Academy Award Winners

Gene Hackman (1930–2025), Oscar-winning star of The French Connection

Gene Hackman was an Oscar-winning actor and novelist who starred in films including “The French Connection,” “Mississippi Burning,” and “Unforgiven.”

Marshall Brickman (1939–2024), Annie Hall and Jersey Boys cowriter

Marshall Brickman was a screenwriter best known for his collaborations with filmmaker Woody Allen, most notably the Best Picture-winning classic, 1977’s “Annie Hall,” for which the pair won an Oscar.

Quincy Jones (1933–2024), legendary music producer

Quincy Jones was a noted jazz musician, film composer, and one of the greatest music producers of the 20th century, working with Frank Sinatra (1915–1998), Dinah Washington (1924–1963), Michael Jackson (1958–2009), and other top musicians.

Maggie Smith (1934–2024), star of Downton Abbey and Harry Potter

Maggie Smith was an Oscar, Emmy, and Tony-winning actress known for roles in “Downton Abbey” and the “Harry Potter” series, along with dozens of other notable movies, television shows, and stage performances.

Will Jennings (1944–2024), Oscar-winning My Heart Will Go On lyricist

Will Jennings was a lyricist who won Academy Awards for “My Heart Will Go On” by Celine Dion and “Up Where We Belong” by and Jennifer Warnes.

Jon Landau (1960–2024), producer of Titanic and Avatar

Jon Landau was an Oscar-winning producer of “Titanic” and “Avatar” and a close collaborator with director James Cameron.

Robert Towne (1934–2024), screenwriter behind Chinatown

Robert Towne was an acclaimed screenwriter best known for his Oscar-winning screenplay for “Chinatown,” as well as “Days of Thunder,” “Mission: Impossible” and other noted films.

Al Ruddy (1930–2024), Oscar-winning Godfather producer

Al Ruddy was an Oscar-winning producer who won acclaim for “The Godfather” and “Million Dollar Baby.” He also co-created the TV shows “Hogan’s Heroes” and “Walker, Texas Ranger.” 

Richard M. Sherman (1928–2024), Oscar-winning Disney songwriter

Richard M. Sherman was a songwriter who, along with brother wrote beloved songs for Disney movies, including “It’s a Small World” and the Oscar-winning “Chim Chim Cher-ee.” 

Jan A.P. Kaczmarek (1953–2024), Oscar-winning composer

Jan A.P. Kaczmarek was a Polish composer who won an Academy Award for Best Original Score in 2005 for “Finding Neverland.” 

Louis Gossett Jr. (1936–2024), award-winning star of Roots

Louis Gossett Jr. was the Oscar- and Emmy-winning star of such movies and TV series as “An Officer and a Gentleman” and “Roots.” 

David Seidler (1937–2024), screenwriter of The King’s Speech 

David Seidler was the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of “The King’s Speech” and the credited co-writer of the Francis Ford Coppola film “Tucker: The Man and His Dream.”

William Friedkin (1935–2023), award-winning director of The Exorcist

William Friedkin was an award-winning director and screenwriter who was best known for "The Exorcist" and "The French Connection." 

Bo Goldman (1932–2023), One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest screenwriter 

Bo Goldman was a screenwriter who won Academy Awards for “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Melvin and Howard.” 

Alan Arkin (1934–2023), Oscar-winning Little Miss Sunshine star

Alan Arkin was an actor known for roles in films including “Wait Until Dark” (1967) “Glengarry Glen Ross” (1992), and “Little Miss Sunshine” (2006), for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.

Glenda Jackson (1936–2023), Oscar-winning actress and politician 

Glenda Jackson was a British actress who won Academy Awards for Best Actress for her performances in “Women in Love” and “A Touch of Class” before being elected to Parliament.

Norman Reynolds (1934–2023), production designer for Star Wars

Norman Reynolds won two Academy Awards and was nominated for four others for his production design work on the Star Wars and Indiana Jones film franchises.

Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952–2023), Oscar-winning electronic music pioneer

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Japanese composer and keyboardist who won an Academy Award for his score for “The Last Emperor.”

Burt Bacharach (1928–2023), great 20th-century songwriter

Burt Bacharach was a songwriting giant whose credits include “What the World Needs Now Is Love” and “I Say a Little Prayer.”

Irene Cara (1959–2022), “Flashdance” and “Fame” singer and actress

Irene Cara was a singer and actress who starred in the movie “Fame” and sang the title song, as well as singing the Oscar- and Grammy Award-winning song “Flashdance… What a Feeling.”

