10 Moments When Sports Crossed Paths With The Oscars
oscar.go.com
The relationship between sports movies and the Academy Awards is a long and decorated one -- and it's made for more than a few memorable moments at the ceremonies themselves over the years. Here are 10 of our favorite Oscar moments involving sportsmen, sports flicks and all things in between.
1. As Sylvester Stallone presents the Best Supporting Actress award in 1977 -- it went to Network's Beatrice Straight in the shortest ever performance to win an Oscar -- Muhammad Ali crashes the stage with allegations of plagiarism.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o3g7kclmm0I"]
2. Later that night, Rocky becomes the first sports film ever to win Best Picture.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUrSr6Ga6i0"]
3. Robert De Niro wins Best Actor for Raging Bull in 1981 as the real-life Jake LaMotta watches from the audience.
[youtube="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH5c-WeE07c"]
4. Chariots of Fire upsets Atlantic City, On Golden Pond, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Reds for the Academy's highest honor, becoming the second sports film to win Best Picture.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vW8VrB_a8g"]
5. Peter Cetera performs "Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid, Part II, one of the nominees for Best Original Song at the 1987 ceremony. (It lost to "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun.)
6. Cuba Gooding Jr. gives a euphoric acceptance speech in 1997 after winning Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Rod Tidwell in Jerry Maguire. (George Foreman is loving it at 1:45.)
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnCMqr1QRQw"]
7. Later that night, Ali and Foreman watch from the audience as When We Were Kings, the brilliantly wrought tale of their Rumble in the Jungle, wins the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Ali gets a standing ovation.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBHYqH9qaUc"]
8. Hilary Swank wins her second Best Actress prize for her portrayal of prizefighter Maggie Fitzgerald in Million Dollar Baby at the 2005 ceremony.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWGNsP26ttQ"]
9. Christian Bale accepts the Best Supporting Actor honor for the role of ex-boxer Dicky Eklund in The Fighter, a role he dropped one-third of his body weight to play. (Melissa Leo took Supporting Actress for her brilliant turn as Eklund's mom.)
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsEGpXlpcO8"]
10. Marlon Brando accepts the Best Actor prize (from Bette Davis!) for the part of tortured former boxer Terry Malloy in On The Waterfront.
[youtube="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_VJtDZBttY"]
Follow Bryan Armen Graham on Twitter.
