Honorary Awards

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Category Active: 1927/28 – Present

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2020s | 2010s | 2000s | 1990s | 1980s | 1970s | 1960s | 1950s | 1940s | 1930s | 1920s

2020s

2023 (96th)

HONORARY AWARD

Angela Bassett
Mel Brooks
Carol Littleton

2022 (95th)

HONORARY AWARD

Euzhan Palcy
Diane Warren
Peter Weir

2021 (94th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Samuel L. Jackson, A cultural icon whose dynamic work has resonated across genres and generations and audiences worldwide.
To Elaine May, For her bold, uncompromising approach to filmmaking, as a writer, director and actress.
To Liv Ullmann Ullman’s bravery and emotional transparency has gifted audiences with deeply affecting screen portrayals.

2010s

2019 (92nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To David Lynch, ???.
To Wes Studi, ???.
To Lina Wertmüller ???.

2018 (91st)

HONORARY AWARD

To Marvin Levy, for an exemplary career in publicity that has brought films to the minds, hearts and souls of audiences all over the world.
To Lalo Schifrin, in recognition of his unique musical style, compositional integrity and influential contributions to the art of film scoring.
To Cicely Tyson, whose unforgettable performances and persoanl integrity have inspired generations of filmmakers, actors and audiences.

2017 (90th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Charles Burnett, a resolutely independent and influential film pioneer who has chronicled the lives of black Americans with eloquence and insight.
To Owen Roizman, whose expansive visual style and technical innovation have advanced the art of cinematography.
To Donald Sutherland for a lifetime of indelible characters, rendered with unwavering truthfulness.
To Agnès Varda, whose compassion and curiosity inform a uniquely personal cinema.
To Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s CARNE y ARENA virtual reality installation, in recognition of a visionary and powerful experience in storytelling.

2016 (89th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Jackie Chan, an international film star who has captivated millions with his wit, boundless energy and unparalleled athletic artistry.
To Anne V. Coates, in recognition of a film editing career of remarkable breadth and exceptional collaborative achievement.
To Lynn Stalmaster, a true pioneer whose keen insight and inspired creativity transformed the art of motion picture casting.
To Frederick Wiseman, whose masterful and distinctive documentaries examine the familiar and reveal the unexpected.

2015 (88th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Spike Lee, filmmaker, educator, motivator, iconoclast, artist.
To Gena Rowlands, who has illuminated the human experience through her brilliant, passionate and fearless performances.

SPECIAL AWARD (PLAQUE)

To the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. For one hundred years, the Society’s members have nurtured technology, provided essential standards, and offered the expertise, support, tools and infrastructure for the creation and post-production of motion pictures.

2014 (87th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Jean-Claude Carrière, whose elegantly crafted screenplays elevate the art of screenwriting to the level of literature.
To Hayao Miyazaki, a master storyteller whose animated artistry has inspired filmmakers and audiences around the world.
To Maureen O’Hara, one of Hollywood’s brightest stars, whose inspiring performances glowed with passion, warmth and strength.

2013 (86th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Angela Lansbury, an entertainment icon who has created some of cinema’s most memorable characters, inspiring generations of actors.
To Steve Martin in recognition of his extraordinary talents and the unique inspiration he has brought to the art of motion pictures.
To Piero Tosi, a visionary whose incomparable costume designs shaped timeless, living art in motion pictures.

2012 (85th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Hal Needham, an innovator, mentor, and master technician who elevated his craft to an art and made the impossible look easy.
To D.A. Pennebaker, who redefined the language of film and taught a generation of filmmakers to look to reality for inspiration.
To George Stevens, Jr., a tireless champion of the arts in America and especially that most American of arts: the Hollywood film.

2011 (84th)

HONORARY AWARD

To James Earl Jones for his legacy of consistent excellence and uncommon versatility.
To Dick Smith for his unparalleled mastery of texture, shade, form and illusion.

2010 (83rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Kevin Brownlow for the wise and devoted chronicling of the cinematic parade.
To Jean-Luc Godard for passion. For confrontation. For a new kind of cinema.
To Eli Wallach for a lifetime’s worth of indelible screen characters.

2000s

2009 (82nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Lauren Bacall in recognition of her central place in the golden age of motion pictures.
To Roger Corman for his rich engendering of films and filmmakers.
To Gordon Willis for unsurpassed mastery of light, shadow, color and motion.

2007 (80th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Robert Boyle in recognition of one of cinema’s great careers in art direction.

