The 19th Academy Awards Memorable Moments

19th Oscars

Best Picture: The Best Years of our Lives


The Best Years of our Lives also won Academy Awards for Best Actor (Fredric March), Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), Directing (William Wyler), Film Editing (Daniel Mandell), Music – Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (Hugo Friedhofer), and Writing – Screenplay (Robert E. Sherwood). 


Jack Benny hosted the ceremony.


For the first time, the general public was allowed to buy tickets.


For the first time, films from overseas were almost as prominent as American films.


In January 1946, Charles de Gaulle resigned as president of France’s provisional government.


In February 1946, Juan Perón was elected president of Argentina.


In May 1946, six prisoners unsuccessfully tried to escape from Alcatraz Island Federal Prison and caused a riot, known as the Battle of Alcatraz.


In June 1946, the Basketball Association of America was founded; the league adopted the name National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1949.


In July 1946, French designer Louis Réard introduced the bikini, which he named after the June 1946 atomic bomb test at Bikini Atoll.


In August 1946, Santa Claus Land, later renamed Holiday World, opened near Evansville, Indiana. It became the first theme park, preceding Disneyland by nine years.


In December 1946, the United Nations General Assembly voted to establish UNICEF.


On December 31, 1946, President Truman signed Proclamation 2714, which officially ended all hostilities in World War II.


Special Award

To Ernst Lubitsch for his distinguished contributions to the art of the motion picture.


Special Award

To Claude Jarman, Jr., outstanding child actor of 1946.


Special Award

To Harold Russell for bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans through his appearance in The Best Years of Our Lives.


Special Award

To Laurence Olivier for his outstanding achievement as actor, producer and director in bringing Henry V to the screen.


Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

To Samuel Goldwyna