BBC News | Obituaries | George C Scott: The man who refused an Oscar Thursday, September 23, 1999 Published at 12:36 GMT 13:36 UK Obituaries George C Scott: The man who refused an Oscar Oscar-winner: George C Scott as General George S Patton With his granite face and characteristically intense performances, George C Scott was regarded as one of the finest American actors of his generation. Watch George C Scott in Patton His magisterial portrayal of General George S Patton won him the Best Actor award at the 1971 Oscars. Scott shocked Hollywood by being the first person ever to refuse an Academy Award. He said that the politics surrounding such awards was "demeaning" and described the Oscar ceremony as "a two-hour meat parade". George C Scott: "Meat parade"- protest George C Scott was born in Virginia on 18 October 1927, the son of a mine surveyor. As a child he was both athletic and sensitive. He remembered his mother, who died when he was eight, as a creative inspiration.

On graduating from high school in 1945, he enlisted in the US Marines, where he spent four years burying bodies in Arlington National Cemetery and, as he later recalled, "picking up a solid drinking habit that stayed with me from then on". Upon discharge from the Marines, he entered the School of Journalism at the University of Missouri and joined the university drama club. Playing his first role in a production of The Winslow Boy his life was transformed. "The minute I got on stage, I knew...that this was what I had to do." Screen debut Dropping out of college to pursue a career on the stage, George C Scott spent a number of lean years in Hollywood and Broadway before playing the title role in Joseph Papp's production of Richard III. He was rarely out of work after that. In 1959, he appeared in his first film, a psychological Western, The Hanging Tree. The same year, Otto Preminger cast him as the relentless prosecuting attorney in Anatomy of a Murder. The role brought him his first, unsuccesful, Oscar nomination.

Scott as a social worker in 1964's The Sinner The early 1960s saw many appearances both on television and in the theatre. But Hollywood made George C Scott an international star. Memorable in The Hustler in 1961, the following year saw him as the bomb-loving US General Buck Turgidson in Doctor Strangelove. The film, a satire on the Cold War, starring Peter Sellars delighted and provoked audiences around the world. He brought characteristic gravitas to the role of Abraham in the 1966 production of The Bible before taking the lead role in Patton for which he will probably be best remembered. His ability to dominate the screen was essential in such films. He played Patton as a larger than life character, sometimes out of control, at other times coolly calculating. More recently, George C Scott returned to Broadway in Inherit the Wind with Jack Lemmon and was still to be seen in innumerable cameo roles both on TV and film. He was uneasy with stardom, once admitting: "There is no question you get pumped up by the recognition.

Then a self-loathing sets in when you realise you're enjoying it." George C Scott was a complex man whose reputation as a hellraiser belied the range of his ability. In an age of tightly marketed, yet limited, Hollywood superstars, his status as one of the finest ever American actors is assured. George C. Scott - Biography - IMDb George C. Scott Biography Showing all 85 items Jump to: Overview (5) | Mini Bio (2) | Spouse (5) | Trade Mark (4) | Trivia (39) | Personal Quotes (26) | Salary (4) Overview (5) 6' (1.83 m) Mini Bio (2) George C. Scott was an immensely talented actor, a star of screen, stage and television. He was born in 1927 in Wise, Virginia, to Helena Agnes (Slemp) and George Dewey Scott. At the age of eight, his mother died, and his father, an executive at Buick, raised him. In 1945 he joined the US Marines and spent four years with them, no doubt an inspiration for portraying Gen. George S. Patton years later.

When Scott left the Marines he enrolled in journalism classes at the University of Missouri, but it was while performing in a play there that the acting bug bit him. He has said it "clicked, just like tumblers in a safe." It was in 1957 that he landed a role in "Richard III" in New York City. The play was a hit and brought the young actor to the attention of critics. Soon he began to get work on television, mostly in live broadcasts of plays, and in 1959 he landed the part of the crafty prosecutor in Anatomy of a Murder (1959). It was this role that got him his first Oscar nomination, for Best Supporting Actor. However, George and Oscar wouldn't actually become the best of friends. In fact, he felt the whole process forced actors to become stars and that the ceremony was little more than a "meat market." In 1962 he was nominated again for Best Supporting Actor, this time opposite Paul Newman in The Hustler (1961), but sent a message saying "No, thanks" and refused the nomination.