2006 (79th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Ennio Morricone in recognition of his magnificent and multifaceted contributions to the art of film music.

2005 (78th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Robert Altman in recognition of a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form and inspired filmmakers and audiences alike.

2004 (77th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Sidney Lumet in recognition of his brilliant services to screenwriters, performers and the art of the motion picture.

2003 (76th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Blake Edwards in recognition of his writing, directing and producing an extraordinary body of work for the screen.

2002 (75th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Peter O’Toole, whose remarkable talents have provided cinema history with some of its most memorable characters.

2001 (74th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Sidney Poitier in recognition of his remarkable accomplishments as an artist and as a human being.
To Robert Redford: Actor, director, producer, creator of Sundance, inspiration to independent and innovative filmmakers everywhere.

2000 (73rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Jack Cardiff, master of light and color.
To Ernest Lehman, in appreciation of a body of varied and enduring work.

1990s

1999 (72nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Andrzej Wajda in recognition of five decades of extraordinary film direction.

1998 (71st)

HONORARY AWARD

To Elia Kazan in recognition of his indelible contributions to the art of motion picture direction.

1997 (70th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Stanley Donen in appreciation of a body of work marked by grace, elegance, wit and visual innovation.

1996 (69th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Michael Kidd in recognition of his services to the art of the dance in the art of the screen.

1995 (68th)

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

To John Lasseter, for his inspired leadership of the Pixar Toy Story team, resulting in the first feature-length computer-animated film.

1995 (68th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Kirk Douglas, for fifty years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community.
To Chuck Jones, for the creation of classic cartoons which have brought worldwide joy for more than half a century.

1994 (67th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Michelangelo Antonioni in recognition of his place as one of the cinema’s master visual stylists.

1993 (66th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Deborah Kerr, in appreciation for a full career’s worth of elegant and beautifully crafted performances.

1992 (65th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Federico Fellini in recognition of his place as one of the screen’s master storytellers.

1991 (64th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Satyajit Ray, in recognition of his rare mastery of the art of motion pictures, and of his profound humanitarian outlook, which has had an indelible influence on filmmakers and audiences throughout the world.

1990 (63rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Sophia Loren, one of the genuine treasures of world cinema who, in a career rich with memorable performances, has added permanent luster to our art form.
To Myrna Loy, in recognition of her extraordinary qualities both on screen and off, with appreciation for a lifetime’s worth of indelible performances.

1980s

1989 (62nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Akira Kurosawa for accomplishments that have inspired, delighted, enriched and entertained audiences and influenced filmmakers throughout the world.

1988 (61st)

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

To Richard Williams for the animation direction of Who Framed Roger Rabbit.

1988 (61st)

HONORARY AWARD

To the National Film Board of Canada in recognition of its 50th anniversary and its dedicated commitment to originate artistic, creative and technological activity and excellence in every area of film making.
To Eastman Kodak Company in recognition of the company’s fundamental contributions to the art of motion pictures during the first century of film history.

1986 (59th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Ralph Bellamy for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting.

1985 (58th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Paul Newman, in recognition of his many and memorable compelling screen performances and for his personal integrity and dedication to his craft.
To Alex North, in recognition of his brilliant artistry in the creation of memorable music for a host of distinguished motion pictures.

1984 (57th)

HONORARY AWARD

To James Stewart, for his fifty years of memorable performances. For his high ideals both on and off the screen. With the respect and affection of his colleagues.
To the National Endowment for the Arts, in recognition of its 20th anniversary and its dedicated commitment to fostering artistic and creative activity and excellence in every area of the arts.

1983 (56th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Hal Roach, in recognition of his unparalleled record of distinguished contributions to the motion picture art form.

1982 (55th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Mickey Rooney, in recognition of his 60 years of versatility in a variety of memorable film performances.

1981 (54th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Barbara Stanwyck for superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting.

1980 (53rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Henry Fonda, the consummate actor, in recognition of his brilliant accomplishments and enduring contribution to the art of motion pictures.

1970s

1979 (52nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Alec Guinness for advancing the art of screen acting through a host of memorable and distinguished performances.
To Hal Elias for his dedication and distinguished service to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

1978 (51st)

HONORARY AWARD

To Walter Lantz for bringing joy and laughter to every part of the world through his unique animated motion pictures.
To The Museum of Modern Art Department of Film for the contribution it has made to the public’s perception of movies as an art form.
To Laurence Olivier for the full body of his work, for the unique achievements of his entire career and his lifetime of contribution to the art of film.
To King Vidor for his incomparable achievements as a cinematic creator and innovator.

