39th Academy Awards: History and Background

The 39th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1966, were held on April 10, 1967, hosted by Bob Hope at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium in Santa Monica, California.

The Academy Awards broadcast faced the threat of cancellation due to a strike involving the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. Fortunately, the dispute was resolved just three hours before the ceremony was set to begin. Bob Hope, during his opening monologue, alluded to this uncertainty, noting that even as late as 30 minutes before the event, it was still unclear whether the telecast would proceed.

In a rare occurrence during the period with five Best Picture nominees, only two were nominated for Best Director this year: Fred Zinnemann for A Man for All Seasons (the winner) and Mike Nichols for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. The latter was the second film in Oscars history to be nominated in every eligible category (after Cimarron (1931)), as well as the first of three to date to receive acting nominations for the entire credited cast.

For the second time in Oscars history, two siblings were nominated in the same category: Vanessa and Lynn Redgrave, both nominated for Best Actress for their performances in Morgan! and Georgy Girl, respectively. This had previously occurred in 1941, when sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland were each nominated for Best Actress.

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