However, whether he was being temperamental or simply stubborn in his opinion of awards, it didn't seem to stop him from being nominated in the future. "Anatomy" and "The Hustler" were followed by 1963's clever mystery The List of Adrian Messenger (1963), in which he starred alongside Kirk Douglas , Robert Mitchum and cameos by major stars of the time, including Burt Lancaster and Frank Sinatra . It's a must-see, directed by John Huston with tongue deeply in cheek. The following year Scott starred as Gen. "Buck" Turgidson in Stanley Kubrick 's comical anti-war film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964). It became one of his favorites and he often said that he felt guilty getting paid for it, as he had so much fun making it. Another comedy, The Flim-Flam Man (1967), followed in 1967, with Scott playing a smooth-talking con artist who takes on an apprentice whom he soon discovers has too many morals.

Three years followed, with some smaller TV movies, before he got the role for which he will always be identified: the aforementioned Gen. Patton in Patton (1970). It was a war movie that came at the end of a decade where anti-war protests had rocked a nation and become a symbol of youth dissatisfied with what was expected of them. Still, the actor's portrayal of this aggressive military icon actually drew sympathy for the controversial hero. He won the Oscar this time, but stayed at home watching hockey instead. A pair of films that he made in the early 1980s were outstanding. The first of these was The Changeling (1980), a film often packaged as a horror movie but one that's really more of a supernatural thriller. He plays John Russell, a composer and music professor who loses his wife and daughter in a tragic accident. Seeking solace, he moves into an old mansion that had been unoccupied for 12 years. A child-like presence seems to be sharing the house with him, however, and trying to share its secrets with him. By researching the house's past he discovers its horrific secret of long ago, a secret that the presence will no longer allow to be kept.

Then in 1981 he starred--along with a young cast of then largely unknowns, including Timothy Hutton , Sean Penn and Tom Cruise --in the intense drama Taps (1981). He played the head of a military academy that's suddenly slated for destruction when the property is sold to local developers who plan to build condos. The students take over the academy when they feel that the regular channels are closed to them. Scott kept up in films, TV and on stage in the later years of his life (Broadway dimmed its lights for one minute on the night of his death). Among his projects were playing Ebenezer Scrooge in a worthy TV update of A Christmas Carol (1984), an acclaimed performance on Broadway of "Death of a Salesman", the voice of McLeach in Disney's The Rescuers Down Under (1990) and co-starring roles in TV remakes of two classic films, 12 Angry Men (1997) and Inherit the Wind (1999), to name just a few.

After his death the accolades poured in, with Jack Lemmon saying, "George was truly one of the greatest and most generous actors I have ever known," while Tony Randall called him "the greatest actor in American history." Often played doctors or police officials Often spoke in an authorative, imposing bark Trivia (39) Became a father for the 6th time at age 33 when his 3rd ex-wife Colleen Dewhurst gave birth to their son Campbell Scott on July 19, 1961. The only products that Scott ever endorsed in a TV commercial shown in the United States were the Renault Alliance sedan and Encore coupe (later the Alliance coupe), built in the United States by American Motors. Was the first actor ever to refuse an Academy Award (1970, for Patton (1970)). He was followed by Marlon Brando , who also turned down the award for The Godfather (1972). The reason he claimed for missing the ceremony where he won the Oscar was that he was busy watching a hockey game. Was infamous for his intense, intimidating personality.

Julie Christie , who had earlier co-starred with him in Petulia (1968), was rattled by his presence when they appeared together on Broadway in Mike Nichols ' all-star production of Anton Chekhov 's "Uncle Vanya" in the summer of 1973 (other cast members included Conrad Bain , Lillian Gish , Barnard Hughes , Cathleen Nesbitt and Nicol Williamson in the title role. The play garnered 1974 Tony Award nominations for Nichols for Best Director and Best Actor [Play] nods for Scott and Williamson; Williamson won the 1974 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Performance). Christie also told the press, at the time, that Scott frightened her, something that surprised the actor when he was told of her comment six years later by Lawrence Grobel , who was interviewing Scott for "Playboy" Magazine (December 1980). 1945-49: Served in the United States Marine Corps.

