51st Academy Awards

The 51st Academy Awards were presented April 9, 1979 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by Johnny Carson.

Notably, the two "front-runners" for Best Picture this year - Coming Home and The Deer Hunter - were anti-war films that reflected the nation's growing resentment over the Vietnam War. John Wayne, who would die of stomach cancer two months later, made his final public appearance to present the Oscar to the producers of The Deer Hunter.

This was also the final public appearance of Jack Haley, who died two months after presenting the Best Costume Design award with his co-star from The Wizard of Oz, Ray Bolger. His son, Jack Haley Jr., produced this ceremony.

This was the first of several consecutive ceremonies presided over by talk show host Johnny Carson; introducing him on this broadcast, the announcer identified him as "John Carson".

As of 2015, this is the earliest Oscars where all four acting winners are still living.

Awards

Winners are listed first and highlighted in boldface.^[1]^[2]

Best Picture	Best Director
*The Deer Hunter* Coming Home Heaven Can Wait Midnight Express An Unmarried Woman	Michael Cimino – The Deer Hunter Hal Ashby – Coming Home Warren Beatty and Buck Henry – Heaven Can Wait Woody Allen – Interiors Alan Parker – Midnight Express
Best Actor	Best Actress
Jon Voight – Coming Home Warren Beatty – Heaven Can Wait Gary Busey – The Buddy Holly Story Robert De Niro – The Deer Hunter Laurence Olivier – The Boys from Brazil	Jane Fonda – Coming Home Ingrid Bergman – Autumn Sonata Ellen Burstyn – Same Time, Next Year Jill Clayburgh – An Unmarried Woman Geraldine Page – Interiors
Best Supporting Actor	Best Supporting Actress
Christopher Walken – The Deer Hunter Bruce Dern – Coming Home Richard Farnsworth – Comes a Horseman John Hurt – Midnight Express Jack Warden – Heaven Can Wait	Maggie Smith – California Suite Dyan Cannon – Heaven Can Wait Penelope Milford – Coming Home Maureen Stapleton – Interiors Meryl Streep – The Deer Hunter
Best Original Screenplay	Best Adapted Screenplay
Coming Home – Nancy Dowd, Waldo Salt and Robert C. Jones Autumn Sonata – Ingmar Bergman The Deer Hunter – Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle and Quinn K. Redeker Interiors – Woody Allen An Unmarried Woman – Paul Mazursky	Midnight Express – Oliver Stone Bloodbrothers – Walter Newman California Suite – Neil Simon Heaven Can Wait – Elaine May and Warren Beatty Same Time, Next Year – Bernard Slade
Best Foreign Language Film	Best Costume Design
Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (France) The Glass Cell (West Germany) Hungarians (Hungary) Viva Italia! (Italy) White Bim Black Ear (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)	Death on the Nile – Anthony Powell Caravans – Renie Conley Days of Heaven – Patricia Norris The Swarm – Paul Zastupnevich The Wiz – Tony Walton
Best Documentary Feature	Best Documentary Short
Scared Straight! The Lovers' Wind Mysterious Castles of Clay Raoni With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade	*The Flight of the Gossamer Condor* The Divided Trail: A Native American Odyssey An Encounter with Faces Goodnight Miss Ann Squires of San Quentin
Best Live Action Short	Best Animated Short
*Teenage Father* A Different Approach Mandy's Grandmother Strange Fruit	*Special Delivery* Oh My Darling Rip Van Winkle
Best Original Score	Best Original Song Score or Adaptation Score
Midnight Express – Giorgio Moroder The Boys from Brazil – Jerry Goldsmith Days of Heaven – Ennio Morricone Heaven Can Wait – Dave Grusin Superman – John Williams	The Buddy Holly Story – Joe Renzetti The Wiz – Quincy Jones Pretty Baby – Jerry Wexler
Best Original Song	Best Sound Mixing
*"Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday* – Music and Lyric by Paul Jabara** "Hopelessly Devoted to You" from Grease – Music and Lyric by John Farrar "The Last Time I Felt Like This" from Same Time, Next Year – Music by Marvin Hamlisch; Lyric by Alan and Marilyn Bergman "Ready to Take a Chance Again" from Foul Play – Music by Charles Fox; Lyric by Norman Gimbel "When You're Loved" from The Magic of Lassie – Music and Lyric by Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman	The Deer Hunter – Richard Portman, William McCaughey, Aaron Rochin and Darin Knight Hooper – Robert Knudson, Robert Glass, Don MacDougall and Jack Solomon Superman – Gordon K. McCallum, Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier and Roy Charman The Buddy Holly Story – Tex Rudloff, Joel Fein, Curly Thirlwell and Willie D. Burton Days of Heaven – John Wilkinson, Robert W. Glass, Jr., John T. Reitz and Barry Thomas
Best Art Direction	Best Cinematography
Heaven Can Wait – Art Direction: Paul Sylbert and Edwin O'Donovan; Set Decoration: George Gaines The Brink's Job – Art Direction: Dean Tavoularis and Angelo Graham; Set Decoration: George R. Nelson and Bruce Kay California Suite– Art Direction: Albert Brenner; Set Decoration: Marvin March Interiors – Art Direction: Mel Bourne; Set Decoration: Daniel Robert The Wiz – Art Direction: Tony Walton and Philip Rosenberg; Set Decoration: Edward Stewart and Robert Drumheller	Days of Heaven – Nestor Almendros The Deer Hunter – Vilmos Zsigmond Heaven Can Wait – William A. Fraker Same Time, Next Year – Robert Surtees The Wiz – Oswald Morris
Best Film Editing	Best Visual Effects
The Deer Hunter – Peter Zinner Superman – Stuart Baird Midnight Express – Gerry Hambling The Boys From Brazil – Robert E. Swink Coming Home – Don Zimmerman	Superman – Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, Roy Field, Derek Meddings and Zoran Perisic

