53rd Academy Awards

53rd Academy Awards
Official poster for the 53rd Academy Awards in 1981
Official poster with original date
DateMarch 31, 1981
SiteDorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
Hosted byJohnny Carson
Produced byNorman Jewison
Directed byMarty Pasetta
Highlights
Best PictureOrdinary People
Most awardsOrdinary People (4)
Most nominationsThe Elephant Man and Raging Bull (8)
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
Duration3 hours, 10 minutes[1]
Ratings39.9 million
31% (Nielsen ratings)

The 53rd Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released in 1980 and took place on March 31, 1981, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 7:00 p.m. PST / 10:00 p.m. EST. The ceremony was scheduled to take place originally on the previous day but was postponed due to the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan.[2] During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 20 categories. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Norman Jewison and directed by Marty Pasetta.[3] Comedian and talk show host Johnny Carson hosted the show for the third consecutive time. Two weeks earlier, in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 15, the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards were presented by hosts Ed Asner and Fay Kanin.[4]

Ordinary People won four awards, including Best Picture.[5] Other winners included Tess with three awards, The Empire Strikes Back, Fame, Melvin and Howard, and Raging Bull with two, and Coal Miner's Daughter, The Dollar Bottom, The Fly, From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China, Karl Hess: Toward Liberty, and Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears with one. The telecast garnered 39.9 million viewers in the United States.

  1. ^ "Ordinary People Wins Oscar for Best Movie". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. April 1, 1981. p. 9A.
  2. ^ Wiley & Bona 1996, p. 592
  3. ^ Osborne 2013, p. 413
  4. ^ "Past Scientific & Technical Awards Ceremonies". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on February 13, 2014. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  5. ^ Harmetz, Aljean (April 1, 1981). "Ordinary People Wins the Academy Award for Best Picture". The New York Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2021.

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