The WORST episodes of The Academy Awards

#1 - The 43rd Academy Awards 1971

Season 1 - Episode 43 - Aired 4/15/1971

The 43rd Academy Awards were presented April 15, 1971 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. There was no host.

#2 - The 61st Academy Awards 1989

Season 1 - Episode 61 - Aired 3/29/1989

The 61st Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 1988, and took place on Wednesday, March 29, 1989, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST/ 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Allan Carr and directed by Jeff Margolis. Ten days earlier, in a ceremony held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in Beverly Hills, California, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Angie Dickinson.

#3 - The 50th Academy Awards 1978

Season 1 - Episode 50 - Aired 4/3/1978

The 50th Academy Awards were held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California on April 3, 1978. The ceremonies were presided over by Bob Hope, who hosted the awards for the nineteenth and last time. Two of the year's biggest winners were Star Wars, which swept the technical categories by winning 6 out of its 10 nominations and a Special Achievement for Sound Effects Editing, and Annie Hall, winning 4 out of 5 nominations, including Best Picture, Best Actress and Best Director. The awards show was also notable for a very politically charged acceptance speech by Vanessa Redgrave. The Turning Point set the record for the most nominations without a win (11), previously held by Peyton Place and The Little Foxes, which each had 9 nominations with no wins. This record, later tied by The Color Purple, still stands as of the 87th Academy Awards. Annie Hall was the last Best Picture winner to be nominated for just five awards until The Departed 29 years later in 2006. Jason Robards became the fourth actor to win back-to-back Oscars, following Luise Rainer, Spencer Tracy, and Katharine Hepburn. For the first and only time to date, both Best Actor and Best Actress winners won for roles in two different romantic comedies. The animated opening sequence, as well as promos for the Awards show, were designed by British graphic designer Harry Marks, who outsourced the animated sequences to Robert Abel and Associates. Marks also designed animated sequences for the top nominated categories, which weren't used for the final telecast.

#4 - The 49th Academy Awards 1977

Season 1 - Episode 49 - Aired 3/28/1977

The 49th Academy Awards were presented March 28, 1977, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Richard Pryor, Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, and Warren Beatty. This Academy Awards ceremony is notable for Peter Finch becoming the first posthumous winner of an Oscar for acting, a feat matched only by Heath Ledger 32 years later. Beatrice Straight set another record by becoming the actor with shortest performance ever in a film to win an acting Oscar, with only five minutes and forty seconds of screentime in Network. Network, along with All the President's Men, were the two biggest champs of the ceremony with four Oscars each; however, John G. Avildsen won Best Director in an upset, presaging Rocky's eventual Best Picture victory. Piper Laurie was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for Carrie (1976), her first acting role since her Best Actress-nominated performance in The Hustler (1961), thus being nominated for two consecutive roles, 15 years apart. As of the 87th Academy Awards, Network remains the last film to receive five acting nominations, and the last to win three acting Oscars. It was also the third film (after Mutiny on the Bounty and From Here to Eternity) to receive three nominations in lead acting categories. This year's Academy Awards is also notable for the first ever female nominee for Best Director, Lina Wertmüller for Seven Beauties. To date, three further female directors have been nominated: Jane Campion for The Piano in 1993, Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation in 2003, and Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker in 2009 (the first to win the award).

#5 - The 48th Academy Awards 1976

Season 1 - Episode 48 - Aired 3/29/1976

The 48th Academy Awards were presented March 29, 1976 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Walter Matthau, Robert Shaw, George Segal, Goldie Hawn, and Gene Kelly. This year, ABC took over broadcast rights from NBC, and continues to broadcast them today. (NBC's coverage of the 1976 NCAA Final Four aired opposite the ceremony; during the presentation of the Best Film Editing award, the winner was jokingly announced (by presenter Elliott Gould) as "Indiana, 86-68"; the Indiana Hoosiers had won the NCAA Final Four that night.)

#6 - The 47th Academy Awards 1975

Season 1 - Episode 47 - Aired 4/8/1975

The 47th Academy Awards were presented April 8, 1975 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Sammy Davis, Jr., Bob Hope, Shirley MacLaine, and Frank Sinatra. This was the last year NBC aired the ceremonies before ABC secured broadcasting rights, which they still hold to this day.

#7 - The 46th Academy Awards 1974

Season 1 - Episode 46 - Aired 4/2/1974

The 46th Academy Awards were presented April 2, 1974, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds, David Niven.

#8 - The 45th Academy Awards 1973

Season 1 - Episode 45 - Aired 3/27/1973

The 45th Academy Awards were presented March 27, 1973, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Carol Burnett, Michael Caine, Charlton Heston, and Rock Hudson.

#9 - The 44th Academy Awards 1972

Season 1 - Episode 44 - Aired 4/10/1972

The 44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Helen Hayes, Alan King, Sammy Davis, Jr., and Jack Lemmon. One of the highlights of the evening was the appearance of Betty Grable, battling cancer at the time, who made one of her last public appearances. She appeared along with one of her leading men from the 1940s, singer Dick Haymes, to present the musical scoring awards. Grable died the following year. This was the first time in the history of the Awards in which the nominees were shown on superimposed pictures while being announced.

#10 - The 91st Academy Awards 2019

Season 1 - Episode 91 - Aired 2/24/2019

The 91st Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2018. The ceremony was held on February 24, 2019, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by American Broadcasting Company (ABC) and produced by Donna Gigliotti and Glenn Weiss, with Weiss also serving as director. It was the first ceremony in three decades, since the 61st Academy Awards in 1989, to be conducted with no host.