1977 (50th)

SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

To Benjamin Burtt, Jr. for the creation of the alien, creature and robot voices featured in Star Wars.

1977 (50th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Margaret Booth for her exceptional contribution to the art of film editing in the motion picture industry.

1975 (48th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Mary Pickford in recognition of her unique contributions to the film industry and the development of film as an artistic medium.

1974 (47th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Howard Hawks – A master American filmmaker whose creative efforts hold a distinguished place in world cinema.
To Jean Renoir – a genius who, with grace, responsibility and enviable devotion through silent film, sound film, feature, documentary and television, has won the world’s admiration.

1973 (46th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Henri Langlois for his devotion to the art of film, his massive contributions in preserving its past and his unswerving faith in its future.
To Groucho Marx in recognition of his brilliant creativity and for the unequalled achievements of the Marx Brothers in the art of motion picture comedy.

1972 (45th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Charles S. Boren, Leader for 38 years of the industry’s enlightened labor relations and architect of its policy of non-discrimination. With the respect and affection of all who work in films.
To Edward G. Robinson who achieved greatness as a player, a patron of the arts and a dedicated citizen…in sum, a Renaissance man. From his friends in the industry he loves. [3]

1971 (44th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Charles Chaplin for the incalculable effect he has had in making motion pictures the art form of this century.

1970 (43rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Lillian Gish for superlative artistry and for distinguished contribution to the progress of motion pictures.
To Orson Welles for superlative artistry and versatility in the creation of motion pictures.

1960s

1969 (42nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Cary Grant for his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues.

1968 (41st)

HONORARY AWARD

To John Chambers for his outstanding makeup achievement for Planet of the Apes.
To Onna White for her outstanding choreography achievement for Oliver!

1967 (40th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Arthur Freed for distinguished service to the Academy and the production of six top-rated Awards telecasts.

1966 (39th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Y. Frank Freeman for unusual and outstanding service to the Academy during his thirty years in Hollywood.
To Yakima Canutt for achievements as a stunt man and for developing safety devices to protect stunt men everywhere.

1965 (38th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Bob Hope for unique and distinguished service to our industry and the Academy.

1964 (37th)

HONORARY AWARD

To William Tuttle for his outstanding make-up achievement for 7 Faces of Dr. Lao.

1961 (34th)

HONORARY AWARD

To William L. Hendricks for his outstanding patriotic service in the conception, writing and production of the Marine Corps film, A Force in Readiness, which has brought honor to the Academy and the motion picture industry.
To Fred L. Metzler for his dedication and outstanding service to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
To Jerome Robbins for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film.

1960 (33rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Gary Cooper for his many memorable screen performances and the international recognition he, as an individual, has gained for the motion picture industry.
To Stan Laurel for his creative pioneering in the field of cinema comedy.
To Hayley Mills for Pollyanna, the most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960.

1950s

1959 (32nd)

HONORARY AWARD

To Lee De Forest for his pioneering inventions which brought sound to the motion picture.
To Buster Keaton for his unique talents which brought immortal comedies to the screen.

1958 (31st)

HONORARY AWARD

To Maurice Chevalier for his contributions to the world of entertainment for more than half a century.

1957 (30th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Charles Brackett for outstanding service to the Academy.
To B.B. Kahane for distinguished service to the motion picture industry.
To Gilbert M. (“Broncho Billy”) Anderson, motion picture pioneer, for his contributions to the development of motion pictures as entertainment.
To The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers for their contributions to the advancement of the motion picture industry.

1956 (29th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Eddie Cantor for distinguished service to the film industry.

1954 (27th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Bausch & Lomb Optical Company for their contributions to the advancement of the motion picture industry.
To Kemp R. Niver for the development of the Renovare Process which has made possible the restoration of the Library of Congress Paper Film Collection.
To Greta Garbo for her unforgettable screen performances.
To Danny Kaye for his unique talents, his service to the Academy, the motion picture industry, and the American people.
To Jon Whiteley for his outstanding juvenile performance in The Little Kidnappers.
To Vincent Winter for his outstanding juvenile performance in The Little Kidnappers.

1953 (26th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Pete Smith for his witty and pungent observations on the American scene in his series of “Pete Smith Specialties.”
To 20th Century-Fox Film Corporation in recognition of their imagination, showmanship and foresight in introducing the revolutionary process known as CinemaScope.
To Joseph I. Breen for his conscientious, open-minded and dignified management of the Motion Picture Production Code.
To Bell and Howell Company for their pioneering and basic achievements in the advancement of the motion picture industry.

