53rd Academy Awards — award ceremony presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences for achievement in filmmaking in 1980
The 53rd Academy Awards honored 1980 films, with Ordinary People taking Best Picture, and was postponed one day due to the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
Key Facts
- Date
- March 31, 1981
- Venue
- Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
- Best Picture
- Ordinary People
- Categories awarded
- 20
- U.S. television viewers
- 39.9 million
- Host
- Johnny Carson (third consecutive time)
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences organized its annual ceremony to recognize outstanding achievement in filmmaking for films released in 1980. The event was originally scheduled for March 30, 1981, but was postponed by one day following the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
On March 31, 1981, the 53rd Academy Awards took place at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, hosted by Johnny Carson and produced by Norman Jewison. The ceremony, broadcast on ABC, presented Oscars in 20 categories, with Ordinary People winning four awards including Best Picture.
The telecast drew 39.9 million viewers in the United States. Ordinary People, Tess, and Raging Bull emerged as the evening's leading honorees, while the postponement due to Reagan's assassination attempt made the ceremony one of the few in Academy history rescheduled for a major external event.