#11 - The 27th Academy Awards 1955

Season 1 - Episode 27 - Aired 3/30/1955

The 27th Academy Awards honored the best films produced in 1954. The Best Picture winner, On the Waterfront, was produced by Sam Spiegel and directed by Elia Kazan. It had twelve nominations and eight wins, matching two other films, Gone with the Wind (1939) and From Here to Eternity (1953), even though those two each had thirteen nominations.

#12 - The 25th Academy Awards 1953

Season 1 - Episode 25 - Aired 3/19/1953

The 25th Academy Awards ceremony was held on March 19, 1953. It took place at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Hollywood, California and the NBC International Theatre in New York City. It was the first Academy Awards ceremony to be televised, and the first ceremony to be held in Hollywood and New York City simultaneously. It was also the only year that the New York ceremonies were to be held in the NBC International Theatre on Columbus Circle, which was shortly thereafter demolished and replaced by the New York Coliseum convention center.

#13 - The 28th Academy Awards 1956

Season 1 - Episode 28 - Aired 3/21/1956

The 28th Academy Awards were presented at the RKO Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Marty, a simple and low-budget film usually uncharacteristic of Best Picture awardees, became the shortest film (as well as the second Palme d'Or winner) to win the top honor.

#14 - The 26th Academy Awards 1954

Season 1 - Episode 26 - Aired 3/25/1954

The 26th Academy Awards honored the best in films of 1953. The second national telecast of the Awards show drew an estimated 43 million viewers. Shirley Booth, appearing in a play in Philadelphia, presented the Best Actor award through a live broadcast cut-in, and privately received the winner's name over the telephone from co-host Donald O'Connor. (Actor Fredric March co-hosted from New York City.) Gary Cooper filmed his presentation of the Best Actress award in advance on a set in Mexico, with O'Connor announcing the winner's name.

#15 - The 59th Academy Awards 1987

Season 1 - Episode 59 - Aired 3/30/1987

The 59th Academy Awards were presented March 30, 1987 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Chevy Chase, Goldie Hawn, and Paul Hogan.

#16 - The 60th Academy Awards 1988

Season 1 - Episode 60 - Aired 4/11/1988

The 60th Academy Awards were presented April 11, 1988 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California. It was produced by Samuel Goldwyn, Jr. and directed by Marty Pasetta. The ceremony, which was broadcast on ABC, was the first to be held there since the 20th Academy Awards.

#17 - The 58th Academy Awards 1986

Season 1 - Episode 58 - Aired 3/24/1986

The 58th Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1985, were held on March 24, 1986 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles, California. They were hosted by Alan Alda, Jane Fonda and Robin Williams.

#18 - The 57th Academy Awards 1985

Season 1 - Episode 57 - Aired 3/25/1985

The 57th Academy Awards were presented March 25, 1985 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Jack Lemmon.

#19 - The 39th Academy Awards 1967

Season 1 - Episode 39 - Aired 4/10/1967

#20 - The 96th Academy Awards 2024

Season 1 - Episode 96 - Aired 3/10/2024

The 96th Academy Awards, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films of 2023, and is expected to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, on March 10, 2024. The ceremony, to be televised in the United States by ABC, will be produced by Raj Kapoor and Katy Mullan, with Hamish Hamilton serving as director. Comedian Jimmy Kimmel will host the show for the fourth time, following the 2017, 2018 and 2023 ceremonies

#21 - The 95th Academy Awards 2023

Season 1 - Episode 95 - Aired 3/12/2023

The 95th Academy Awards was a ceremony held by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) on March 12, 2023, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, honoring films released in 2022. The event was televised in the U.S. by ABC and was produced by Ricky Kirshner and Glenn Weiss. Weiss was also the director. Comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel hosted the show for the third time, after the 89th and 90th editions of the ceremony in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

#22 - The 94th Academy Awards 2022

Season 1 - Episode 94 - Aired 3/27/2022

The 94th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films released since March 1, 2021, and is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on March 27, 2022. This will be the first time since 2018 that the ceremony will be held in March to avoid conflicting with the Winter Olympics. This was formerly scheduled to take place on February 27, 2022, but the ceremony was delayed due to the ongoing COVID-19 restrictions in the cinemas.

#23 - The 93rd Academy Awards 2021

Season 1 - Episode 93 - Aired 4/25/2021

The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), will honor the best films of 2020, and the first two months of 2021. It will be the first time since the 6th Academy Awards in which films released in two different calendar years will be eligible for award consideration in the same ceremony. It is scheduled to take place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on April 25, 2021. Originally the ceremony was scheduled to take place on February 28, 2021, but it was pushed back by two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

#24 - The 92nd Academy Awards 2020

Season 1 - Episode 92 - Aired 2/9/2020

The 92nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2019 and took place at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. After more than a decade of holding the Academy Award ceremonies towards the end of February, the 92nd Academy Awards took place earlier in the month, on February 9, 2020. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 24 categories. The ceremony was televised in the United States by ABC, produced by Lynette Howell Taylor and Stephanie Allain; it was directed by Glenn Weiss. Citing the success of the format at the 91st presentation in 2019, ABC announced that the ceremony would again be conducted without a host.

#25 - The 42nd Academy Awards 1970

Season 1 - Episode 42 - Aired 4/7/1970