The 31st Academy Awards ceremony was held on April 6, 1959, to honor the best films of 1958. The night was dominated by Gigi, which won nine Oscars, breaking the previous record of eight set by Gone with the Wind and tied by From Here to Eternity and On the Waterfront.

31st Academy Awards
People lining the street under the marquee of the Pantages Theater at the 31st Academy Awards.
DateApril 6, 1959
SitePantages Theatre, Hollywood, California, USA
Hosted byJerry Lewis, Mort Sahl, Tony Randall, Bob Hope, David Niven, and Laurence Olivier
Produced byJerry Wald
Directed byAlan Handley
Highlights
Best PictureGigi
Most awardsGigi (9)
Most nominationsThe Defiant Ones and Gigi (9)
TV in the United States
NetworkNBC

Gigi set a new record for biggest Oscars sweep, winning all nine of its nominations, which would later be tied by The Last Emperor in 1987 and broken, in 2003, when The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won all 11 of its nominations. Finally, Gigi was the last film until The Last Emperor to win Best Picture without any acting nominations.[1]

The ceremony was hosted by an ensemble of actors: Jerry Lewis, Mort Sahl, Tony Randall, Bob Hope, David Niven, and Laurence Olivier. Niven won Best Actor that night, making him the only host in Oscar history to have won an award while hosting.[2]

The show's producer, Jerry Wald, started cutting numbers from the show to make sure it ran on time, but cut too much material, and the ceremony ended 20 minutes early, leaving Jerry Lewis to attempt to fill in the time, which he did with a performance of "There's No Business Like Show Business" from all 90 of the participating stars;[3] Lewis did impromptu conducting of the number, but some of the stars began to talk among themselves, while others left or bumped into each other in confusion. Eventually, NBC cut to a re-run of a sports show.[3]

Awards

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Vincente Minnelli; Best Director winner
David Niven; Best Actor winner
Susan Hayward; Best Actress winner
Burl Ives; Best Supporting Actor winner
Wendy Hiller; Best Supporting Actress winner
Walt Disney; Best Live Action Short Film winner
André Previn; Best Scoring of a Musical Picture winner
Cecil Beaton; Best Costume Design winner

Nominations announced on February 23, 1959. Winners are listed first and highlighted with boldface.[4]

Best Motion Picture Best Director
Best Actor Best Actress
Best Supporting Actor Best Supporting Actress
Best Story and Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen Best Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
Best Foreign Language Film Best Documentary Feature
Best Documentary Short Subject Best Live Action Short Subject
Best Short Subject – Cartoons Best Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture
Best Scoring of a Musical Picture Best Song
Best Sound Best Art Direction
Best Costume Design Best Cinematography, Black-and-White
Best Cinematography, Color Best Film Editing
Best Special Effects

Academy Honorary Award

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  • Maurice Chevalier “for his contributions to the world of entertainment for more than half a century.”

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

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Presenters and performers

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Presenters

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Performers

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Multiple nominations and awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ Shaw, Gabbi. "'Parasite' is the 12th movie in history to win Best Picture with no acting nominations — here are the other 11". Insider. Insider Inc. Retrieved March 27, 2023.
  2. ^ "James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host Oscars". The Daily Telegraph. November 29, 2010. Archived from the original on February 21, 2015. Retrieved February 20, 2015.
  3. ^ a b Wallechinsky, David; Wallace, Irving (1975). The People's Almanac. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc. p. 841. ISBN 0-385-04060-1.
  4. ^ "The 31st Academy Awards (1959) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on July 6, 2011. Retrieved August 21, 2011.
  5. ^ Search. gigi wins film editing YouTube