Looking at Film from Every Angle

53rd Academy Awards (1980): The Ceremony

Nominations Announcement

Nominations Announcement Date: Tuesday, February 17, 1981

Ceremony Details

Awards Ceremony Date/Time: Tuesday, March 31, 1981, 7:00pm
Location: Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles
Televised On: ABC
Host: Johnny Carson
Length: 3 hours, 13 minutes

Presenters

Welcoming of Guests: Ronald Reagan (on film)
Supporting Actor: Jack Lemmon, Mary Tyler Moore
Scientific & Technical Awards: Academy Award of Merit for the Optical Printer: Lily Tomlin
Animated Short Film: Alan Arkin, Margot Kidder
Live Action Short Film: Alan Arkin, Margot Kidder
Documentary Short Subject: Lesley-Anne Down, Richard Chamberlain
Documentary Feature: Lesley-Anne Down, Richard Chamberlain
Production Design: Peter O’Toole, Sissy Spacek
Costume Design: Nastassia Kinski, Sigourney Weaver
Visual Effects: Jack Valenti
Sound Mixing: Bernadette Peters, Billy Dee Williams
Foreign Language Film: Brooke Shields, Franco Zeffirelli
Music: Original Score: The Nichols Brothers
Film Editing: Jane Seymour, Richard Pryor
Supporting Actress: Diana Ross, Donald Sutherland
Original Song: Angie Dickinson, Luciano Pavarotti
Writing: Adapted Screenplay: Peter Ustinov
Writing: Original Screenplay: Peter Ustinov
Honorary Award: Henry Fonda: Robert Redford
Cinematography: Blythe Danner, Steve Martin
Directing: George Cukor, King Vidor
Actor: Sally Field
Actress: Dustin Hoffman
Picture: Lillian Gish
:
Scientific & Technical Awards: (NOTE: No record of these awards being given out.)

Previous Acting & Directing Winners

The tradition of prior acting winners returning the subsequent year to present the opposite-gender category is a long one. Each year, we look to see whether the prior winners returned. There was an intermittent tradition where the prior directing winner returned as well, but this was a rare occurrence.

Actor – Dustin Hoffman: Yes
Actress – Sally Field: Yes
Supporting Actor – Melvyn Douglas: No
Supporting Actress – Meryl Streep: No
Directing – Robert Benton: No

Song Performances

9 to 5: Dolly Parton
Fame: Irene Cara
On the Road Again: Willie Nelson
Out Here on My Own: Irene Cara
People Alone: Dionne Warwick

Original Song Film Performers

Was the song performed at the Oscars by the same individuals who performed it in the film?

9 to 5: Yes (Performed in the Film by: Dolly Parton)
Fame: Yes (Performed in the Film by: Irene Cara)
On the Road Again: Yes (Performed in the Film by: Willie Nelson)
Out Here on My Own: Yes (Performed in the Film by: Irene Cara)
People Alone: No (Performed in the Film by: Randy Crawford)

Other Performances

Hooray for Hollywood: Lucie Arnaz
Hooray for Hollywood: Academy Awards Orchestra

Ceremony Production Staff

Announcer: Hank Simms
Conductor / Musical Arranger: Henry Mancini
Director: Marty Pasetta
Producer: Norman Jewison
Writer: Buz Kohan, Hal Kanter, Rod Warren
Writer (Special Material): Michael Barrie, Jim Mulholland, Hal Goodman, Larry Klein, Johnny Carson
Production Design: Roy Christopher
Costume Design: Theoni Aldredge, Ed Smith, Philip Wayne
Choreography: Alan Johnson