Although he refused the Oscar he won for Patton (1970), he accepted the Emmy he won for his performance in the Hallmark Hall of Fame (1951) 1971 production of Arthur Miller 's "The Price", saying that he felt that the Emmy Awards were a more honest appreciation of an actor's work. Played three roles originated by actor Lee J. Cobb . He played Lt. Kinderman in The Exorcist III (1990), which was played by Cobb in the original The Exorcist (1973). Scott later played Juror #3 in the remake of 12 Angry Men (1997), a role played by Cobb in the original film ( 12 Angry Men (1957)). He also received a Tony nomination for playing Cobb's signature role of Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" on Broadway. There were only two feature films shot in the Dimension 150 process. Scott starred in both of them: The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966) (aka "La Bibbia") and Patton (1970).

"Patton", which was released in Cinerama theaters, was the last movie shot in a widescreen format specifically for exhibition on the Cinerama circuit, which featured curved screens. Spectators at the Cinerama showings of "Patton" were awed by the three-dimensional effect of Patton's opening speech, in which Scott as Patton stands by himself on-screen. The scene likely was shot for the purpose of showcasing the Cinerama screen. Best known for playing the legendary General George S. Patton . According to his Patton (1970) co-star Karl Malden , Scott caused a shooting delay on the set of that movie by holding an impromptu "ping-pong" tournament against a world-champion table-tennis player. Scott, who was in full costume as General Patton, kept losing to the world champ and was determined to keep playing him all night, if need be, until winning at least one set. 1950: Attended the University of Missouri Journalism School for one year, where he began taking drama classes. Was nominated for a 1996 Tony Award as Best Actor for "Inherit the Wind", but he lost to George Grizzard in "A Delicate Balance".

Scott's first Tony nomination was in 1959 as Best Featured Actor in a Play in "Comes a Day". His competition that year was Grizzard, who was nominated in the same category for "The Disenchanted". They were both beaten by Charles Ruggles in "The Pleasure of His Company". Was nominated for Broadway's Tony Award five times: as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic), in 1959 for "Comes a Day"; as Best Actor (Dramatic), in 1960 for "The Andersonville Trial" and in 1974 for "Uncle Vanya"; and, as Best Actor (Play), in 1976 for a revival of Arthur Miller 's "Death of a Salesman" and in 1996 for a revival of "Inherit the Wind". Despite these five nominations, he never won a Tony Award. Biography in: "American National Biography". Supplement 1, pp. 550-551. New York: Oxford University Press, 2002. He played Lt. William "Bill" Kinderman in The Exorcist III (1990).

His ex-wife Colleen Dewhurst was the voice of Satan in the film. Son Campbell Scott played Ethan Thomas in The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005). His performance as General George S. Patton in Patton (1970) is ranked #82 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006). In his autobiography, Marlon Brando , Scott's co-star in the film The Formula (1980) -- in a caption for a picture from the film -- recounts that Scott asked him during the shooting of the film whether he, Brando, would ever give the same line-reading twice. Brando replied, "I know you know a cue when you hear one.". Scott and Marlon Brando played chess together while shooting The Formula (1980). In his Playboy interview of December 1980 (Vol. 27, Iss. 12, pg. 81- 138), Scott told Lawrence Grobel --who had conducted the famous interview with Brando for Playboy a year earlier--that Marlon was not that good a player.

Many years later, Christiane Kubrick leveled the same charge against Scott, who was beaten regularly by her late husband Stanley Kubrick on the set of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) between setups. However, Kubrick was renowned as a master-level chess player who used to hustle other players in his youth in New York City. He joined the Marines Corps as a 17-year old in 1945, but the atomic bomb brought an end to World War II before he could see combat. After the war, he served time at Arlington National Cemetery. According to the March 22, 1971 Time magazine cover-story on Scott, this was the time that he began to drink heavily, as the grave detail was extremely depressing. According to a Time magazine cover-story (March 22, 1971), Scott once had to go back on-stage during a Broadway play with his hand in a rubber glove after punching the mirror in his dressing room. The broken glass cut his hand and the flow of blood could not be stanched.

