By Michael Lyons
Cheers, jeers, and tears. This has all happened at The Academy Awards. The show has always brought the unexpected with it.
From emotional moments to kitschy dance numbers and political statements, there have been so many unforgettable moments on The Oscars telecast, but one thing has remained consistent: memorable acceptance speeches from the winners.
With the 94th Academy Awards scheduled for this weekend, it's the perfect time to reflect back on just some segments of the acceptance speeches we can't forget:
"I may have the baby right here!"
- Eva Marie Saint (who was nine months pregnant at the time), Best Actress, On the Waterfront
"...it is a long journey to this moment..."
- Sidney Poitier, Best Actor, Lillies of the Field
"I'll just say what's in my heart: Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump, Ba-Bump.
- Mel Brooks, Best Original Screenplay, The Producers
"I want to thank my son Francis Ford Coppola for being up here because without him I wouldn't be here. However, if I wasn't here he wouldn't be here either, right?"
- Carmine Copolla, Original Dramatic Score, The Godfather II (1974)
"Well, I guess this proves there are just as many nuts in the Academy as anywhere else."
- Jack Nicholson, Best Actor, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
"...I can't deny the fact that you like me. Right now, you like me!"
- Sally Field, Best Actress, Places in the Heart (1984)
"I would like to thank anyone who ever punched or kissed me in my life and everybody who I ever punched or kissed."
- John Patrick-Shanley, Best Original Screenplay, Moonstruck (1988)
"They forget, they forget to ask you to go out there and you...you do all these...things. Like, for instance, you go out there and do these one-arm push-ups..."
- Jack Palance (before leaving the podium to do one-arm push-ups on stage), Best Supporting Actor, City Slickers (1991)
"You broke my streak."
- Al Pacino (who had been nominated eight times before winning), Best Actor, Scent of a Woman (1992)
"This moment is so much bigger than me. This moment is for Dorothy Dandridge, Lena Horne, Diahann Carroll. It's for the women who stand beside me, Jada Pinkett, Angela Bassett, Viveca Fox. And, it's for every nameless, faceless woman of color that now has a chance because a door tonight has been opened."
- Halle Berry, Best Actress, Monsters Ball (2001)
"Call your mom, call your dad. If you're lucky enough to have a parent or two alive on this planet, call 'em. Don't text. Don't e-mail. Call them on the phone. Tell 'em you love 'em, and thank them, and listen to them for as long as they want to talk to you."
- J.K. Simmons, Best Supporting Actor, Whiplash (2014)
And, we should thank these and other Oscar winners who have inspired us with their gratitude and have allowed us to dream our own dreams.
Happy Oscar Weekend!
*For more of my articles, visit my website, Words From Lyons: Words From Lyons
**And...my new book, Drawn to Greatness: Disney's Animation Renaissance is now available on Amazon!: Drawn to Greatness
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