61st Academy Awards

The 61st Academy Awards were presented on March 29, 1989 at the Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles. The date had been moved from its usual Monday telecast due to Easter, which was on March 26. For this show, there was no "official" host as the show opened with a stage-show featuring Merv Griffin, Snow White and Rob Lowe. Another change was that the producers attempted to change the traditional line "And the winner is..." to "And the Oscar goes to...". This broadcast is also noted for being the final public appearance of actress Lucille Ball, who died less than one month later.

Awards

Films with multiple nominations:

8 - Rain Man

7 - Dangerous Liaisons, Mississippi Burning

6 - Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Working Girl

5 - Gorillas in the Mist

4 - The Accidental Tourist, Die Hard

3 - A Fish Called Wanda, Tucker: A Man and His Dream

2 - Big, Coming to America, Little Dorrit, Pelle the Conqueror, Running on Empty, The Unbearable Lightness of Being, Willow

Films with multiple wins:

4 - Rain Man

3 - Dangerous Liaisons, Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.

Academy Honorary Awards

• National Film Board of Canada
• Eastman Kodak Company

Special Achievement Award

• Richard Williams

Production background

The producers of the ceremony attempted to change established Oscar traditions for this year's show. One noticeable difference was that instead of an award presenter saying, "and the winner is.." they'd say,...
Read More