This was in the days of Scott's heavy drinking, which was caused by an inner-torment and self-loathing. Scott had turned to acting to exorcise those demons, and by the time of his success with Patton (1970) had largely succeeded, according to the magazine profile. An aficionado of acting, he told interviewer Lawrence Grobel in his December 1980 Playboy magazine interview that his The Hustler (1961) co-star Paul Newman 's performance in that film was nothing special (both actors were nominated for Academy Awards for their performances). However, he found Newman's performance as the eponymous Hud (1963) to be a superb piece of acting. He accepted the role of Sheriff Bill Gillespie in In the Heat of the Night (1967), according to producer Walter Mirisch 's memoir "I Thought We Were Making Movies, Not History". Scott backed out when wife Colleen Dewhurst wanted him to direct her in a play on Broadway. Mirisch then offered the role to Rod Steiger , who accepted and won an Oscar. Steiger later turned down the lead in Patton (1970) that went to Scott, which brought him an Oscar.

During filming of The Bible: In the Beginning... (1966), Scott and Ava Gardner , who had been in a tempestuous relationship for a few years, drank heavily. His drinking and his explosive temper resulted in Scott beating Gardner. He broke her shoulder and during some of the filming she was in a body brace. Reprised his role as General George S. Patton in the television movie The Last Days of Patton (1986), 16 years after his original portrayal which he won the Oscar. Campaigned for Eugene McCarthy in the 1968 Democratic primaries, and for George McGovern in the 1972 presidential election. Suffered several heart attacks in his last years. George C. Scott was an avid bridge player. Became a father for the 1st time at age 25 when his 1st ex-wife Carolyn Hughes gave birth to their daughter Victoria Scott on December 19, 1952. Became a father for the 2nd time at age 26 when his former lover Karen Truesdell gave birth to their daughter Michelle Scott on August 21, 1954.

Became a father for the 3rd time at age 29 when his 2nd ex-wife Patricia Reed gave birth to their son Matthew Scott on May 27, 1957. Became a father for the 4th time at age 31 when his 2nd ex-wife Patricia Reed gave birth to their daughter Devon Scott on November 29, 1958. Became a father for the 5th time at age 32 when his 3rd ex-wife Colleen Dewhurst gave birth to their son Alexander Scott in August 1960. In the 1970s, before he married Trish Van Devere , Scott like to visit friends in the Beverly Hills area accompanied by two actor buddies, Stephen Young and Paul Stevens . Both of these actors appeared in films starring George C. Scott. Following his death, he was interred in an unmarked grave at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles, California. George C. Scott passed away on September 22, 1999, a month away from what would have been his 72nd birthday on October 18.

He was considered for the role of Superintendent Newhouse in Bunny Lake Is Missing (1965) before Laurence Olivier was cast. Actor Jim MacGeorge, who played the evil Dr. Scarab on the animated series Bionic Six (1987), based his Scarab voice on Scott's voice. During the period when he was harassing Ava Gardner, George C Scott found his clothes in the hotel room cut off at the shoulders. Ava Gardner was still very close to Frank Sinatra, who was himself very close to the Mafia. Personal Quotes (26) [when asked for suggestions on how to judge acting] I have three tests. First, which dominates, the character or the actor? With very few exceptions it should be the character. Second, on film - as opposed to stage - we're pretty much playing basic emotions: love, anger, fear, pity. So the trick is whether you can come up with any fresh choices to present these common emotions. Third - and this is the quality that separates the great ones from the good ones - I look for a "joy of performing" quality. Who had that quality? As much as anyone, Jimmy Cagney [ James Cagney ].

The [Academy Awards] ceremonies are a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons. There is no question you get pumped up by the recognition. Then a self-loathing sets in when you realize you're enjoying it. [on psychoanalysis] Four visits. I kept laughing. I couldn't get serious. If it helps you, it helps you. If standing on your head on the roof helps you, it helps you - if you think so. Directors are supposed to help the audience. Good directors don't direct actors. Bette Davis is my bloody idol. I admire her more than any other film star. I became an actor to escape my own personality. Acting is the most therapeutic thing in the world. I think all the courage that I may lack personally, I have as an actor. I have nothing against Oscar. I know what he stands for and it's terrific. And I think when people used to hang around and pat each other on the back over a drink and dinner it was wonderful. But when it became an international hoopla, where careers lived and died on whether or not you did or didn't get an Oscar, then it got out of hand.

