33rd Academy Awards — award ceremony presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for achievement in filmmaking in 1960
The 33rd Academy Awards marked ABC's first broadcast of the ceremony and awarded Best Picture to The Apartment, the last black-and-white film to win until 1993.
Key Facts
- Host
- Bob Hope
- Best Picture
- The Apartment (Billy Wilder)
- First ABC broadcast
- First ceremony aired on ABC television
- Honorary Award recipient
- Gary Cooper (accepted by James Stewart)
- Juvenile Award recipient
- Hayley Mills for Pollyanna (last ever given)
- First red carpet
- First year a red carpet lined the theater entrance
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences organized its annual ceremony to honor outstanding film achievements of 1960, coinciding with ABC's acquisition of broadcast rights and marking a transition from NBC, which had previously aired the event.
On April 17, 1961, Bob Hope hosted the 33rd Academy Awards at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium. The Apartment won Best Picture, Elizabeth Taylor won Best Actress for Butterfield 8, and Gary Cooper received an Honorary Award, with James Stewart accepting on his behalf due to Cooper's undisclosed terminal illness.
ABC established a long-running broadcast relationship with the Academy Awards. Gary Cooper's death less than four weeks after the ceremony was foreshadowed by Stewart's emotional speech. Hayley Mills received the final Academy Juvenile Award, as the Academy subsequently allowed young performers to compete in standard competitive categories.