, Color:
Doctor Zhivago – Art Direction: John Box and Terence Marsh; Set Decoration: Dario Simoni (WINNER)
The Agony and the Ecstasy – Art Direction: John DeCuir and Jack Martin Smith; Set Decoration: Dario Simoni
The Greatest Story Ever Told – Art Direction: Richard Day, William J. Creber and David S. Hall (posthumous nomination); Set Decoration: Ray Moyer, Fred M. MacLean and Norman Rockett
Inside Daisy Clover – Art Direction: Robert Clatworthy; Set Decoration: George James Hopkins
The Sound of Music – Art Direciton: Boris Leven; Set Decoration: Walter M. Scott and Ruby Levitt

Best Cinematography, Black-and-White:
Ship of Fools – Ernest Laszlo (WINNER)
In Harm’s Way – Loyal Griggs
King Rat – Burnett Guffey
Morituri – Conrad Hall
A Patch of Blue – Robert Burks

Best Cinematography, Color:
Doctor Zhivago – Freddie Young (WINNER)
The Agony and the Ecstasy – Leon Shamroy
The Great Race – Russell Harlan
The Greatest Story Ever Told – William C. Mellor (posthumous nomination) and Loyal Griggs
The Sound of Music – Ted D. McCord

Best Costume Design, Black-and-White:
Darling – Julie Harris (WINNER)
Morituri – Moss Mabry
A Rage to Live – Howard Shoup
Ship of Fools – Jean Louis and Bill Thomas
The Slender Thread – Edith Head

Best Costume Design, Color:
Doctor Zhivago – Phyllis Dalton (WINNER)
The Agony and the Ecstasy – Vittorio Nino Novarese
The Greatest Story Ever Told – Marjorie Best and Vittorio Nino Novarese
Inside Daisy Clover – Edith Head and Bill Thomas
The Sound of Music – Dorothy Jeakins

Best Film Editing:
The Sound of Music – William H. Reynolds (WINNER)
Cat Ballou – Charles Nelson
Doctor Zhivago – Norman Savage
The Flight of the Phoenix – Michael Luciano
The Great Race – Ralph E. Winters

Best Special Visual Effects:
Thunderball – John Stears (WINNER)
The Greatest Story Ever Told – J. McMillan Johnson

Honorary Award:
Bob Hope “for unique and distinguished service to our industry and the Academy.”

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award:
William Wyler

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
Edmond L. DePatie

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