The Golden Globe® nominations get announced in December every year. Then the buzz of this year’s Oscar® hopefuls will keep getting louder and louder until the Oscar® nominations come out in January. So while everybody gets excited about this year’s hopefuls, I thought I would take a look at some of the mistakes the Oscar® voters have made over the years.
This is my personal Top Ten list of classic actors or actresses that never received an Oscar® nomination for their entire career. I have added some honorable mentions at the end of those that just missed making my list. That being said, I acknowledge that there are many more people that could have made the list, but these are my top choices.
1. Joseph Cotten (1905-1994) appeared in 74 movies from 1941’s Citizen Kane (a nice way to start your film career) to 1981.
Joseph helped Ingrid Bergman win her first Oscar® in 1944’s Gaslight as well as helping Loretta Young win her Oscar® in 1947’s The Farmer’s Daughter.
Other classic movies he appeared in would include Citizen Kane, The Magnificent Ambersons, Shadow of a Doubt, Since You Went Away, Duel in the Sun, and Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte.
According to film historian Danny Peary, in his book Alternate Oscars®, Cotten should have received nominations for The Magnificient Ambersons and Shadow of a Doubt.
2. Glenn Ford (1916-2006) appeared in 88 movies from 1931 to 1991. Some of the movies that Ford could have received an Oscar® nomination for: 1946’s Gilda, 1953’s The Big Heat, 1955’s The Blackboard Jungle, 1956’s The Teahouse of the August Moon, 1957’s 3:10 to Yuma and 1978’s Superman (I think he was easily the best Clark Kent dad ever!)
Ford did receive 3 Golden Globe® nominations for acting including winning Best Actor in Pocketful of Miracles. He was also nominated for 1956’s The Teahouse of the August Moon and 1957’s Don’t Go Near The Water.
My personal favorite performances of Glenn Ford were in Experiment in Terror, The Big Heat and Jubal. It would seem after 60 years of making movies that somewhere Oscar® would have come knocking at some point.
3. Rita Hayworth (1918-1987) appeared in 59 movies from 1934 to 1972. Hayworth appeared in numerous classic movies during her career.
1941’s The Strawberry Blonde and 1942’s You Were Never Lovelier helped make her a star. 1946’s Gilda turned her into a superstar. Proving she was more than a pretty lady she showed her acting skills in 1947’s The Lady from Shanghai, 1953 Miss Sadie Thompson, 1959’s They Came to Cordura and 1964’s Circus World.
Although she never received an Oscar® nomination she did receive a Golden Globe® nomination for Circus World as Best Actress. Sadly at age 42, Alzheimer’s disease limited her career to very small roles until she was almost helpless by 1981.
If I had to take one of these actors out of my Top Ten it would probably be Hope as they did after all give him 5 Oscars® along the way.
5. Myrna Loy (1905-1993) appeared in 121 movies from 1925 to 1980. She went from silent films to the “talkies” without an issue. She became one of the biggest female stars ever, yet managed not to get an Oscar® nomination.
Loy’s peak time was from 1932 to 1940, she would appear with William Powell in The Thin Man movies as well as many others with him.
Her greatest role was probably in 1946’s The Best Years of Our Lives…which was nominated for 8 Oscars® but not one for the star of the movie, Loy. Myrna Loy was also shut out of the Golden Globe® nominations as well….but she did receive an Honorary Oscar® in 1991.
6. Marilyn Monroe (1926-1962) appeared in 27 movies from 1947 to 1961. She should have easily been nominated for the classic comedy 1959’s Some Like It Hot. According to Danny Peary’s book, Alternate Oscar®, not only should she have been nominated she should have won the Oscar® for Best Actress.
Other Monroe performances that should have gotten the attention of the Oscar® voters were 1953’s How To Marry A Millionaire, 1955’s The Seven Year Itch, 1956’s Bus Stop and 1961’s The Misfits.
The Golden Globe® voters gave Monroe a little more respect than the Oscar® voters did….she was nominated twice for Best Actress….the first time was in 1956’s Bus Stop and she won the Golden Globe® for Best Actress for Some Like It Hot. So I am curious …is anybody aware the performance that won the Oscar® for Best Actress in 1959? The answer is Simone Signoret in Room at the Top.
7. Peter Lorre (1904-1964) appeared in 84 movies from 1930 to 1964. During his career he appeared in some of the most famous movies of all-time.
Some of those movies would include: 1931’s M, 1941’s The Maltese Falcon, 1942’s Casablanca, 1944’s Arsenic and Old Lace, 1953’s Beat the Devil, 1954’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and many Mr. Moto movies from the 1930s.
One of the first famous supporting actors, he always brought something extra to his roles. It is amazing that he never received an Oscar® nomination during his entire career. I think if the voters were to re-vote, Peter Lorre would receive two Oscar® nominations…his first would be for his role as Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon and the second would be his role as Ugarte in Casablanca.
Film historian, Steve Lensman, agrees with me 100% on the selection of Peter Lorre for this list.
