March 24
TREASURE HUNT DAY
“To be or not to be ... the winner of an Oscar”. That was the question as the Academy Awards were passed out for the 21st time on this night in 1949.
Actor/producer/director Robert Montgomery hosted the ceremony held at the AMPAS Theater in Los Angeles. Hamlet, produced by Lawrence Olivier for J. Arthur Rank-Two Cities Films, won Best Picture of 1948. Olivier also was pronounced Best Actor for his portrayal of Hamlet.
The real star of the evening, however, was the Hollywood flick, The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, the story of a trio of prospectors in their search for gold in them thar hills. The search finally led them to gold in the shape of Oscar ... three Oscars, to be exact, and a nomination for Best Picture.
And, as far as we know, it was the first, and remains the only time a father and son both won Academy Awards on the same night. They were presented to Walter and John Huston for their stunning work in the 1948 film. Walter was awarded an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor and his son, John, received honors for Best Director and for Best Screenplay (based on a B. Traven story).
Other winners of the treasured golden statuette on this spring night were: Jane Wyman (the former Mrs. Ronald Reagan) for Best Actress (film: Johnny Belinda); Claire Trevor for Best Supporting Actress (film: Key Largo); Jay Livingston and Ray Evans for Best Music/Song (Buttons and Bows from the Bob Hope/Jane Russell flick, The Paleface). And although Olivier won the Best Actor Oscar, Humphrey Bogart was superb as the paranoid, and ultimately, homicidal Fred C. Dobbs in Sierra Madre.
Those Were the Days, the Today in History service from 440 International
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