Academy Honorary Awards^[1]

Medal of Commendation^[1]

Linwood G. Dunn, Loren L. Ryder and Waldon O. Watson

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award^[1]

Leo Jaffe

Presenters

Name	Role
Williams, RobinRobin Williams	Honorary Award to Walter Lantz
Woodpecker, WoodyWoody Woodpecker	Honorary Award to Walter Lantz
Thomas, DannyDanny Thomas	Voting Rules
Cannon, DyanDyan Cannon	Best Supporting Actor
Savalas, TellyTelly Savalas	Best Supporting Actor
Smith, MaggieMaggie Smith	Scientific and Technical Awards
Stapleton, MaureenMaureen Stapleton	Scientific and Technical Awards
Benson, RobbyRobby Benson	Short Subject Awards
Lynley, CarolCarol Lynley	Short Subject Awards
Farrow, MiaMia Farrow	Documentary Awards
Wolper, David L.David L. Wolper	Documentary Awards
Jones, ShirleyShirley Jones	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Schroeder, RickyRicky Schroeder	Best Art Direction-Set Decoration
Bolger, RayRay Bolger	Best Costume Design
Haley, JackJack Haley	Best Costume Design
DeLuise, DomDom DeLuise	Best Film Editing
Perrine, ValerieValerie Perrine	Best Film Editing
Martin, SteveSteve Martin	Best Visual Effects
Kidder, MargotMargot Kidder	Sound Awards
Reeve, ChristopherChristopher Reeve	Sound Awards
Coburn, JamesJames Coburn	Best Cinematography
Novak, KimKim Novak	Best Cinematography
Keeler, RubyRuby Keeler	Best Original Song
Kristofferson, KrisKris Kristofferson	Best Original Song
Williams, PaulPaul Williams	Introducer to Sammy Davis Jr. and Steve Lawrence performance
Martin, DeanDean Martin	Music Awards
Welch, RaquelRaquel Welch	Music Awards
Peck, GregoryGregory Peck	Presenter: Honorary Award to the Museum of Modern Art Department of Film
Brynner, YulYul Brynner	Best Foreign Language Film
Wood, NatalieNatalie Wood	Best Foreign Language Film
Burns, GeorgeGeorge Burns	Best Supporting Actress
Shields, BrookeBrooke Shields	Best Supporting Actress
Bacall, LaurenLauren Bacall	Writing Awards
Voight, JonJon Voight	Writing Awards
Hepburn, AudreyAudrey Hepburn	Honorary Award to King Vidor
Coppola, Francis FordFrancis Ford Coppola	Best Director
MacGraw, AliAli MacGraw	Best Director
Grant, CaryCary Grant	Honorary Award to Laurence Olivier
Dreyfuss, RichardRichard Dreyfuss	Best Actress
MacLaine, ShirleyShirley MacLaine	Best Actress
Valenti, JackJack Valenti	Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
Rogers, GingerGinger Rogers	Best Actor
Ross, DianaDiana Ross	Best Actor
Wayne, JohnJohn Wayne	Best Picture

Performers

Name	Performed
Newton-John, OliviaOlivia Newton-John	"Hopelessly Devoted to You" (from Grease)
Olivor, JaneJane Olivor	"The Last Time I Felt Like This" (from Same Time, Next Year)
Mathis, JohnnyJohnny Mathis
Summer, DonnaDonna Summer	"Last Dance" (from Thank God It's Friday)
Boone, DebbyDebby Boone	"When You're Loved" (from The Magic of Lassie)
Manilow, BarryBarry Manilow	"Ready to Take a Chance Again" (from Foul Play)
Davis Jr., SammySammy Davis Jr.	"Oscar's Only Human"
Lawrence, SteveSteve Lawrence	"Oscar's Only Human"

Multiple nominations and awards

These films had multiple nominations:

9 nominations: The Deer Hunter, Heaven Can Wait
8 nominations: Coming Home
6 nominations: Midnight Express
5 nominations: Interiors
4 nominations: Days of Heaven, Same Time, Next Year, The Wiz
3 nominations: The Boys from Brazil, The Buddy Holly Story, California Suite, Superman, An Unmarried Woman
2 nominations: Autumn Sonata

The following films received multiple awards.

5 wins: The Deer Hunter
3 wins: Coming Home
2 wins: Midnight Express

References

↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 The Official Acadademy Awards® Database
↑ "The 51st Academy Awards (1979) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 2011-10-06.

Academy Awards

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) Records Most wins per ceremony Oscar season History of film

Merit awards	Best Picture Directing Actor Actress Supporting Actor Supporting Actress Adapted Screenplay Original Screenplay Animated Feature Documentary Feature Foreign Language Film Animated Short Film Documentary Short Subject Live Action Short Film Cinematography Costume Design Film Editing Makeup and Hairstyling Original Score Original Song Best Original Musical Production Design Sound Editing Sound Mixing Visual Effects

Special awards	Academy Honorary Award Academy Scientific and Technical Award Gordon E. Sawyer Award Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award John A. Bonner Medal of Commendation Special Achievement Academy Award Student Academy Award

Retired awards	Assistant Director Dance Direction Director of a Comedy Picture Engineering Effects Short Subject, Two-reel Short Subject, Comedy Short Subject, Novelty Original Story Title Writing Unique and Artistic Quality of Production Academy Juvenile Award

Ceremonies (Book)	1927/28 1928/29 1929/30 1930/31 1931/32 1932/33 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 See also: Governors Awards

Book Category Portal

51st Academy Awards

Awards

Academy Honorary Awards[1]

Medal of Commendation[1]

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award[1]