8. Fred MacMurray (1908-1991) appeared in 83 movies from 1935 to 1978. One of his first big breaks was starring opposite Katharine Hepburn Oscar® nominated performance in 1935’s Alice Adams. His greatest performance was probably in 1944’s Double Indemnity….which got co-star Barbara Stanwyck a nomination but not one for him.
He followed that with more stellar performances in 1945’s Where Do We Go From Here and 1947’s The Egg and I. By the late 1950s he was appearing in supporting roles but he was still giving strong performances. 1954’s The Caine Mutiny and 1960’s The Apartment are two of his strong supporting roles that should have caused some Oscar buzz. MacMurray did receive one Golden Globe® nomination for Best Actor in 1961’s The AbsentMinded Professor.
9. Vincent Price (1911-1993) appeared in close to 100 movies from 1938 to 1990. Before Vincent Price became one of the Masters of Horror…he was having a very nice career as a supporting actor.
In the 1940’s he gave quality performances in supporting roles in 1943’s The Song of Bernadette, 1944’s Wilson, 1944’s Laura, 1944’s Keys to the Kingdom and 1946’s Dragonwyck. The 1950’s gave Price more success with 1953’s House of Wax, 1956’s The Ten Commandments and 1958’s The Fly.
Rounding out his top ten roles would be 1960’s The House of Usher and 1990’s Edward Scissorhands. Vincent Price never received an Oscar® or a Golden Globe® nomination. I think a Edward Scissorhands nomination for Best Supporting Actor would have been a nice way to reward Price for all of his time spent in movies…..but I guess nobody else saw it that way in 1990.
10. Edward G. Robinson (1893-1973) appeared in 87 movies from 1923 to 1973. The first part of his career Robinson was a leading man and gave many great performances in movies like: 1931’s Little Caesar, 1940’s Dr. Ehrlich’s Magic Bullet and A Dispatch from Reuter’s and 1943’s Flesh and Fantasy.
With Double Indemnity in 1944, Robinson started appearing in more supporting parts. I think his performance in Double Indemnity should not only have received a nomination it should have won the Oscar® for Best Supporting Actor.
Robinson would provide many more fine performances over the next thirty years….some of those movies were: 1945’s Scarlet Street, 1948’s Key Largo, 1956’s The Ten Commandments, 1965’s The Cincinnati Kid, and his last role 1973’s Soylent Green.
Despite all of these great roles….Robinson never received an Oscar® or Golden Globe® nomination.
Honorable Mentions
6 More Actors/Actresses That Never Received An Oscar® Nomination.
Errol Flynn, Dean Martin, Dana Andrews, Boris Karloff, Jean Harlow, Buster Keaton, Danny Kaye
Academy Award® and Oscar® are the registered trademarks of the Academy of Motion Arts and Sciences.
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Interesting list. Why Edward G. Robinson never got an Oscar let alone a nomination is beyond me. Another thespian I would add to your list is Hedy Lamarr. She truly deserved a nomination for her performance in BOOM TOWN in my opinion. Myrna Loy also deserved an Oscar for her performance in LIBELED LADY as well as being nominated for her performances in THE THIN MAN and BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES. Character actresses Mary Wickes and Margaret Hamilton never got a nomination, either. Joesph Cotten should of gotten a nomination for THE THIRD MAN as well as SHADOW OF A DOUBT and THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS. For the most part, though, I feel most of your comments were right on the nose.
“I don’t think the Myrna Loy ‘Queen of Hollywood’ website would be happy with Bob’s recent posts.”
HI STEVE: I take your point in that comment you made to WH and I would not wish to be offensive to other viewers or to moderators; but I would defend myself by emphasising that (1) as The Donald says I try to “tell it as it is”; otherwise NOTHING one says has much value (2) my own idols have often taken a knock: for example Flora as is her right has emphasised on a couple of occasions her dislike or at least lack of interest in Brando and WH has rubbed in my face Hirsch’s vitriolic thoughts about The Great Mumbler (3) I try to avoid claiming too much for any of my own idols. For example I quite accept that in Time magazine’s highly-prized list of the 100 most influential people from all walks of life in the 2oth Century, Brando is just the second most important person – to that other genius Albert Einstein.
Therefore regarding The Thin Woman, whilst it could be regarded as ‘bad luck’ to be denied one award or one type of award; to apparently never have been even nominated for ANY competitive award, major or minor, in the multitudes that have been handed out over a long career: surely that can’t be completely put down to “mistakes” as the Work Horse seems to be suggesting The Thin Woman’s total exclusion from competitive awards/noms arises from?
In fact she has to her name just 4 honorary awards and no noms whatsoever; heck my Deanna got 2 and she was not considered a ‘great actress’ entitled to awards whilst the Loy/Durbin contemporaries of those time such as B Davis and Katie Hep earned large numbers of both major and more minor awards/noms [respectively 48 and 64 combined for each of the pair].
BUD FOX: I suppose that to be successful on Wall Street you have to be lucky as well as talented?”
GORDON GEKKO [Pointing in turn to (1) a well-dressed man carrying a brief-case and looking deservedly self-important standing waiting for traffic lights to change and (2) a rather down and out looking individual pushing a cart and sweeping the road nearby] “Sport, are you going to tell me that the difference between THAT man there and THIS man here is LUCK?”
