Oscar Night!

Since tonight is the Oscars, let’s look at the times Clark attended:

February 27, 1935–Clark was nominated for  It Happened One Night and did not expect to win. In fact nobody expected this little bus comedy from Columbia to walk away with Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, Best Screenplay and Best Picture. The event was held in the Biltmore Bowl at the Biltmore Hotel and Clark reluctantly took Ria, even though he probably would have preferred the company of his latest mistress, Elizabeth Allan. The Gables arrived with Irving Thalberg, Norma Shearer, Helen Hayes and her husband Charles MacArthur. You can read about Clark’s only Oscar here.

March 5, 1936–Clark was nominated again the following year for  Mutiny on the Bounty and attended the event at the Biltmore with Best Actress nominee Merle Oberon. Neither won, but Mutiny won Best Picture. Clark was nominated as Best Actor along with his co-stars Franchot Tone and Charles Laughton. All lost to Victor McLaglen for The Informer, but the Academy noticed how it was rather strange to have three actors from the same film vie for the same award and thus the Best Supporting Actor and Actress category was started the following year. 

March 4, 1937–Not nominated, Clark attended as the arm candy for a certain Miss Carole Lombard, who was nominated for My Man Godfrey. In the Biltmore Bowl, they sat with William Powell and Jean Harlow–Powell was a nominee for Godfrey as well. Neither won and for some reason nobody can find any pictures of Clark and Carole at the event, either with Jean and Bill or without. I confirmed at the Academy Library last year that they did indeed attend with Bill and and Jean, but, strangely, all that has surfaced is one photo of that pair and none of Clark and Carole. I am on the hunt!

March 25, 1954–Clark begrudgingly attended as Best Supporting Actress nominee Grace Kelly’s date at the RKO Pantages Theater. They had had a steamy love affair during their location shoot for Mogambo that had resumed after returning to the States, but Grace was also seeing William Holden. MGM encouraged Clark to attend as Grace’s escort, since she was a relative newbie, and to support Mogambo, for which Ava Gardner was also nominated for Best Actress. Clark–and Bill Holden’s wife–were a bit miffed when Grace spent the afterparty at Romanoff’s with her arm around Holden, the Best Actor winner. That was the end of that!

March 26, 1958–Clark attended as a presenter for the first time. He presented the Best Writing, Original Screenplay award and the Best Writing, Adaptation award with Doris Day. I’m still not sure how they convinced Clark to do this; he hated speaking in public and rarely gave any sort of speech, not to mention his hatred of awards shows, dressing in a tux, and putting on formalities. Day was Clark’s co-star in the soon-to-be-released Teacher’s Pet so I am sure Paramount encouraged it as a publicity appearance. George Seaton, the director of Teacher’s Pet, was the president of the Academy at the time so I am sure that had something to do with it. Kay was his date, of course, and the event was held at the RKO Pantages Theater.

***Contrary to popular belief, Clark did not attend the 1940 Academy Awards when he was nominated for Gone with the Wind.

I’ll be on my couch tonight…rooting for The Artist!