Actors are the world's oldest, underprivileged minority - looked upon as nothing but buffoons, one step above thieves and charlatans. These award ceremonies simply compound the image for me. My violent behavior is some sort of aberration, a character defect I'm not particularly proud of. Acting changes the inner spirit. It's fulfilling, but psychologically very costly. You can't steal enough money in a lifetime to make up for the damage. I'm ashamed for the bitterness it created in me, but it exists. Even when you're successful it's hard to rise above it. It's like a growth. [on acting] It was the only avenue of escape I had from myself. It's never been difficult to subjugate myself to a part because I don't like myself too well. Acting was, in every sense, my means of survival. Film is not an actor's medium. You shoot scenes in order of convenience, not the way they come in the script, and that's detrimental to a fully developed performance. There's the terrible tedium and boredom involved in waiting around for the camera to be set up, and then you have to turn on and off when they do the scene over again.

When you see the rushes is the first time you begin to judge your performance. If you get 50% of what you hoped for, you're lucky. I think you have to be schizoid three different ways to be an actor. You've got to be three different people. You have to be a human being. Then you have to be the character you're playing. And on top of that you've got to be the guy sitting out there in Row 10, watching yourself and judging yourself. That's why most of us are crazy to start with, or go nuts once we get into it. I mean, don't you think it's a pretty spooky way to earn a living? Since childhood, the whole self-loathing thing was a big part of my makeup. Now I've learned to say, "Okay, I've screwed up." Then I try to make amends. For me, the sexiest woman on the screen ever was Joan Blondell . [on Paul Newman ] I've never thought that Paul was a particularly good actor. He's one of the sweet people of the world, an excellent producer. But I've never been a Paul Newman fan as far as acting goes.

The only thing Paul's ever done I really thought was first class was Hud (1963). [on Jack Nicholson ] He's eccentric but very interesting. A unique kind of approach. He shines because he's himself a rather interesting eccentric. A very fascinating actor. [early thoughts on Patton (1970)] It's an inadequate script and it's very difficult for me. Patton was misunderstood contemporaneously and he's misunderstood here. And I'm ashamed of being a part of it. Acting is just a matter of observation, imitation and communication. That's what it's all about. Actors are always in trouble. A director who isn't a help is a drag. Technique is making what is absolutely false appear to be totally true in a manner that is not recognizable. The audience is a dark thing, a peculiar animal, an enemy that must be assaulted and won. It doesn't matter a damn what the actor does or does not feel. It's what the lady down there in the blue hat is feeling. [on training to be an actor] Much of the learning process is finding out what not to do, like indulging in excesses...

method acting, where they all get together and act for each other in a test-tube atmosphere. [on working with Marlon Brando on The Formula (1980)] He'd drive you crazy. He does it over and over and over. Marlon would improve all the time. I'm not sure about the rest of us. (on Stanley Kubrick') He is most certainly in command, and he's so self-effacing and apologetic it's impossible to be offended by him. Salary (4) 7 Celebrities Who Refused to Go to the Oscars 7 Celebrities Who Refused to Go to the Oscars Reddit Most people in the movie industry are chomping at the bit to win an Academy Award . In fact, many strive their entire career to obtain the honor. But while many work toward the impressive achievement, a select few have actually rejected the Academy Awards, refusing to accept an award or attend the event. Who has snubbed the awards? Here’s a look at seven Hollywood stars who have refused the honor. 1. Dudley Nichols source: RKO Radio Pictures Nichols was the very first person to refuse an Oscar.

He had won best screenplay for The Informer (1935), a movie that he adapted from a book about the Irish War of Independence. However, despite receiving the honor, he ended up boycotting the Academy Awards ceremony because of an ongoing dispute between the Academy and the Writer’s Guild, per About.com . The Los Angeles Times writes that Nichols went so far as to return his award after the Academy sent it to him. Included with the returned statuette was a note from Nichols saying if he kept the award, “it would be to turn my back on nearly a thousand members who ventured everything in the long-drawn-out-fight for a genuine writers’ organization.” 2. Katharine Hepburn source: United Artists This well-known leading lady was nominated for 12 Oscars and won four awards over the span of her career. However, Hepburn was not a fan of the ceremony, and never attended an event. She wasn’t totally opposed to the awards though; she proudly displayed her statues at her Connecticut home. Finally, in 1974, she attended an awards ceremony to present producer Lawrence Weingarten with a Thalberg Award, per Mental Floss .

