Watch Sammy Davis Jr. Announce the Wrong Oscar Winner Back in 1964 (Video)
And yes, he was handed the wrong envelope, too
Nigel M. Smith | February 28, 2017 @ 10:06 AM
Last Updated: March 2, 2017 @ 11:12 AM
Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty will probably never live down Sunday’s epic Oscars flub. At least they can console themselves in knowing they’re not the first to make such an error at the Academy Awards.
In 1964, Sammy Davis Jr. endured a similarly awkward moment after he was handed the wrong envelope when presenting the Oscar for Best Music Score. Instead of announcing the winner as Andre Previn for “Irma la Douce,” Davis Jr. read his card, which mistakenly listed the winner as John Addison for “Tom Jones.” Addison, however, wasn’t even up for the award, so the mistake was immediately fixed when Davis Jr. announced the wrong winner.
“Oh I am… they gave me the wrong envelope,” Davis Jr. told the crowd upon realizing the error. “Wait till the NAACP hears about this.”
After the flub, Davis Jr. was handed the correct envelope, prompting him to put on a pair of reading glasses. “I ain’t gonna make no mistake this time, baby,” he said to cheers from the audience.
Like Davis Jr., Beatty and Dunaway were handed the wrong envelope. Instead of listing the Best Picture winner, the card was a duplicate announcing Emma Stone’s Best Actress win for “La La Land.” Dunaway blurted that film’s title following a confused pause from Beatty, which led to the wrong winner being crowned.
For the record: A previous version of this story misspelled the title “Irma la Douce.”
Oscars 2017: What's Next for This Year's Winners? (Photos)
For every filmmaker, winning an Academy Award is the peak of their careers. But as soon as the after-parties are over, it's right back to work, as Hollywood's biggest winners often already have their next projects in the works. For winners like Damien Chazelle, Viola Davis and the stars of "Moonlight," this year is no different. Here's where you can catch them next.
Getty
Best Actress winner Emma Stone will return to the big screen later this year in "Battle of the Sexes," a comedy biopic based on Billie Jean King's famous 1973 tennis match against Bobby Riggs. Linus Sandgren, who won Best Cinematography for "La La Land," is also on board.
Getty
Viola Davis, of course, will head back to Shondaland to film Season 4 of "How to Get Away With Murder." She will also play the legendary abolitionist Harriet Tubman in a biopic about the Underground Railroad.
Getty
Mahershala Ali had a mammoth 2016 with two very different but equally praised performances: his Oscar-winning supporting role in "Moonlight" and his performance as the devious Harlem kingpin Cottonmouth on Netflix's "Luke Cage." He will have a chance to dive back into the world of graphic novels next year in James Cameron's adaptation of the manga "Alita: Battle Angel."
Getty
After winning Best Actor for playing Lee Chandler in "Manchester by the Sea," Casey Affleck is moving on to write, direct and star in "Light of My Life" about a father and daughter lost in the woods. He will also play famed explorer Meriwether Lewis in next year's HBO miniseries about the Lewis and Clark expedition.
TheWrap
Though he was on the business end of that envelope flub, Damien Chazelle was still a big winner having received the Best Director Oscar for "La La Land." Next, he'll work again with Ryan Gosling on the biopic "First Man," which tells the story of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong.
Getty
Barry Jenkins was floored when "Moonlight" won Best Picture and Adapted Screenplay. Now he's going to continue to tell stories about African-American characters by directing episode 6 of Netflix's "Dear White People," due out later this year.
Getty
Kenneth Lonergan moved audiences to both laughter and tears with his Oscar-winning screenplay for "Manchester by the Sea." Later this year, he will jump from original writing to adapted, as he turns E.M. Forester's novel "Howards End" into a Starz miniseries. The novel tackles the clash between social classes in early 20th century England, as three families with different levels of wealth cross paths.
Getty
Ezra Edelman made Oscar history with his nearly eight-hour ESPN documentary "O.J.: Made in America." He's next slated to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and Jonah Hill on "The Ballad of Richard Jewell," a biopic about an American security guard who saved thousands from being killed by a bomb at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, only to be falsely accused of terrorism by the press and public.
Getty
Byron Howard and Rich Moore earned Disney yet another Oscar with "Zootopia," and now they are moving on to new projects for the Mouse House. Moore will work on the sequel to his video game comedy "Wreck-It Ralph," while Howard is working on a yet-to-be-named project with Lin-Manuel Miranda, who will likely be making another run at that EGOT.
Getty
Asghar Farhadi made the biggest political statement of the night, boycotting the event in protest of Donald Trump's travel ban. Now, after winning his second Oscar with "The Salesman," he is planning a new, yet-to-be-titled film starring husband-and-wife, Javier Bardem and Penelope Cruz.
Getty
1 of 11
For Damien Chazelle, Emma Stone and Viola Davis, it’s right back to the set after their Oscar victories
For every filmmaker, winning an Academy Award is the peak of their careers. But as soon as the after-parties are over, it's right back to work, as Hollywood's biggest winners often already have their next projects in the works. For winners like Damien Chazelle, Viola Davis and the stars of "Moonlight," this year is no different. Here's where you can catch them next.
Getty
Getty
