“The Oscars are the pinnacle event” of the movie year, says Turner Classic Movies host Dave Karger. “So when you have a moment that actually feels like a surprise, whether it’s an upset winner or an amazing performance or a fascinating outfit, it’s truly exciting.” Ahead of the 94th annual Academy Awards on March 27 on ABC, here’s a look back at the biggest surprises, shocks and setbacks in Oscars history.
The Most Shocking Oscar Moments of All Time
The 2017 Best Picture Mixup
An oops for the ages: The 2017 moment when Faye Dunaway mistakenly announced La La Land as the Best Picture winner because she and co-presenter Warren Beatty had been handed the wrong envelope “was a shocker that can never be topped,” Karger says, adding that the rousing musical’s front-runner status added “an extra layer” to the live drama. The real victor? The heart-wrenching drama Moonlight.
Ellen Orders Pizza (2014)
Host Ellen DeGeneres ordered pizza for the hungry A-list crowd (including Brad Pitt) in the middle of the 2014 ceremony. The Big Mama’s & Papa’s Pizzeria deliveryman later went on DeGeneres’ talk show and received a generous tip: $1,000.
Hugh Jackman Steps Up (2013)
Hugh Jackman jumped to help Jennifer Lawrence up to the stage in 2013 when she tripped en route to collecting her Best Actress trophy for Silver Linings Playbook.
Jennifer Aniston’s Awkward Moment (2009)
In 2009, Jennifer Aniston had to present while her ex-husband and his girlfriend were in the front row.
Woody Allen Shows Up (2002)
Woody Allen, 24-time nominee and four-time winner, showed up to his first and only Oscar ceremony in 2002 to deliver a tribute to New York after 9/11.
Björk’s Swan Dress (2001)
Best Song nominee Björk appeared on the 2001 carpet wearing a feathered dress that looked as if a swan were draped around her neck. “This girl should be put in an asylum,” Joan Rivers later cracked. Cut to 2015, when the creation (designed by Marjan Pejoski) was showcased at NYC’s Museum of Modern Art for a retrospective of the Icelandic singer.
Leonardo DiCaprio’s Snub (1998)
Once upon a time in Hollywood, Leonardo DiCaprio starred in a little love story called Titanic. But while the disaster epic received a record-tying 14 nominations in 1998, the star didn’t get one for Best Actor. “Two other cast members were nominated,” Karger notes of Kate Winslet and Gloria Stuart. “But maybe voters considered the movie more of a technical achievement.” (DiCaprio would win in 2016 for The Revenant.)
Sharon Stones Wears Gap (1996)
In 1996, Sharon Stone, a Best Actress nominee for her sexy role in Casino, turned away high-priced designers and walked the chic red carpet wearing pants and a Gap black mock turtleneck from her very own closet.
Billy Crystal Kills (1992)
In 1992, Billy Crystal opened the show with an homage to cannibal serial killer Hannibal Lecter—face guard and all—from The Silence of the Lambs. He then approached nominee Anthony Hopkins and quipped, “I’m having some of the Academy over for dinner, care to join me?” Later that night, Hopkins won Best Actor.
Madonna’s Surprise Date (1991)
Michael Jackson was Madonna’s date at the 1991 show when she sang the Best Song–nominated “Sooner or Later” from Dick Tracy.
Rob Lowe Gets Dopey (1989)
We still can’t forget Rob Lowe and Snow White opening the 1989 show with an off-key rendition of “Proud Mary”—as an aghast Michelle Pfeiffer and Kevin Kline looked on in the audience. Disney sued; the Academy apologized. “Sometimes what seems like a fun idea for a production number at the time just doesn’t work,” Karger explains. “At least Rob Lowe had a good sense of humor about it.”
Cher Wishes She Could Turn Back Time . . . (1986)
“As you can see, I did receive my Academy booklet on how to dress like a serious actress,” Cher—clad in a naval-and-hips-baring Bob Mackie gown and feather headdress—joked before presenting the Best Supporting Actor award to Don Ameche (for Cocoon) in 1986. Years later, she admitted she regretted the outrageous choice.
The Color Purple Loses Out (1986)
Despite 11 nominations (including Whoopi Goldberg for Best Actress), Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed adaptation of the coming-of-age novel The Color Purple was shut out completely in 1986. “It had the right pedigree and I suspect it came very close in many categories but just didn’t get there,” Karger says. The big winner: Out of Africa with Meryl Streep and Robert Redford.
John Wayne’s Last Hurrah (1979)
A year after he was too ill to attend the ceremony, Western hero John Wayne took the stage to a prolonged standing ovation to present the Best Picture award in 1979. “That’s just about the only medicine a fella really needs,” he responded. It was his last public appearance; he’d die two months later at age 71.
Oscars Streaker! (1974)
The buttoned-up English actor David Niven was interrupted onstage by a streaker in 1974.
Marlo Brando Makes a Statement (1973)
Marlon Brando was not interested in collecting his Best Actor trophy for The Godfather in 1973. But he sure did want to make a statement. Enter actress Sacheen Littlefeather, who took to the podium to speak of the harsh treatment of Native Americans.
