15th Academy Awards: History and Background

The 15th Academy Awards was held in the Cocoanut Grove at The Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles on March 4, 1943, honoring the films of 1942. The ceremony is most famous for the speech by Greer Garson. Accepting the award for Best Actress, Garson spoke for approximately 5 minutes and 30 seconds, which was the longest acceptance speech in Oscars history until Adrien Brody won for Best Actor in 2025. A portion of the ceremony was broadcast by CBS Radio.

Mrs. Miniver was the second film (after My Man Godfrey in 1936) to receive nominations in all four acting categories, as well as the first film to receive five acting nominations; it won six of its twelve nominations, including Best Picture and William Wyler's first of three Best Director awards.

Irving Berlin presented the Academy Award for Best Original Song, which he ended up winning himself for "White Christmas". There was also a four-way tie for Best Documentary Feature, a unique occurrence.

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