Saturday, November 11, 2023

Dear Eddie Muller of TCM...

...We all make mistakes. That written, I must disagree politely with something you said on TCM back in July. It's in a clip that I viewed this morning on the Turner Classic Movies: TCM page on Facebook.

Eddie is a noted author, a film noir historian and an extremely popular, dapper host of film noir classics that air weekly on TCM. (My aunt back in L.A. loves him.) Occasionally, he's pulled from out of the film noir shadows of TCM's Noir Alley on weekends to introduce something brighter. Such is the case when, back in July, he hosted films selected by guest programmer, Shari Belafonte. One of her selections was the 1950 comedy, HARVEY, starring James Stewart and Josephine Hull as his character's ditzy sister, Hull won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. About that win, Eddie Muller said: "The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences never gives Oscars for comedy performances. They don't."

If I had been a TCM segment producer working on those segments, I would have gracefully edited that statement out before it aired to his benefit -- and I would have, also gracefully, explained why to Mr. Muller.

The same year Josephine Hull won her Best Supporting Actress Oscar for HARVEY, Judy Holliday won the Best Actress Oscar for BORN YESTERDAY.



Some other actors who took home Hollywood gold for performances in film comedies are --

Walter Matthau, Best Supporting Actor for Billy Wilder's THE FORTUNE COOKIE

Goldie Hawn, Best Supporting Actress for CACTUS FLOWER

Lee Marvin, Best Actor for the comedy western CAT BALLOU


Glenda Jackson, Best Actress for A TOUCH OF CLASS


Julie Andrews, Best Actress for the musical comedy MARY POPPINS

Barbra Streisand, Best Actress for the musical comedy FUNNY GIRL

George Burns, Best Supporting Actor for Neil Simon's THE SUNSHINE BOYS

Maggie Smith, Best Supporting Actress for Neil Simon's CALIFORNIA SUITE

Richard Dreyfuss, Best Actor for Neil Simon's THE GOODBYE GIRL


Diane Keaton, Best Actress for Woody Allen's ANNIE HALL


Dianne Wiest, Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen's HANNAH AND HER SISTERS

Dianne Wiest, Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen's BULLETS OVER BROADWAY


Mira Sorvino, Best Supporting Actress for Woody Allen's MIGHTY APHRODITE

Kevin Kline, Best Supporting Actor for A FISH CALLED WANDA

Sir John Gielgud, Best Supporting Actor for ARTHUR                                                                    

Olympia Dukakis, Best Supporting Actress for MOONSTRUCK

Cher, Best Actress for MOONSTRUCK


...and Whoopi Goldberg, Best Supporting Actress for GHOST


There you have it. Some actors who got laughs and then got Oscars for their work.


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