Can There Be a Tie for an Oscar? (1969)
Then-newcomer Barbra Streisand (Funny Girl) and veteran Katharine Hepburn (The Lion in Winter) tied for Best Actress in 1969, each receiving 3,030 votes. (With Hepburn absent, Streisand was the only winner on-hand to accept.) The oddity has never again occurred in an acting category and only five other times in total. “It’s almost statistically impossible, so whenever it does happen, it’s a surprise,” Karger says.
Jerry Lewis’s Filibuster (1959)
The 1959 ceremony actually ran 20 minutes ahead of schedule, prompting co-host Jerry Lewis to filibuster for the crowd. He killed time by conducting the orchestra, attempting to play the trumpet and roasting a competing show’s poor ratings. At one point, his former comedy partner Dean Martin strolled past the podium and helped himself to a “leftover” Oscar!
10 Biggest Oscars Upsets of All Time
Every year, critics and movie-lovers alike make their predictions for what films will win what awards. And every year, there’s a flick that surprises everybody watching. Here are 10 of the most shocking upsets in Oscar history.
1. Orson Welles Sees Green
Though Citizen Kane is often regarded as one of the greatest movies of all time, the Academy voters in 1942 didn’t feel that way—especially those close to publisher William Randolph Hearst (i.e., the newspaper-magnate inspiration behind Orson Welles’ character Charles Foster Kane). The result: How Green Was My Valley won Best Picture.
2. A Star Isn’t Born
Renée Zellweger collected a Best Actress Oscar in 2021 for portraying Judy Garland in Judy. The Wizard of Oz icon herself was part of an Oscar upset back in 1955, when she was nominated for her work in the classic A Star Is Born—but she lost to Grace Kelly for the forgettable The Country Girl.
3. The Mob Doesn’t Take All
Though The Godfather walked away with wins for Best Picture, Best Actor and Best Screenplay in 1973, director Francis Ford Coppola lost Best Director to Bob Fosse for Cabaret in the evening’s biggest jaw-drop. Cabaret’s Joel Grey also won Best Supporting Actor over the movie’s Al Pacino, Robert Duvall and James Caan.
4. Yo, Victory!
In 1977, the rousing upstart Rocky, written by and starring Sylvester Stallone, knocked out Martin Scorsese’s heavyweight Taxi Driver—as well as Network, Bound for Glory and All the President’s Men—for Best Picture. “Rocky had only won two Oscars up to that point,” Karger says. “But it was the crowd-pleaser that the Academy often goes for.”
5. Dancing With Gold
Another Scorsese snub! A decade after he lost Best Director to actor-turned-director Robert Redford (Ordinary People beat Raging Bull), another movie star pulled off the same feat. This time it was Kevin Costner, the actor-director whose sweeping 1990 Western Dances With Wolves triumphed over Scorsese’s epic mafia opus Goodfellas. (Wolves also won Best Picture.) Costner has since directed only two other films, both box-office flops: The Postman and Open Range.
6. An All-American Win
Yes, Marisa Tomei really did win the Best Supporting Actress award in 1993 over Australian Judy Davis and British vets Joan Plowright, Miranda Richardson and Vanessa Redgrave for her turn as the tough-tawkin’ car-expert-in-the-courtroom Mona Lisa Vito in the comedy My Cousin Vinny. “There’s still a ridiculous conspiracy theory that [presenter] Jack Palance announced the wrong name,” Karger says. “But Marisa Tomei just gave a really fun and endearing performance.”
7. No Kidding
Rarely does the Academy reward the kiddie set, but 11-year-old Anna Paquin took Best Supporting Actress for The Piano in 1994, besting Golden Globe winner Winona Ryder (The Age of Innocence) as well as Emma Thompson (In the Name of the Father), Rosie Perez (Fearless) and Holly Hunter (The Firm). Her onscreen mom, Hunter, won Best Actress, and Jane Campion won Best Original Screenplay for the same film.
8. No Oscar for Bacall
In 1997, screen legend Lauren Bacall—who had never struck Oscar gold—was the go-to sentimental pick for her work in The Mirror Has Two Faces. But Oscar’s little gold man instead went to Juliette Binoche, who took home the Best Supporting Actress award. As Karger explains, Binoche “got caught up in the English Patient sweep,” which amounted to nine trophies that year.
9. Oh, Romeo!
Just how much was Steven Spielberg’s searing war drama Saving Private Ryan weighted toward a Best Picture win in 1999? The producers asked Indiana Jones himself, Harrison Ford, to present. “This was done on purpose, given his connection to Spielberg,” Karger says. But Shakespeare in Love—produced by Harvey Weinstein, then considered a master campaigner—took the trophy. Still, Karger adds that the period comedy had also won SAG’s award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast, often a precursor of the Oscar’s Best Picture.
10. Hip-Hop Rules
Three members of the rap group Three 6 Mafia took Best Original Song for “It’s Hard Out Here for a Pimp,” the hip-hop song they wrote with co-winner Cedric Coleman and performed for the 2005 movie Hustle & Flow. The first rap group to take the honors, they beat Dolly Parton (“Travelin’ Thru” for Transamerica). Next, Here Are Parade’s Predictions for the 2020 Oscars—Do You Agree With Our Picks?