During the ceremony, Hepburn said, “I’m very happy that I didn’t hear anyone call out ‘it’s about time.’ I am living proof that a person can wait forty-one years to be unselfish.” 3. George C. Scott source: 20th Century Fox In 1970, George C. Scott rejected his award for best actor in Patton (1970), a World War II film where Scott played General George Patton. Not only did he refuse the award, but he went as far as to blatantly insult it, saying the ceremony was a “two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons.” Frank McCarthy, the producer of Patton, accepted the award for Scott at the 1971 Oscar ceremony. Despite his blatant insults, the organization nominated him again the following year for his role in The Hospital. 4. Peter O’Toole source: Columbia Pictures Peter O’ Toole was always a bridesmaid and never a bride when it came to the Academy Awards. He was nominated eight times, all in the leading actor category, for movies such as Lawrence of Arabia in 1962 to Venus in 2006, but never actually won.

In 2003, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science’s Board of Governors decided to award an Honorary Oscar to O’Toole, saying his “remarkable talents have provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters,” according to Deadline . However, O’Toole respectfully declined the award — at least initially. He went as far as to write a letter back to the academy, which read: “I am still in the game and might win the lovely bugger outright. Would the Academy please defer the honor until I am 80?” The then-president of the organization, Frank Pierson, responded to O’Toole saying that stars such as Paul Newman and Henry Fonda were given Honorary Oscars and went on to actually win one shortly after. That was all O’Toole needed to hear. He attended the ceremony and accepted his award. As he received the statuette from Meryl Streep, he said : “Always a bridesmaid, never a bride my foot! I have my very own Oscar now to be with me ’til death do us part.” 5.

Marlon Brando source: Paramount Pictures Brando turned down his Academy Award on March 5, 1973 for his performance as Vito Corleone in The Godfather. Here’s what happened: on the eve of the 45th Academy Awards, Brando made the announcement that he would not attend the ceremony and was sending Sacheen Littlefeather in his place. Littlefeather was a small-time actress and president (at the time) of the National Native American Affirmative Image Committee. The night of the ceremony, when Brando’s name was called, Littlefeather walked up the podium . Rather than take the award, she set down a letter on the podium and said, “I’m representing Marlon Brando this evening and he has asked me to tell you … that he very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award. And the reasons for this being are the treatment of American Indians today by the film industry.” Brando believed Native Americans were completely disrespected in the film industry.

By having Littlefeather speak that evening, Brando was giving the Native American community an opportunity to be heard and raise awareness on the issue, and it “remains one of the most powerful moments in Oscar history,” according to Business Insider . 6. Woody Allen Source: Thinkstock Allen has never shown up on the night of any of his own nominations. Instead, he chose to make one appearance on the Oscar stage in 2002, several months after the September 11 attacks. He showed up that night to introduce some films that had been made in New York, recalling how wonderful the Big Apple was for making movies. Mental Floss writes that when it comes to the actual awards, however, Allen just doesn’t see the point. “I have no regard for that kind of ceremony. I just don’t think they know what they’re doing. When you see who wins those things — or who doesn’t win them — you can see how meaningless this Oscar thing is,” Allen said. 7. Jean-Luc Godard Larry Ellis/Hulton Archive/Getty Images In late 2010, the Academy awarded Godard an Honorary Oscar.

However, for months they attempted to contact him by every means possible, never once being able to elicit a response. However, Godard made it perfectly clear why he wouldn’t return the Academy’s phone call. When asked what the honorary award meant to him during an interview , he responded, “Nothing. If the Academy likes to do it, let them do it. But I think it’s strange. I asked myself: Which of my films have they seen? Do they actually know my films? The award is called The Governor’s Award. Does this mean that Schwarzenegger gives me the award?” In that same interview, Godard added that his reasons for not attending the award ceremony included not having a visa for the U.S. and not wanting to apply for one. “And I don’t want to fly for that long,” he added. Turns out, accepting an Academy Award can take a lot of work.

