Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight
With Heath Ledger in mind, Scott Feinberg remembers the various posthumous Oscar nominations and wins — 53 individuals for a total of 70 nominations and 13 wins, as per Feinberg's count — in his Los Angeles Times blog:
"As you may recall, the announcement of last year's Oscar nominations was quickly overshadowed by the tragic news that broke later that same day: Heath Ledger, the actor best known for his Oscar-nominated performance in Brokeback Mountain (2005), had been found dead of an accidental drug overdose at the age of 28. It's a terrible shame that Ledger will not be alive on nomination day this year, because his name will almost certainly be called again."
…
"Believe it or not, the very first crop of Oscar nominees, which recognized cinematic achievements from both 1927 and 1928 but was only announced in 1929, included a posthumous nominee. Gerald C. Duffy, a writer for First National Studios, penned the 'titles' that were spread throughout the silent film The Private Life of Helen of Troy, which was an epic blockbuster in 1927. On June 25, 1928, while dictating a script, Duffy dropped dead at the age of 32. Less than a year later, the first Oscar nominees were determined, and he was among the three nominees for 'best title writing,' a category which was eliminated after that year due to the arrival of sound films. Duffy did not win, but he helped to pave the way for another writer who became the first nominee who did."
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James Dean in Giant (top); Sidney Poitier, Katharine Houghton, Katharine Hepburn, Spencer Tracy in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (bottom)
Note: The "drug overdose" above refers to prescription sleeping pills.
Note II: The first year of the Academy Awards (several years before they became known as "the Oscars") covered films released in Los Angeles in the second half of 1927 and the first half of 1928.
Note III: First National would soon be swallowed by Warner Bros., filled with cash thanks to the part-talkie The Jazz Singer and the all-talkie Lights of New York.
Note IV: I'm not sure that The Private Life of Helen of Troy was an "epic blockbuster." It certainly didn't turn Maria Corda into a star.
Note V: According to Feinberg's article, the first posthumous nominee who did win an Oscar was Sidney Howard for his screenplay adaptation of Gone with the Wind (1939).
Note VI: Feinberg adds that only six performers have received posthumous Oscar nods: Jeanne Eagels (right, shooting Herbert Marshall in The Letter, 1928-29) for best actress; James Dean (East of Eden, 1955, and Giant, 1956) for best actor; Spencer Tracy (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? 1967) for best actor; Peter Finch (Network, 1976) for best actor; Ralph Richardson (Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes, 1984) for best supporting actor; and Massimo Troisi (Il Postino, 1994) for best actor. Only Peter Finch won the statuette.
Note VII: Jeanne Eagels received what could be considered an "unofficial nomination." Eagels, along with four other actresses, were "considered" for the award, but no official nominations (in any category) were announced that year — only the actual winners were named. In the best actress category, that was Mary Pickford, playing (quite poorly) a Southern belle in Coquette.
Thank you for letting me know, Scott.
Hi,
This is Scott Feinberg, the author of the article discussed in this piece. I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the fact that I have caught and corrected a mistake in my piece, in case you'd like to correct "NOTE VI" above. Prior to Ledger's Oscar win, there was one more posthumous nominee: Ralph Richardson for best supporting actor for Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984).
Thanks,
Scott
Yammygal, I absolutely agree with your winning team proposal! :-)
As for Heath, he just HAS TO win! If he were alive, nobody would even start thinking about giving the Oscar to somebody else (though there are many brilliant performances this year, it's true) – and discriminating against him because he has died seems somewhat morbid and totally unfair. I think there are very few years when the fate of an award can so clearly be determined – well, this year is one of those. Heath's Joker is simply unbeatable.
Heath for best supporting actor.
Kate for bets supporting actress.
Meryl for bets actress.
Sean for best actor.
That's it.
Heath Ledger will WIN. And he deserves to win.
My only problem with the Academy is that they'll give him a bestu supporting actor Oscar when Heath shold win the BEST ACTOR Oscar. He makes THE DARK KNIGHT DARK.
After tonight's Golden Globes, it looks more promising for Heath Ledger, doesn't it? I think he should win for this reason: Chris Nolan is a talented writer and director, but Heath made the megabucks movie a work of art, something worth remembering for more than trucks flipping and the like. Can that be said of his competition? Certainly not of Josh Brolin, for example. Even though he played a real person with absolute conviction, it was Sean Penn's movie all the way.
Are you serious? Heath Ledger will win. How can anyone doubt that?
No, THE LETTER with Jeanne Eagels is not a good film. That's my opinion, of course, but even though I tend to disagree with just about everybody on just about everything, I believe this is one instance when most people out there would fully agree with me.
It's a very early talkie that creaks everywhere, all the time.
I posted a review here a while back:
http://www.altfg.com/blog/film-reviews/letter-jeanne-eagels-limur/
I've seen THE LETTER with Bette Davis. I had no idea there had been a previous version. Is it any good?
I wouldn' be too sure. Josh Brolin in Milk may win, you know?
Come next February 22, Peter Finch will no longer be the only actor to win a posthumous Oscar.