Elizabeth Taylor winning the Best Actress Oscar® for her performance in "Butterfield 8" - 33rd Annual Academy Awards® in 1961. Presented by Yul Brynner (with Bob Hope).
I met Elizabeth Taylor during an event at my job in 1991. I was not looking forward to the encounter because I had heard that she was "stuffy, aloof and arrogant". Boy were they wrong! She was as polite and nice to the little people (me) as she was to the people in her close entourage. Rest in peace Ms. Taylor.
She was recovering from a tracheotomy. So... thats why it was short. (Also probably why she won, the Academy hated her and had been snubbing her for years, for much better films)
Six years later, she won another Oscar for her searing performance as Martha in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" "Butterfield 8 was her fourth consecutive Oscar nomination and it was time.
She was nominated for best actress in a leading role in 1957, 1958, 1959 and won in 1960 for a good performance, her previous in Cat on a hot tin roof and suddenly last summer were amazing and much more deserving. Even elizabeth reconizned that. If there was ever a doubt from the critics about her acting habilities, they vanished after she won the Oscar for Who's afraid of Virginia wolf, one of the best performances ever, from an actress.
Those performances & films were indeed better. Liz herself thought the film was trash. But her disgust with the part must have somehow imbued the character because, damn...she still gave a GREAT performance! One that almost redeemed the picture. Almost.
I would have loved for her to have gotten an Oscar for "The Cat On A Hot Tin Roof" which was one of my favorite films for me. Worse, yet since she was in the middle of filiming this film "Mike Todd" had recently died but her acting was phenominal!
She herself thought her Oscar for this was more of a sympathy win since she had gotten sepsis & almost lost her leg. But imo this performance was not undeserving. She was great
You could tell everyone in that room was happy for her! She had been passed over for such iconic roles and finally won for a role which played her against type! Such a beauty and what an actress! Who cares about her personal life. She was a movie star! Love you LIZ!
The fact that she won this Oscar but hated the movie and didn’t want to play that part is phenomenal. Shows she had skills to play a role she felt uncomfortable with. Love Her
She almost died , that's why she won. Years later, even she said she thought it was a sympathy Oscar. She also said Shirley MacLaine should have won that year.
Why couldn’t I have been born during that time? Imagine meeting Yul Brynner, Elizabeth Taylor, and all the other iconic stars... too bad there’s not a time machine
You’re right, it’s not like actors ever pulled any stunts (Joan Crawford, marlon Brando) lol. I also think the award has grown in value over the years- the longer it goes, the more legendary it is. Of course an actor nowadays would break down in tears of joy- back then, some barely even acknowledged its validity or importance (K. Hepburn)
I think the main reason why he walked her up to the stage was that she was recovering from a very serious case of pneumonia and she was still extremely delicate and weak.
Incredible lady with an eternal incredible performance. The fact that she accepted that award almost immediately after an emergency tracheotomy to save her life, while recovering from a life threatening illness, and still demonstrating the utmost class and respect of the award and the academy? No wonder Elizabeth Taylor has such an iconic status even today, decades later
The reason for this very short speech of Elizabeth Taylor was that she was seriously ill with pneumonia - and having had a tracheotomy - she only came to attend the Oscar ceremony. But soon after her acceptance of the award, she went to the toilet and fainted.
@@Greenr0 She was hospitalized during the shooting of Cleopatra, and came back the US for recovery in a wheelchair. She further said she believed this Oscar was a sympathy award for her near-death illness, as she thought Butterfield 8 was "a piece of garbage".
@@DavidJohnson-yq4nz I just watched Kim Novak (again) in "Bell, Book, and Candle" and admittedly, no great actress, but for perfect, flawless beauty..."
I came here to the US in 1968 and Ms Elizabeth Taylor was the first actress l saw in movies.l was little and l was captivated with her beauty. She was so beautiful.
@Dusk Hollow not at all. She didn;t deserve this particular one, and everyone knew it. Even Shirley said that she lost to a tracheotomy. She won because hollywood was terrible to her because "she destroyed a marriage" and the press went for miss taylor, but then, she got the phneumonia thing and she almost died, so, hollywood gave her the Oscar as a way to say, we're sorry for what we did to you.