[WALL STREET 1987]
Personally I don’t see Myrna being in the forefront of those who deserved Oscar wins or noms because-
1/She had I thought limited versatility and seemingly did not attempt the kind of meaty dramatic roles that Davis made her own. When Loy did tackle a straight role as in The Rains Came she was, as I perceived her, rather routine in the portrayal.
2/Myrna was, I feel, most thought of as Bill Powell’s amusing sidekick/foil in The Thin Woman series. Yet there the flamboyant Bill was the central figure with Loy simply playing a female George Gabby Hayes to Bill’s Randy Scott or Duke Wayne.
3/. The Melvyn Douglas quote on the latter’s Cogerson page is firm evidence that Loy was well down the pecking order at MGM with for example Crawford, Harlow and Shearer among the women above her in the studio’s own star ranking system.
4/Freddie March [rightly I thought] won the Oscar for ‘Best Years’ and Dana Andrews had in effect the lead role, but was not an established enough star at the time to get top billing. However in 1950s re-runs I watched ‘Best Years’ not for March or Loy but for Dana and so I think did many others.
I have always felt Myrna was never among the front runners who could be considered “Oscar material”; because somebody is famous and has been around a long time does not automatically translate to a kind of divine entitlement.
In the British Civil Service if an official occupies a certain position a peerage or knighthood “goes with the territory”: one or other State honour is guaranteed even if a person is mediocre in the job concerned.
Furthermore most British thespians who are part of the acting ‘clique’ are given honours of one kind or another even if they are people whom nobody outside of Britain has ever been heard of. I feel that Myrna was a competent actress and the Honorary Oscar that she got in 1991 was probably the height of her entitlement.
However whatever a person’s own opinions are in the matter, I don’t suppose that one can make Oscar the sole scapegoat for Myrna’s lack of serious formal recognition as an actress. Overall among Myrna’s peers-
1/ Katie Hepburn is credited with 28 acting awards and 36 nominations;
2/Davis has 26 acting awards and 22 nominations;
3/even Crawford, regarded as more a glamorous ‘star’ than a ‘great actress’ has 9 awards and 7 noms including one Oscar and 2 Academy Award nominations;
4/Garbo had 10 awards, 6 noms including 3 Oscar noms. an an Honorary Oscar
Myrna has just 4 awards [including the honorary one] and 0 noms. So you have to ask yourself: why had she not greater success in competing for even the more minor awards?
You are a nut! Loy was at one time voted the Queen Of Hollywood (Gable voted the King Of Hollywood). She did many fine performances. She should have received a few nominations, especially for Best Years!
Myrna Loy deservedly winter a Lifetime Achievement Oscar, which I consider much more important than a one off “Best” award. After I saw her in “The Best Years of Iur Lives,” I was certain that she had at least been nominated. I was stunned when I found out she hadn’t. I think she displayed great range within the limits of the Hollywood of her era. You mention Norma Shearer. Or son Wells said was the worst actress to ever hit the silver screen. Watch her flicks. She did have a tendency to be melodramatic.
Hey Bruce J. Good thoughts on Myrna Loy….I agree with it 100%. Interesting point about Norma Shearer. I think some of her issue was becoming a star in the silent film days…and it took awhile to get used to acting with sound. I think she is a decent actress….though I really did not like Idiot’s Delight…which is one of the 3 or 4 movies I have seen with her. Thanks for stopping by and commenting…..both are greatly appreciated.
What has to be the greatest stain on the Academy Awards is Edward G.Robinson was never even nominated for either best actor or even best supporting actor.After playing so many different character roles the Academy finally gave him an honorary award while he was dying and passed away before it was even given and his second wife Jane received it.This should have been your number one choice and i’m amazed it isn’t.
Hey Jay K. I agree with you 100%….EGR should have gotten at least one Oscar nomination. Double Indemnity is one of many roles of his that should have gotten that honor. Our list was in ABC order….not sure how I would have rated them if I had done it in my own order…but EGR would be near the top. Good comment….thanks for stopping by.
From the modern era, John Cazale. He appeared in five films over six years, all of which were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture: The Godfather, The Conversation, The Godfather Part II, Dog Day Afternoon, and The Deer Hunter.
Hey Joel….John Cazale’s five movies are all incredible…as for Cazale roles…I think he was best in Dog Day Afternoon. His roles in The Conversation and The Deer Hunter were very very small….and did not really move the plot of the movie. I would say his role in Godfather II was a better role than his role in part 1. John Cazale has been the answer to one of my favorite trivia questions (5 for 5 in Best Picture Oscar nominations) for a very long time. Good stuff.
I agree with you, Cogerson — did you know his line in Dog Day was ad libbed, when Pacino asks him what country he’d like to go to when they get the plane and Cazale says something like, “Wyoming.” Pacino didn’t know it was coming, played it straight, and they left it in — all deadpanned by both actors. At least that’s the story I heard. Loved him as Fredo, too!
Hey Joel K. Good stuff about Cazale’s Wyoming line. Another tidbit that I find interesting…..Meryl Streep was the love of his life at the time of his passing. Streep took care of him during his last days. Thanks for the return comment.