56th Academy Awards

56th Academy Awards
Date	April 9, 1984
Site	Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
Hosted by	Johnny Carson
Produced by	Jack Haley, Jr.
Directed by	Marty Pasetta
Highlights
Best Picture	Terms of Endearment
Most awards	Terms of Endearment (5)
Most nominations	Terms of Endearment (11)
TV in the United States
Network	ABC
Duration	3 hours, 42 minutes
Ratings	38.0 (Nielsen ratings)

The 56th Academy Awards were presented April 9, 1984 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Johnny Carson.

The Best Supporting Actress winner this year was unique. 4’9” Linda Hunt won the award for her role as Billy Kwan – a male Chinese-Australian photographer – in Peter Weir's The Year of Living Dangerously, making her the first actor to win an Oscar for playing a character of the opposite sex.

Gordon Willis, a respected cinematographer most famous for his un-nominated work on The Godfather, The Godfather: Part II, and Woody Allen's Manhattan, received his first Best Cinematography nomination for Zelig.

Joe I. Tompkins becomes the first African-American to be nominated in Best Costume Design.

James L. Brooks won three Academy Awards this year, winning as producer, director and writer of Best Picture winner Terms of Endearment. Of its other eight nominations (the movie led all nominees with 11), two were for Best Actress; Shirley MacLaine won over Debra Winger in that category. The movie won five Oscars, the fifth being Jack Nicholson's second career Oscar (he won for Best Supporting Actor).

This ceremony ended with Sammy Davis Jr. and Liza Minnelli leading the crowd in "There's No Business Like Show Business" in tribute to Ethel Merman, who had died a month and a half before this Oscar ceremony. The performance occurred over the closing credits to the broadcast.

The Award for Best Makeup was not given this year.

While this year's ceremony was the first without the recitation of the Academy's voting procedure at the beginning of the telecast — it was moved to the end credits — those of the accounting firm Price Waterhouse who were responsible for tabulating the results and guarding their secrecy were still introduced.