Elu absolutely! And she said herself for decades after that the film was garbage and this was a sympathy award. I personally enjoy BUtterfield 8, it’s a glossy trashy melodrama. But no way should she have won an Oscar for it. I think she should’ve won for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof...
You do realize it was purely a sympathy vote bc she was at death's door during the Oscar voting period and her illness got widespread coverage by the media. Hollywood being Hollywood pushed the votes her way. Everyone was expecting Shirley Maclaine to win for "The Apartment". Liz herself would call "Butterfield 8" a piece of trash later on. She took on the role purely for the money.
What a lady...what femininity and grace and natural beauty. There will never be another Liz Taylor. A true star, who never uttered a word in public that wasn't classy.
She had a Tracheotomy a few months before and nearly died. They just HAD to give her the Oscar that year. Anyway, BUTTERFIELD 8 (like many of her movies) lived and lives on only because of HER. She deserved this award .. if only for being Elizabeth Taylor.
+RoLorenz You know why they gave it to her and think she deserved it anyway? What hypocrisy. It's widely regarded as one of the worst choices in Oscar history and there's no doubt why.
She was great in this film. For others to say she only won because she had been ill is like saying Peter Finch and Heath Ledger had only won because they died. The results of the ballot speak from wise voters in the Academy.
I believe Ms. taylor actually hated Butterfield 8 and she felt she only won because she nearly died. Her best roles for me are Suddenly, Last summer and Who's afraid of Virginia Woolfe.
The movie isn't up to much, but she's good in it. I think people forget she had received the nomination before she was ill, and may have prevailed anyway, as it was her fourth nomination in a row and some may have felt it was "her time" to take the Oscar, even with the backlash she'd dealt with over the Eddie Fisher situation. It also didn't hurt that "Butterfield 8" was a huge hit.
Agree- I think Taylor's work in the film is underrated due to how the Oscars played out, with the illness becoming a factor in her win, even though she was nominated before her sickness. The film may not be great, but Taylor is A-1 in it, even getting a chance to do some comedy among the heavy romantic and dramatic moments in the movie.
🤷🏻EVERYONE she was still recovering from her tracheostomy just before winning this Oscar. This was also Elizabeth Taylor’s fourth OSCAR nomination on top of the public/media criticizing her for getting together with her best friend’s husband Eddie Fisher the fact she showed up to the Oscars was extraordinary by itself. The most deserving Oscar win ever.👏👏
Thanks for posting all these vids-real treat to see my fav legends in their heyday! I loved how her husband escorted her to the stage-love the chivalry back then even though she stepped out on him later with Burton.
You heard the overall loud gasp of the audience at Elizabeth's win. She had just been released from hospital after almost dying from a case of pneumonia and needed an emergency tracheotomy. In photos taken after show with her Oscar the scar on her throat is still clearly visible.Which is why hubby Eddie Fisher walked her up to the stage. Obviously they voted for her with compassion more than anything. With having lost 3rd husband Mike Todd 2 years earlier and press all over the world revealing her recent near death. However most including Liz later commented it was meant for Deborah Kerr. And with Yul Brynner presenting fans thought for sure she would win. I must say I don't think Elizabeth was conceited in her acting in fact she was often very critical of her work when fans thought it brilliant.
I agree! Miss Kerr had won the NYC Best Actress prize. Also, a very powerful movie columnist, Sidney Skolsky campaigned for Shirley MacLaine, and might have succeeded if Miss Taylor wasn't rushed to the hospital during the Oscar voting period; the newspapers had a field day with her bout with pneumonia.
"you're really having a field day, aren't you" Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? just one of many amazing line reading from one of the greatest performances, male or female, in the history of cinema ... BU8 was just a warmup for Ms Taylor
Such elegance & poise.The awards ceremony clearly meant something back then.Recalling the lyrics,"There is nothing like a dame",and there certainly wasn't anything like this Dame.R.I.P. Dame Elizabeth.
