Capital Region Oscar winners
Gloria Swanson was ready for her close-up because of a writer from Saratoga Springs.
Oscar weekend is here, and it got us wondering about Academy Award winners from the Capital Region.
We did a little poking around and found some local folks who took home the coveted statues.
And the winners are...
Charles Bracket
The most honored Capital Region winner was a writer/producer who wrote the line, "Mr. DeMill, I'm ready for my close-up." Charles Bracket was born in Saratoga. The son of bank owner Edgar Bracket, Charles brought home three screenwriting Oscars for "Sunset Boulevard," "The Lost Weekend," and "Titanic." He was later given a fourth Oscar for Lifetime Achievement. A cottage that belonged to Brackett still stands in Saratoga. It's on the Saratoga Springs Preservation Society's list of top ten buildings to save.
Edwin J. Burke
Back in 1931, Albany's Edwin J. Burke picked up a Best Screenplay Oscar for his screenplay for the movie "The Bad Girl."
Eva Marie Saint
Eva Marie Saint picked up her Best Actress Oscar for "On the Waterfront" in 1955, thirteen years after she graduated from Bethlehem High School in Delmar.
Maureen Stapleton
Troy native Maureen Stapleton took home an Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her role as Emma Goldman in the 1982 film, "Reds." She also scored Best Supporting Actress nominations for "Lonelyhearts,"Interiors," and "Airport."
Kirk Douglas
Yep, Michael's dad. Kirk Douglas was nominated for three Best Actor awards for his roles in "Lust for Life," "The Bad and the Beautiful," and "Champion," but he never won. In 1996 the Academy gave Douglas an Honorary Award for "50 years as a creative and moral force in the motion picture community."
An honor to be nominated:
Mickey Rourke
Mickey Rourke, who was nudged out for the Best Actor honor last year by Sean Penn, was born Phillip Andrew Rourke in Schenectady.
Montey Woolley
Woolley made his name as "The Man Who Came to Dinner," but was received his best actor nominations for two other films, "Since You Went Away" and "The Pied Piper." Woolley never won an Academy Award. Woolley's father was a manager of the old Grand Union Hotel in Saratoga Springs, and he spent a lot of time there. The actor died in Albany and is buried at the Greenridge Cemetary in Saratoga.
John Sayles
John Sayles of Schenectady was nominated twice for the Best Screenplay honor. His first nomination was in 1992 for "Passion Fish" and his second was in 1996 for "Lone Star."
Ranald McDougall
Schenectady native Ranald McDougall was nominated for his Screenplay for the Joan Crawford film, "Mildred Pierce."
Other brushes with Oscar:
+Martin Scorcesese's, "The Age of Innocence" was filmed, in part, in Troy. It won the Oscar for Best Costumes and was nominated for four more.
+"The Way We Were," filmed in part in Ballston Spa and at Emma Willard took two awards (song and score) and was nominated for four more.
+"Ironweed," picked up best actor/actress nominations for Meryl Streep and Jack Nicholson.
Know about any that we missed?
(Thanks, Jess & Peter!)
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Comments
Best screenplay for “The Grifters†in 1990 was written by Donald Westlake, an Albany native.
... said juboga on Mar 5, 2010 at 4:18 PM | link
Scent of Woman, which got Al Pacino his Oscar was filmed in part at Emma Willard. It also received 3 Golden Globes. Also, wasn't Love Story filmed in part at Union College? It was nominated for 7 Oscars, and won for Best Score.
... said Sarah on Mar 5, 2010 at 4:20 PM | link
Scent of a Woman won an Oscar and it was filmed at Emma Willard
... said Gretchen on Mar 5, 2010 at 4:32 PM | link
The Yaddo Artists Community in Saratoga has lots of Oscar Connections:
For 2010:
Up in the Air, is a screen adaptation of a novel by Yaddo author Walter Kirn
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire, is a film based on a book by Yaddo writer Sapphire
Fantastic Mr. Fox, is a screenplay co-written by Yaddo filmmaker Noah Baumbach and director Wes Anderson. Baumbach's "The Squid and the Whale" was also nominated for Best Original Screen Play in 2006, and he wrote some of that while he was at Yaddo.
And, we have a winner!...
Yaddo filmmaker Eva Orner won an 2008 Oscar in the Best Documentary Feature category for her work on Taxi to the Dark Side
http://yaddo.org/
... said Jessica R on Mar 5, 2010 at 4:44 PM | link
Schenectady's Ranald MacDougall, nominated for best screenplay for 1945's "Mildred Pierce." Joan Crawford won best actress for the title role.
... said Tim on Mar 5, 2010 at 6:07 PM | link
And.....I totally overlooked that Ranald was already mentioned. D'oh!
... said Tim on Mar 5, 2010 at 6:08 PM | link
Actually, "The Way We Were" was filmed at Union. The rally for peace is held in front of the Nott Memorial.
... said A Mistake on Mar 5, 2010 at 9:50 PM | link
The Albany Institute has an Oscar in its collection and usllualy drags it out this time of year...
... said Pam on Mar 5, 2010 at 10:46 PM | link
Also - what about the Cotton Club - 1985. Written by our own William Kennedy, nominated for Best Art Direction and Best Film Editing.
... said Pam on Mar 5, 2010 at 10:51 PM | link
Pam is right. The Albany Institute does have an Academy Award in its collection. It was awarded in 1932 to Albany native Edwin J. Burke (1885-1944). Burke was a playwright, screenwriter, and director who won the Oscar for Best Writing for the screenplay adaptation of the movie, "Bad Girl," a part melodrama, part comedy, about a young married couple struggling to survive the Depression. Burke's Oscar (which is on display in the Collections Viewing Room along with a photo of Burke) was donated to the Albany Institute by family members.
... said Steve on Mar 8, 2010 at 9:34 AM | link