The Best Oscar Acceptance Speeches in History

Oscar acceptance speeches have been a feature of the annual Hollywood ceremony for 80 years. They've ranged from just two words to ten boring minutes of political comment. Winners almost always offer thanks to directors, co-stars, children, mothers, fathers, movie crews, gurus and others. One of the strangest Oscar acceptance speeches was set up by Marlon Brando, honored for his role in The Godfather. He didn't attend the program in 1973, but sent an Indian maiden to read a 15-page script condemning the oppression of Native Americans, both in the past and during the siege at Wounded Knee, happening at that same time. Here are some other samples of the best, or maybe the worst, of Oscar acceptance speeches.

1. Sally Field had an emotional outburst when she won for Places in the Heart in 1985. Her gushing speech inspired stand-up comedy routines for years thereafter, when she tearfully sobbed: You like me; you really like me!

2. Italian actor Roberto Benigni, who won for Life is Beautiful in 1999, jumped over seats to get to the stage and shouted: I want to make love to everybody!

3. Dustin Hoffman won for Kramer vs Kramer in 1979. After thanking the appropriate people, he made a plea for members of the Screen Actors Guild. The multi-millionaire actor said too many of his fellow actors didn't get enough work to feed their families.

4. In a truly dramatic moment of the Oscars, after winning for her role in 1939's Gone With the Wind, Hattie McDaniel was the first African-American to receive the award. She tearfully thanked the Academy and uttered a phrase that would shock today's politically-correct audiences: I shall always be a credit to my race.

5. Jane Wyman won an Oscar in 1949 for portraying a deaf mute in Johnny Belinda. At the ceremony, she said: I accept this very gratefully for keeping my mouth shut ... for once.

6. Shirley MacLaine won the Oscar for the 1983 film, Terms of Endearment. After a long speech expressing her thanks and humility for being so honored by her peers, she ended it by clutching the statue and said: Damn it! I deserve this!

7. Director Alfred Hitchcock never won an individual Academy Award for any of his great movies, but he was called up on stage at the ceremony in 1967 to receive the Irving Thalberg Memorial Award. Hitchcock looked out at the audience with his deadpan face, and said just one word: Thanks. Then he left the stage to the wild cheers of the Academy Award audience.

Millions of people watch the Academy Awards every year. Some winners have used the platform for political outbursts, others to thank an endless list of people, some have cried and others may have spoken with honest humility. Whatever their motivation or reactions, the little golden statue they grasped that night became a priceless golden moment in their lives.