Elizabeth Taylor said "this was a sympathy Oscar" when I heard about it in her interview. I knew back then that some of the Oscars were presented that way too as sympathy if they have been ill as she was during that time after the picture of Butterfield 8 was completed. Good acting by Elizabeth which to me were the best performances before the 1970s.
A forerunner of so many awards Elizabeth Taylor would win 🏆. Perhaps the most indicative of her compassion and inner beauty is her acceptance of the Jean Herscholt Humanitarian Award. 💜 💖. I had the great honor of personally being in touch with her for the last years of her incredible life. The LAST great 🌟 of HOLLYWOOD, she was truly QUEEN 👸 of HEARTS 💕! RIP dearest Dame Elizabeth. 🌹 💐 . 🕊 🕊 🕊
She is the most magnificent movie star, and person...I love her beauty and her soul...Liz you will always be the best and the most beautiful. Love you your admirer
People make a big deal out of her marriages like she was some kind of wild woman. Actually,she was very old school and believed if you were in love and having sex you should be married. She wasn't one for flings and took love very seriously. 8 times she took it very seriously!
I've read a few of them. She had a 'big' life for sure. I think she was remarkable. The one book about her and Richard, 'Furious Love' was a very good read I thought. It goes through their meeting to the end of Richard's life.
Yes Elizabeth Tylors performance in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is one of the finest on screen of the 2oth century and matches the likes of actresses like Meryl Streep or Katherine Hepburn. With the right property and right director Liz Taylor was always on target. Not bad for a major MOVIE STAR who never had an acting lesson in her life!
Susan Hudak-Scherer It was two shades of green. Top very l8ght skirt abit darker. I would guess in a sage green. And Elizabeth had a lovely tan. There are coloured pics/images under her name in browser. The dress was the combinations of design material and colour. It didn't over whelm her. In one or two shots the dress actually looks yellow due to the lighting.I think there is also a YT coloured vid of that Oscar night. Good luck and let me know what you think..in colour☺
+Susan Hudak-Scherer Sorry Susan ; I should have said skirts's flowers were embroidered sage green and skirt was cream colour with a darker green satch around her waist accented with a red rose.
@@rahulsaran836 Indeed I did. Had Jean Simmons been nominated for ELMER GANTRY I would have rooted for her too. The other nominees were Melina Mercouri, Greer Garson, Shirley MacLaine and Deborah Kerr. Great talent but only THE APARTMENT I liked.
@@rahulsaran836 Miss Taylor elevated a weak script. She inhabited the role of Gloria in BUTTERFIELD 8. I personally believe this was not a sympathy vote at all.
There have been many unjust losses at the Oscars over the years besides this one but the most unjust loss was in 1954 when Judy Garland who thoroughly deserved it for "A Star Is Born" lost to the insipid Grace Kelly in "The Country Girl". That has to be Oscar's all time low!
justess martin yes, to this day that is considered the biggest travesty in Oscar history. It was so bad that even right after it happened other actors and actresses in Hollywood were publicly saying Judy was robbed, they didn’t give a fuck how it made Grace feel LOL.
I never considered Grace Kelly to be an actress on the talent level of her contemporaries : Judy , Liz Taylor , Audrey Hepburn . Country Girl shouldn't even have been nominated
Her, I mean Judy's performance, was good but Grace Kelly's was better. She gave the country girl a deep, very smart interpretation and her win was well deserved..
She does not sound like Marilyn. It sounds like she is experiencing a respiratory problem. If you read a few of the other comments, you will see that she was recovering from a surgical procedure. There is a scar on her throat. That is why her voice sounds that way. Marilyn's voice was that way for a completely different reason.
@@Michelle-pn9xt Her voice does sound similar here to Marilyn's when Marilyn was more breathy but as you said it was because of the surgery Elizabeth had undergone. Marilyn real voice wasn't actually breathy either.
Deborah Kerr should have won for the Sundowners. Period! Even Elizabeth Taylor said her performance in this Butterfield 8 was the worst piece of garbage she had ever done.