1952 (25th)

HONORARY AWARD

To George Alfred Mitchell for the design and development of the camera which bears his name and for his continued and dominant presence in the field of cinematography.
To Joseph M. Schenck for long and distinguished service to the motion picture industry.
To Merian C. Cooper for his many innovations and contributions to the art of motion pictures.
To Harold Lloyd, master comedian and good citizen.
To Bob Hope for his contribution to the laughter of the world, his service to the motion picture industry, and his devotion to the American premise.

1951 (24th)

HONORARY AWARD

To Gene Kelly in appreciation of his versatility as an actor, singer, director and dancer, and specifically for his brilliant achievements in the art of choreography on film.

1950 (23rd)

HONORARY AWARD

To George Murphy for his services in interpreting the film industry to the country at large.
To Louis B. Mayer for distinguished service to the motion picture industry.

1940s

1949 (22nd)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Bobby Driscoll, as the outstanding juvenile actor of 1949.
To Fred Astaire for his unique artistry and his contributions to the technique of musical pictures.
To Cecil B. DeMille, distinguished motion picture pioneer, for 37 years of brilliant showmanship.
To Jean Hersholt, for distinguished service to the motion picture industry.

1948 (21st)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Ivan Jandl, for the outstanding juvenile performance of 1948, as “Karel Malik” in The Search.
To Sid Grauman, master showman, who raised the standard of exhibition of motion pictures.
To Adolph Zukor, a man who has been called the father of the feature film in America, for his services to the industry over a period of forty years.
To Walter Wanger for distinguished service to the industry in adding to its moral stature in the world community by his production of the picture Joan of Arc.
To Jean Hersholt – in recognition of his service to the Academy during four terms as president. [2]

1947 (20th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To James Baskett for his able and heart-warming characterization of Uncle Remus, friend and story teller to the children of the world in Walt Disney’s Song of the South.
To Bill and Coo, in which artistry and patience blended in a novel and entertaining use of the medium of motion pictures.
To Shoe-Shine – the high quality of this motion picture, brought to eloquent life in a country scarred by war, is proof to the world that the creative spirit can triumph over adversity.
To Colonel William N. Selig, Albert E. Smith, Thomas Armat and George K. Spoor (one of) the small group of pioneers whose belief in a new medium, and whose contributions to its development, blazed the trail along which the motion picture has progressed, in their lifetime, from obscurity to world-wide acclaim.

1946 (19th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Laurence Olivier for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen.
To Harold Russell for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives.
To Ernst Lubitsch for his distinguished contributions to the art of the motion picture.
To Claude Jarman, Jr., outstanding child actor of 1946.

1945 (18th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Walter Wanger for his six years service as President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
To Peggy Ann Garner, outstanding child actress of 1945.
To The House I Live In, tolerance short subject; produced by Frank Ross and Mervyn LeRoy; directed by Mervyn LeRoy; screenplay by Albert Maltz; song “The House I Live In,” music by Earl Robinson, lyrics by Lewis Allan; starring Frank Sinatra; released by RKO Radio.
To Republic Studio, Daniel J. Bloomberg and the Republic Studio Sound Department for the building of an outstanding musical scoring auditorium which provides optimum recording conditions and combines all elements of acoustic and engineering design.

1944 (17th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Margaret O’Brien, outstanding child actress of 1944.
To Bob Hope for his many services to the Academy.

1943 (16th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To George Pal for the development of novel methods and techniques in the production of short subjects known as Puppetoons.

1942 (15th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Charles Boyer for his progressive cultural achievement in establishing the French Research Foundation in Los Angeles as a source of reference for the Hollywood Motion Picture Industry.
To Noel Coward for his outstanding production achievement in In Which We Serve.
To Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer for its achievement in representing the American Way of Life in the production of the “Andy Hardy” series of films.

1941 (14th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Rey Scott for his extraordinary achievement in producing Kukan, the film record of China’s struggle, including its photography with a 16mm camera under the most difficult and dangerous conditions.
To The British Ministry of Information for its vivid and dramatic presentation of the heroism of the RAF in the documentary film, Target for Tonight.
To Leopold Stokowski and his associates for their unique achievement in the creation of a new form of visualized music in Walt Disney’s production, Fantasia, thereby widening the scope of the motion picture as entertainment and as an art form.
To Walt Disney, William Garity, John N. A. Hawkins and the RCA Manufacturing Company for their outstanding contribution to the advancement of the use of sound in motion pictures through the production of Fantasia.