Awards

James L. Brooks, Best Director winner

Robert Duvall, Best Actor winner

Shirley MacLaine, Best Actress winner

Jack Nicholson, Best Supporting Actor winner

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Best Picture	Best Director
Terms of Endearment The Big Chill The Dresser The Right Stuff Tender Mercies	James L. Brooks – Terms of Endearment Peter Yates – The Dresser Ingmar Bergman – Fanny and Alexander Mike Nichols – Silkwood Bruce Beresford – Tender Mercies
Best Actor	Best Actress
Robert Duvall – Tender Mercies Michael Caine – Educating Rita Tom Conti – Reuben, Reuben Tom Courtenay – The Dresser Albert Finney – The Dresser	Shirley MacLaine – Terms of Endearment Jane Alexander – Testament Meryl Streep – Silkwood Julie Walters – Educating Rita Debra Winger – Terms of Endearment
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Jack Nicholson – Terms of Endearment Charles Durning – To Be or Not to Be John Lithgow – Terms of Endearment Sam Shepard – The Right Stuff Rip Torn – Cross Creek	Linda Hunt – The Year of Living Dangerously Cher – Silkwood Glenn Close – The Big Chill Amy Irving – Yentl Alfre Woodard – Cross Creek
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
Tender Mercies – Horton Foote The Big Chill – Lawrence Kasdan and Barbara Benedek Fanny and Alexander – Ingmar Bergman Silkwood – Nora Ephron and Alice Arlen WarGames – Lawrence Lasker and Walter F. Parkes	Terms of Endearment – James L. Brooks Betrayal – Harold Pinter The Dresser – Ronald Harwood Educating Rita – Willy Russell Reuben, Reuben – Julius J. Epstein
Best Foreign Language Film	Best Film Editing
Fanny and Alexander (Sweden) Carmen (Spain) Entre Nous (France) Job's Revolt (Hungary) The Ball (Algeria)	The Right Stuff – Glenn Farr, Lisa Fruchtman, Stephen A. Rotter, Douglas Stewart and Tom Rolf Blue Thunder – Frank Morriss and Edward Abroms Flashdance – Bud S. Smith and Walt Mulconery Silkwood – Sam O'Steen Terms of Endearment – Richard Marks
Best Documentary Feature	Best Documentary Short
He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin' – Emile Ardolino Children of Darkness – Richard Kotuk and Ara Chekmayan First Contact – Bob Connolly and Robin Anderson The Profession of Arms – Michael Bryans and Tina Viljoen Seeing Red – James Klein and Julia Reichert	Flamenco at 5:15 – Cynthia Scott and Adam Symansky In the Nuclear Shadow: What Can the Children Tell Us? – Vivienne Verdon-Roe and Eric Thiermann Sewing Woman – Arthur Dong Spaces: The Architecture of Paul Rudolph – Robert Eisenhardt You Are Free Ihr Zent Frei – Dea Brokman and Ilene Landis
Best Live Action Short	Best Animated Short
Boys and Girls – Janice L. Platt Goodie-Two-Shoes – Ian Emes Overnight Sensation – Jon N. Bloom	Sundae in New York – Jimmy Picker Mickey's Christmas Carol – Burny Mattinson Sound of Sunshine – Sound of Rain – Eda Godel Hallinan
Best Original Score	Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score
The Right Stuff – Bill Conti Cross Creek – Leonard Rosenman Return of the Jedi – John Williams Terms of Endearment – Michael Gore Under Fire – Jerry Goldsmith	Yentl – Song Score by Michel Legrand, Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman The Sting II – Adaptation Score by Lalo Schifrin Trading Places – Adaptation Score by Elmer Bernstein
Best Original Song	Best Costume Design
"Flashdance... What a Feeling" from Flashdance – Music and Lyric by Giorgio Moroder, Keith Forsey and Irene Cara "Maniac" from Flashdance – Music and Lyric by Michael Sembello and Dennis Matkosky "Over You" from Tender Mercies – Music and Lyric by Austin Roberts and Bobby Hart "Papa, Can You Hear Me?" from Yentl – Music by Michel Legrand; Lyric by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman "The Way He Makes Me Feel" from Yentl – Music by Michel Legrand; Lyric by Alan Bergman and Marilyn Bergman	Fanny and Alexander – Marik Vos-Lundh Cross Creek – Joe I. Tompkins Heart Like a Wheel – William Ware Theiss The Return of Martin Guerre – Anne-Marie Marchand Zelig – Santo Loquasto
Best Sound Mixing	Best Sound Editing
The Right Stuff – Mark Berger, Thomas Scott, Randy Thom and David MacMillan Never Cry Wolf – Alan Splet, Todd Boekelheide, Randy Thom and David Parker Return of the Jedi – Ben Burtt, Gary Summers, Randy Thom and Tony Dawe Terms of Endearment – Donald O. Mitchell, Rick Kline, Kevin O'Connell and James R. Alexander WarGames – Michael J. Kohut, Carlos Delarios, Aaron Rochin and Willie D. Burton	The Right Stuff – Jay Boekelheide Return of the Jedi – Ben Burtt
Best Art Direction	Best Cinematography
Fanny and Alexander – Art Direction: Anna Asp; Set Decoration: Susanne Lingheim Return of the Jedi – Art Direction: Norman Reynolds, Fred Hole and James Schoppe; Set Decoration: Michael Ford The Right Stuff – Art Direction: Geoffrey Kirkland, Richard J. Lawrence, W. Stewart Campbell and Peter Romero; Set Decoration: George R. Nelson Terms of Endearment – Art Direction: Polly Platt and Harold Michelson; Set Decoration: Tom Pedigo and Anthony Mondell Yentl – Art Direction: Roy Walker and Leslie Tomkins; Set Decoration: Tessa Davies	Fanny and Alexander – Sven Nykvist Flashdance – Don Peterman The Right Stuff – Caleb Deschanel WarGames – William A. Fraker Zelig – Gordon Willis

Honorary Academy Award

• Hal Roach

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

• M. J. Frankovich

Special Achievement Academy Award

• Return of the Jedi – Richard Edlund, Dennis Muren, Ken Ralston and Phil Tippett

Nomination announcements

The filmmakers and studio executives were very surprised by the five Academy Award nominations for Tender Mercies, which was released ten months before the nominations were announced and had received little campaigning; the film had been exhibited in only three theaters after its release. Universal Studios had already previously sold the video rights for Tender Mercies based on their lack of confidence in the film following poor test screenings; the studio was therefore unable to redistribute Tender Mercies after the Oscar nominations were announced, and cable companies ran the film on television one week before the Academy Award ceremony.

