Iconic Oscar Moments Captured in Photos

1. “They Got the Wrong Envelope!” (2017)

Standing in the wings, Los Angeles Times photographer Al Seib captured the astonished expressions of the front rows of Oscar attendees — among them Meryl Streep, Dwayne Johnson and Matt Damon — as well as Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs and a slew of other luminaries when it became apparent that La La Land had not, in fact, won best picture (it was Moonlight!), despite Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway’s announcement. It later was dicovered that the mistake was not the presenters’ but that of a distracted and starstruck PwC accountant, Brian Cullinan.

2. The Morning After (1977)

Faye Dunaway later married the photographer, Terry O’Neill, who shot this most famous of post-Oscar pictures, depicting the actress lounging at the Beverly Hills Hotel’s pool, surrounded by her breakfast, her trophy and the newspaper headlines heralding her best actress win for Network the night before. (The picture almost certainly was inspired by a similar 1972 photo of Charlie Chaplin reading the papers after winning his honorary Oscar.)

3. Feeling Better (1946)

Joan Crawford, a megastar since the silent era, fell into a career slump during the 1940s and was deemed box office poison. Then, after leaving her longtime home studio of MGM, she gave the performance of her life as a working-class single mother in Mildred Pierce, making her the favorite for 1946’s best actress prize. Still, nervous about her chances, she skipped the show, claiming to be ill. But after she did in fact win, the film’s director Michael Curtiz and her co-star Ann Blyth delivered the statuette to her bedside, bringing a gaggle of photographers with them, including the unknown shutterbug who shot this picture.

4. Getting the Party Started (1929)

A group shot of the first Academy Awards ceremony was captured by an unknown photographer in the Hollywood Roosevelt’s Blossom Room. (It marked the second meeting of AMPAS but was the first in which awards were given.) The faces have changed since then — look closely and you can spot Louis B. Mayer, Cecil B. DeMille, Douglas Fairbanks, Irving Thalberg and Norma Shearer — but the ballroom has barely changed and is still available to rent. 

5. The World’s Most Famous Selfie (2014)

It later emerged that it was all paid product placement — phone-maker Samsung coughed up $20 million for the stunt — but the Oscars selfie, initiated by host Ellen DeGeneres and shot by Bradley Cooper, was for a time the most retweeted post ever. You probably recognize every single one of these faces — except for the bow tie-clad person on the right, Peter Nyong’o (Lupita’s brother), who crashed the shot.

6. Sibling Rivalry (1945)

Backstage after winning best actress for To Each His Own, Olivia de Havilland turned away from her sister, Joan Fontaine, who had won the same award three years earlier for Suspicion. The siblings famously feuded throughout their lives, but never had their feelings been captured by a photographer. “Miss de Havilland had no wish to have her picture taken with her sister,” her publicist explained.

7. Blonde and Brunette (1956)

Photographer Allan Grant captured in one frame all the mystique, glamour and weightiness of Oscar night in this backstage shot of Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly, the two most recent best actress winners, both waiting (nervously, it would appear) to present that year’s best picture and best actor awards. (The winners were Marty and its star, Ernest Borgnine.)

8. Eight Is Enough (Circa mid-1970s)

The legendary costume designer Edith Head, who also served for years as a fashion consultant for the Oscars ceremony — and, by the way, later inspired the character Edna Mode in The Incredibles — won eight Oscars over her career, referring to the statuettes as her “children.” (The first one was for 1949’s The Heiress and the last one for 1973’s The Sting.)Here, an unidentified photographer snapped a family portrait.

9. Silver Linings (2013)

Photographer Kevin Winter caught Jennifer Lawrence hiding her face in embarrassment after tripping on her dress while walking up the steps to accept her best actress trophy for Silver Linings Playbook. (At just 22, she was the second youngest to land that prize.) She already had developed a reputation for being a little klutzy, but her good humor cemented her status as a fan favorite.

10. Hat-Checked Oscar (1954)

Life magazine photographer Ed Clark snapped this Oscar-night picture of the hat-check room at Romanoff’s restaurant in Beverly Hills (Humphrey Bogart’s favorite haunt), where producer Buddy Adler stowed his shiny new best picture trophy for From Here to Eternity upon arriving for an afterparty. The inherent humor of Hollywood’s most coveted prize residing alongside everyday items has made this image a favorite of irreverent hotels and restaurants around the world.

This story appeared in the Feb. 26 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.