Marlon Brando declines Best Actor Oscar - Mar 27, 1973 - HISTORY.com Marlon Brando declines Best Actor Oscar Share this: Marlon Brando declines Best Actor Oscar Author Marlon Brando declines Best Actor Oscar URL Publisher A+E Networks On this day in 1973, the actor Marlon Brando declines the Academy Award for Best Actor for his career-reviving performance in The Godfather. The Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather attended the ceremony in Brando’s place, stating that the actor “very regretfully” could not accept the award, as he was protesting Hollywood’s portrayal of Native Americans in film. Now revered by many as the greatest actor of his generation, Brando earned his first Oscar nomination for his portrayal of the brutish Stanley Kowalski in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951). The role was a reprisal of Brando’s incendiary performance in the 1947 stage production of Tennessee Williams’ play, which first brought him to the public’s attention. Nominated again for roles in Viva Zapata!

(1952) and Julius Caesar (1953), he won his first Academy Award for On the Waterfront (1954). Brando’s career went into decline in the 1960s, with expensive flops such as One-Eyed Jacks (1961), which he also directed, and Mutiny on the Bounty (1962). Aside from his preternatural talent, the actor had become notorious for his moodiness and demanding on-set behavior, as well as his tumultuous off-screen life. Francis Ford Coppola, the young director of The Godfather, had to fight to get him cast in the coveted role of Vito Corleone. Brando won the role only after undergoing a screen test and cutting his fee to $250,000–far less than what he had commanded a decade earlier. With one of the most memorable screen performances of all time, Brando rejuvenated his career, and The Godfather became an almost-immediate classic. On the eve of the 1972 Oscars, Brando announced that he would boycott the ceremony, and would send Littlefeather in his place.

After Brando’s name was announced as Best Actor, the presenter Roger Moore (star of several James Bond films) attempted to hand the Oscar to Littlefeather, but she brushed it aside, saying that Brando could not accept the award. Littlefeather read a portion of a lengthy statement Brando had written, the entirety of which was later published in the press, including The New York Times. “The motion picture community has been as responsible as any,” Brando wrote, “for degrading the Indian and making a mockery of his character, describing his as savage, hostile and evil.” Brando had been involved in social causes for years, speaking publicly in support of the formation of a Jewish state in the 1940s, as well as for African-American civil rights and the Black Panther Party. His Oscar statement expressed support for the American Indian Movement (AIM) and referenced the ongoing situation at Wounded Knee, the South Dakota town that had been seized by AIM members the previous month and was currently under siege by U.S. military forces. Wounded Knee had also been the site of a massacre of Native Americans by U.S. government forces in 1890.

Brando was the second performer to turn down a Best Actor Oscar; the first was George C. Scott, who politely declined to accept his award for Patton in 1971 and reportedly said of the Academy Awards hoopla: “I don’t want any part of it.” Scott had previously declined a Best Supporting Actor nomination for The Hustler (1961). Related Videos 8 Academy Award Nominees and Winners Who Snubbed the Oscars | Mental Floss 8 Academy Award Nominees and Winners Who Snubbed the Oscars Stacie Stauff Smith Photography / Shutterstock.com During the first lines of Annie Hall, Alvy Singer explains his failed relationships with women through an old joke he attributes to Groucho Marx and Freud: "I would never want to belong to any club that would have someone like me for a member." When the movie took home four Oscars the following year, Woody Allen was nowhere in sight on the dais. Although he has more nominations than any writer in history (fourteen — or twenty-three when you include best director and actor nods), not once has Allen attended the ceremony when he’s up for an award. Is it the old joke about not wanting to be a member of any club that would have him?

If so, he’s not the only one. Every year we hear a lot about who got snubbed by the Academy for a nomination, but what about the reverse? Since the 1930s, some of Hollywood’s brightest stars didn’t bother to R.S.V.P. when the Academy came calling. Here’s a list of nominees and winners who snubbed the Oscars. 1. Dudley Nichols Nichols was a prominent screenwriter beginning in the 1930s. In a career that spanned over 35 years, his credits included movies like Bringing Up Baby, For Whom the Bell Tolls, and the movie that made John Wayne a star: Stagecoach. He won an Oscar for The Informer (1935), a script he adapted from a book about the Irish War of Independence. He became the first winner to decline the award, citing an ongoing writer’s strike. Perhaps as a reward for his loyalty, he was elected president of the writer’s guild a few years later. 2. Katharine Hepburn Hollywood’s greatest leading lady was nominated for twelve Oscars and won four for leading roles--a record.

