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

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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