1940 (13th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Bob Hope, in recognition of his unselfish services to the Motion Picture Industry.
To Colonel Nathan Levinson for his outstanding service to the industry and the Army during the past nine years, which has made possible the present efficient mobilization of the motion picture industry facilities for the production of Army Training Films.

1930s

1939 (12th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Douglas Fairbanks (Commemorative Award) – recognizing the unique and outstanding contribution of Douglas Fairbanks, first President of the Academy, to the international development of the motion picture.
To The Motion Picture Relief Fund – acknowledging the outstanding services to the industry during the past year of the Motion Picture Relief Fund and its progressive leadership. Presented to Jean Hersholt, President; Ralph Morgan, Chairman of the Executive Committee; Ralph Block, First Vice-President; and Conrad Nagel.
To Judy Garland for her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year.
To William Cameron Menzies for outstanding achievement in the use of color for the enhancement of dramatic mood in the production of Gone with the Wind.
To the Technicolor Company for its contributions in successfully bringing three-color feature production to the screen.

1938 (11th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Deanna Durbin and Mickey Rooney for their significant contribution in bringing to the screen the spirit and personification of youth, and as juvenile players setting a high standard of ability and achievement.
To Harry M. Warner in recognition of patriotic service in the production of historical short subjects presenting significant episodes in the early struggle of the American people for liberty.
To Walt Disney for Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, recognized as a significant screen innovation which has charmed millions and pioneered a great new entertainment field for the motion picture cartoon.
To Oliver Marsh and Allen Davey for the color cinematography of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer production, Sweethearts.
For outstanding achievement in creating Special Photographic and Sound Effects in the Paramount production, Spawn of the North. Special Effects by Gordon Jennings, assisted by Jan Domela, Dev Jennings, Irmin Roberts and Art Smith. Transparencies by Farciot Edouart, assisted by Loyal Griggs. Sound Effects by Loren Ryder, assisted by Harry Mills, Louis H. Mesenkop and Walter Oberst.
To J. Arthur Ball for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of color in Motion Picture Photography.

1937 (10th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Mack Sennett, “for his lasting contribution to the comedy technique of the screen, the basic principles of which are as important today as when they were first put into practice, the Academy presents a Special Award to that master of fun, discoverer of stars, sympathetic, kindly, understanding comedy genius – Mack Sennett.”
To Edgar Bergen for his outstanding comedy creation, “Charlie McCarthy.”
To The Museum of Modern Art Film Library for its significant work in collecting films dating from 1895 to the present and for the first time making available to the public the means of studying the historical and aesthetic development of the motion picture as one of the major arts.
To W. Howard Greene for the color photography of A Star Is Born. (This Award was recommended by a committee of leading cinematographers after viewing all the color pictures made during the year.)

1936 (9th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To The March of Time for its significance to motion pictures and for having revolutionized one of the most important branches of the industry – the newsreel.
To W. Howard Greene and Harold Rosson for the color cinematography of the Selznick International Production, The Garden of Allah.

1935 (8th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To David Wark Griffith, for his distinguished creative achievements as director and producer and his invaluable initiative and lasting contributions to the progress of the motion picture arts.

1934 (7th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Shirley Temple, in grateful recognition of her outstanding contribution to screen entertainment during the year 1934.

1931/32 (5th)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Walt Disney for the creation of “Mickey Mouse.”

1920s

1927/28 (1st)

SPECIAL AWARD

To Warner Bros., for producing The Jazz Singer, the pioneer outstanding talking picture, which has revolutionized the industry.
To Charles Chaplin, for acting, writing, directing and producing The Circus. [1]

ACADEMY NOTES

1. [NOTE: “The Academy Board of Judges on merit awards for individual achievements in motion picture arts during the year ending August 1, 1928, unanimously decided that your name should be removed from the competitive classes, and that a special first award be conferred upon you for writing, acting, directing and producing The Circus. The collective accomplishments thus displayed place you in a class by yourself.” (Letter from the Academy to Mr. Chaplin, dated February 19, 1929.)]
2. [NOTE: Presented on “Jean Hersholt Night,” June 26, 1949, at the Academy building.]
3. [NOTE: The Academy’s Board of Governors voted to confer this award on January 6, 1973. Mr. Robinson passed away on January 26th, and the award was accepted on his behalf by his wife.]