She never attended the ceremony when she was nominated, although she proudly displayed her statues for visitors at her home in Connecticut. She broke her tradition of non-attendance in 1974 to present producer Lawrence Weingarten a Thalberg Award, where she had this to say: “I’m very happy that I didn’t hear anyone call out ‘it’s about time.’ I am living proof that a person can wait forty-one years to be unselfish.” Watch the video here . 3. George C. Scott Is it possible to refuse even a nomination for an Oscar? Scott, most remembered for his roles as Patton and the looney General Turgidson in Dr. Strangelove, did just that when he was first nominated for The Hustler. He didn’t win that time, but he did for Patton in 1970. Scott literally telegraphed the Academy his intention to refuse the award before the ceremony, so when presenter Goldie Hawn ripped open the envelope and cried, “Oh my God! The winner is George C. Scott,” no one was surprised to learn he was home at his farm in New York.

The former Marine didn’t mince words about the Oscars: "The ceremonies are a two-hour meat parade, a public display with contrived suspense for economic reasons." Watch the film’s producer accept the award for him here . 4. Marlon Brando A couple years after Scott skipped the Oscars, Brando one-upped him by sending an Apache named Sacheen Littlefeather to refuse the Oscar he won for The Godfather. Littlefeather was booed and catcalled when she announced she was sent to protest Hollywood’s treatment of Native Americans. Clint Eastwood wondered aloud a few moments later whether he ought not be presenting the Best Picture award because of all the slain cowboys in John Ford movies before him. It was later reported that Littlefeather wasn’t a Native American at all, and that she was in fact a Mexican actress named Maria Cruz. She explains her ancestry on her website . Watch the video of her speech here . 5. Terrence Malick Writer/director Malick has never won an Oscar, but The Thin Red Line was nominated for seven of them in 1999.

Despite an abundance of possibility, Malick skipped the ceremonies, in part because he was in the middle of a falling out with several of the film’s producers. In the end it was just as well--his World War II epic didn't win any of the awards it was nominated for. This year, Malick is nominated for best director for The Tree of Life. 6. Woody Allen Although he’s never shown up on the night of his own nominations, Allen has made one appearance on the Oscar stage. In 2002, less than six months after the September 11th attacks, Allen appeared to introduce a montage of films that had been made in New York, telling the audience that the Big Apple was still a wonderful place to make movies. Watch his entertaining and sincere stand-up routine: About the awards themselves, Allen had this to say: "I have no regard for that kind of ceremony. I just don't think they know what they're doing. When you see who wins those things -- or who doesn't win them -- you can see how meaningless this Oscar thing is." 7. Jean-Luc Godard In late 2010 the Academy announced they would award the titan of French New Wave an honorary Oscar.

They quickly discovered he was not an easy man to get in touch with. Despite attempts to contact him via “telephone, by fax, by emails to various friends and associates,” and “FedEx,” they never received a reply from Godard, who was just shy of eighty years old then. According to some sources, Godard doesn’t just have a contentious history with Hollywood--he also avoids flying because he can’t smoke on planes. Adding to the controversy was the suggestion in some quarters that Godard didn’t deserve the award because of perceived anti-Semitism. Although Godard never gave a reason for his non-attendance, his long-time partner had this to say: “Jean-Luc won’t go to America, he’s getting old for that kind of thing. Would you go all that way just for a bit of metal?” 8. Banksy The anonymous British street artist was nominated last year for best documentary feature with Exit Through the Gift Shop, his tongue-in-cheek meditation on the value of art in society. Banksy agreed to attend the ceremony, but only if he was allowed to do so without revealing his identity. When the Academy refused to accommodate his request he didn’t show. A few days before Oscar night, the above Mr.

Brainwash mural popped up in L.A., which seemed to suggest an equivalency between Hollywood and the Galactic Empire. Unfortunately for the history of Oscar controversies, the golden statue went to Inside Job instead.

Question: Who was the first person to refuse an Academy Award for Best Actor?
Answer: George C. Scott