34th Academy Awards: History and Background

The 34th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1961, were held on April 9, 1962, hosted by Bob Hope at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California.

Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins became the first Best Director co-winners for West Side Story. The film won 10 of its 11 nominations, including Best Picture and both supporting acting Oscars, becoming the most successful musical in Oscars history. For the second time in history, all four acting winners were first-time nominees.

Legendary filmmaker Federico Fellini received his first Best Director nomination for La Dolce Vita, while Sophia Loren became the first Italian actress to win for Best Actress in an Italian-language film as well as the first individual to win for a foreign-language performance. Directors Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins became the first pair to share an Oscar for the same film. George C. Scott became the first actor to refuse an award in advance, insisting that the Best Supporting Actor nomination for his performance in The Hustler be revoked. It was not, and he lost.

The most memorable event of the night came when Stan Berman, a New York City cabdriver famous for crashing celebrity parties, evaded security and made his way onstage to award Hope a homemade Oscar.

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