Academy Awards: Memorable Acceptance Speeches by the Oscars Winners in the Past

I've always been a big fan of award shows and watch just about all of them. My favorite is the Academy Awards. You never know what will transpire or be said by the presenters or the winners. After the Red Carpet parade of fashionistas, the real fun begins with the host. Sometimes there are film vignettes, other times just good old entertainment before the first award is given.

This year the 2009 Academy Awards will be given out the night of February 22nd and will be broadcast on ABC.

Did you know that when a winner runs up to the stage, a person who has waited on the sidelines just for this purpose, runs to fill the seat so that the audience never looks like there are unfilled seats?

Over the many years the Oscars have been given out there have been quite a few very exceptional Academy Awards Acceptance Speeches. Even though actors and actresses are used to being on screen, most of the time they say what has been written for them. It is at award shows like these that they are on their own and have been known to get tongue tied, others prepare a few words, and still others just say what comes into their minds especially if they didn't think they would win. Or at least that's what they tell us in the audience.

Some of these speeches have been quite controversial, I think the most controversial was when Marlon Brando won the 1972 Best Actor award for the Godfather; he refused to accept the award, and according to answers.com , he sent Sacheen Littlefeather, on stage in full Apache attire to say Brando cannot accept the award due to the inhumane treatment of the American Indians by the film industry. She had a 15 page acceptance speech but was only allowed to speak for 45 seconds. Afterwards she read the entire speech to the press. Nobody knows what happened to that Oscar.

Other actors can be quite comedic in their remarks.

According to wikimedia.com where they have all sorts of guotes from the winners archived a few I have found to be quite humorous

One of the funniest was when Roberto Benigni won best actor for the touching and most memorable film, Life Is Beautiful. He was so excited he jumped over the seats on his way to the stage and yelled, when he got there; "I am not able to express all my gratitude...I would like to kidnap everybody and lie down making love to everybody"

Hillary Swank, when she won best actress for Million Dollar Baby, said "I don't know what I did to deserve all of this. I'm just a girl from a trailer park who had a dream.

Whoppi Goldberg, when she was honored with her best supporting actress award for Ghost said

"No matter what you say to yourself, you do want to win. You try to look casual, like you're not thinking, ' oh, please, pick me"

Cate Blanchett after winning best supporting actress for the Aviator, stated, "I don't have a sense of entitlement or that I deserve this. You'd be surprised at the lack of competition between nominees....I think a lot of it is imposed from the outside. Can I have my champagne now?"

Jack Nicholson, when he won best actor for One Flew over the Cuckoos Nest said "This proves there are as many nuts in the Academy as anywhere else"

When Louise Fletcher won for her role in the same movie she said, " I'd like to thank Jack Nicholson for making being in a mental institutional like being in a mental institution. I loved being hated by you"

Those are just a few, there are so many years of quotes and antidotes to write about this biggest night in moviedom. The Oscar is the extreme award and many extreme thoughts have been spoken during this night of nights for the actors as they make their Academy Awards acceptance speech.

I guess it says it all when actress Kim Basinger said in 1998; "I just want to thank everybody I ever met" or when Steven Speilberg said after winning his award as director for Saving Private Ryan: "Am I allowed to say I really wanted this? This is fantastic! "

Just one more and a feeling I'm sure felt by all the winners as they made their Academy Award Acceptance speech, James Cameron when he received his Oscar as director of Titanic said..."I'm the king of the world"