Ceremony

When screenwriter Horton Foote won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for To Kill a Mockingbird, he was not present at the 1963 ceremony to collect it because he did not believe he was going to win and did not attend. As a result, Foote made sure he was present for the ceremony when he was nominated for Tender Mercies; he won that Oscar as well, this time for Best Original Screenplay.

Presenters and performers

The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.

Presenters

Name	Role
Hank Simms	Announcer of the 56th Academy Awards
Gene Allen (AMPAS President)	Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony
Timothy Hutton Mary Tyler Moore	Presenters of the award for Best Supporting Actor
Kevin Bacon Daryl Hannah	Presenters of the award for Best Sound Editing
Jane Alexander Michael Caine	Presenters of the Short Subjects Awards
Joan Collins Arnold Schwarzenegger	Presenters of the Technical Achievement Awards
Robert Wise	Presenter of the award for Best Film Editing
Christie Brinkley Michael Keaton	Presenters of the award for Best Sound Mixing
Anthony Franciosa Joanna Pacula	Presenters of the award for Best Cinematography
John Gavin Jack Valenti	Presenters of the award for Best Foreign Language Film
Holly Palance Jack Palance	Presenters of the Documentary Awards
Cheech and Chong	Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects
Tommy Tune Twiggy	Presenters of the award for Best Costume Design
Ricardo Montalban Jane Powell	Presenters of the award for Best Art Direction
Jennifer Beals Matthew Broderick	Presenters of the award for Best Original Song
Ray Bolger Gene Kelly	Presenters of the award for Best Original Score
Neil Diamond	Presenter of the award for Best Adapted Score
Dyan Cannon Gene Hackman	Presenters of the award for Best Supporting Actress
Mel Gibson Sissy Spacek	Presenters of the Writing Awards
Frank Sinatra	Presenter of the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award to M. J. Frankovich
Richard Attenborough	Presenter of the award for Best Director
Jackie Cooper George McFarland	Presenters of the Honorary Award to Hal Roach
Dolly Parton Sylvester Stallone	Presenters of the award for Best Actor
Rock Hudson Liza Minnelli	Presenters of the award for Best Actress
Frank Capra	Presenter of the award for Best Picture

Performers

Name	Role	Performed
Quincy Jones	Musical arranger Conductor	Orchestral
Irene Cara The National Dance Institute	Performers	"Flashdance... What a Feeling" from Flashdance
Herb Alpert Lani Hall	Performers	"Maniac" from Flashdance
Mac Davis	Performer	"Over You" from Tender Mercies
Donna Summer	Performer	"Papa, Can You Hear Me?" from Yentl
Jennifer Holliday	Performer	"The Way He Makes Me Feel" from Yentl
Sammy Davis Jr. Liza Minnelli	Performers	"There's No Business Like Show Business"

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations:

• 11 nominations: Terms of Endearment
• 8 nominations: The Right Stuff
• 6 nominations: Fanny and Alexander
• 5 nominations: The Dresser, Return of the Jedi, Silkwood, Tender Mercies, Yentl
• 4 nominations: Cross Creek, Flashdance
• 3 nominations: The Big Chill, Educating Rita, WarGames
• 2 nominations: Reuben, Reuben, Zelig

The following films received multiple awards.

• 5 wins: Terms of Endearment
• 4 wins: Fanny and Alexander, The Right Stuff
• 2 wins: Tender Mercies

See also

• 41st Golden Globe Awards
• 4th Golden Raspberry Awards
• 1983 in film
• Submissions for the 56th Academy Award for Best Foreign Film
• 26th Grammy Awards
• 35th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 36th Primetime Emmy Awards
• 37th British Academy Film Awards
• 38th Tony Awards

References

• "The Official Academy Awards Database". awardsdatabase.oscars.org. Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Retrieved September 9, 2009.