Sometimes the greatest moments are the ones least remembered by modern audiences. And sometimes they are just the surprise moments that you never realized were so important. Our tenth edition of Favorite Oscar Moments continues.

Tripp Burton & Peter J. Patrick

1977, 50th Academy Awards

Tripp: They came out to present the Best Sound award, and Holden ended up thanking Stanwyck on live TV for saving him from being fired from his first film and thus saving his career. This is the kind of great moment from aging Hollywood icons that are sacrificed these days in favor of flavor of the day “movie stars.”
Peter: William Holden makes an impromptu speech about the woman whose on-screen generosity he owes his career to, co-presenter Barbara Stanwyck. (This is the precursor to one of Peter’s other favorite moments already revealed in our Favorite Oscar Moments series)

Wesley Lovell

1991, 64th Academy Awards

While the speech itself isn’t nearly as memorable as it could possibly have been. It was a genuine moment made even more memorable by the fact that it was so unexpected. It’s not often you have horror film performances winning Academy Awards.