Louise Fletcher (1934–2022), played Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”

Louise Fletcher was an actress who won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched in “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”

Vangelis (1943–2022), Oscar-winning composer of ‘Chariots of Fire’

Vangelis was an electronic music pioneer who composed the scores for the films ‘Chariots of Fire’ and ‘Blade Runner.’

William Hurt (1950–2022), Oscar-winning actor for “Kiss of the Spider Woman”

William Hurt was an actor who won an Academy Award for his performance in “Kiss of the Spider Woman” and starred in many other movies including “Body Heat,” “The Big Chill,” and “Children of a Lesser God.”

Tony Walton (1934–2022), award-winning set designer 

Tony Walton was a legendary British set and costume designer who won an Oscar for his work on “All That Jazz.”

Marilyn Bergman (1928–2022), Oscar-winning “The Way We Were” songwriter

Marilyn Bergman was a songwriter who won three Academy Awards for her work.

Sidney Poitier (1927–2022), one of the 20th century's greatest actors

Sir Sidney Poitier was an acting legend who starred in "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" and became the first Black actor to win an Academy Award for best actor, for his performance in "Lilies of the Field."

Olympia Dukakis (1931–2021), Academy Award winner for “Moonstruck”

Olympia Dukakis was an actress who was known for her role as Cher’s mother in “Moonstruck.”

Larry McMurtry (1936–2021), Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “Lonesome Dove”

Larry McMurtry was an author and screenwriter known for novels including “Lonesome Dove” and “The Last Picture Show” as well as his Oscar-winning adapted screenplay for “Brokeback Mountain.”

Christopher Plummer (1929–2021), Oscar winner who starred in “The Sound of Music”

Christopher Plummer was a prolific actor whose decades-long career included a star turn as Captain Georg von Trapp in the classic 1965 movie musical “The Sound of Music.”

Cloris Leachman (1926–2021), Oscar- and Emmy-winning actress

Cloris Leachman was a versatile Academy Award- and Emmy Award-winning actress known for roles in films including “The Last Picture Show” and “Young Frankenstein” as well as in “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”

Sean Connery (1930–2020), James Bond star and Oscar winner

Sean Connery was an actor who became a superstar for his portrayal of James Bond in “Dr. No” and six other films in the classic spy series.

Olivia de Havilland (1916–2020), Oscar-winning “Gone With the Wind” star

Olivia de Havilland was an Oscar-winning actress who played Melanie Hamilton in "Gone With the Wind" and won two Academy Awards for Best Actress.

Johnny Mandel (1925–2020), songwriter who composed “M*A*S*H” theme song

Johnny Mandel was an Oscar- and Grammy-winning songwriter who composed songs including the “M*A*S*H” theme (“Suicide Is Painless”) and “The Shadow of Your Smile.”

Branko Lustig (1932–2019), Auschwitz survivor and “Schindler’s List” producer

Branko Lustig was the Oscar-winning producer of movies including “Schindler’s List” and “Gladiator.”

Richard Williams (1933–2019), “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” animator

Won an Oscar for best visual effects for his work on the film.

Andre Previn (1929–2019), acclaimed composer, conductor and performer

Andre Previn was an award winning composer, conductor, and performer who won four Academy Awards. He wrote and arranged music for many films including “Elmer Gantry,” “My Fair Lady,” and “Porgy and Bess.” An accomplished jazz pianist influenced by Art Tatum, he released multiple albums and appeared with many greats including Ella Fitzgerald. The versatile Previn went on to conduct orchestras including the London Symphony Orchestra.

Will Vinton (1947 – 2018), Claymation animator brought California Raisins to life

The animator behind the California Raisins, Will Vinton also coined the term Claymation.

Anne V. Coates (1925–2018), award winning editor

Pioneering film editor won an Oscar for “Lawrence of Arabia.”

Milos Forman (1932–2018), two-time Academy Award-winning director

Milos Forman, two-time Academy Award-winning director of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Amadeus.”

Trust No One: Cinema Paranoia

A look at the unsettling science fiction and horror films of 1968.

Dorothy Malone (1925 - 2018), Oscar-winner and star of "Peyton Place"

Dorothy Malone, Oscar-winning actress and star of 1960s nighttime soap “Peyton Place,” died Friday in her hometown of Dallas, according to The Associated Press. She was 93.

Martin Landau (1928 - 2017), Oscar-winning "Ed Wood" star

“Mission: Impossible” actor won an Oscar for his role in “Ed Wood”…

John G. Avildsen (1935–2017), Oscar-winning Rocky director

Oscar-winning director of “Rocky.”

The Legacy of Demme's "Philadelphia" Feels Different 20 Years Later

(by guest contributor Josh Kruger)

Jonathan Demme (1944–2017), The Silence of the Lambs filmmaker

Director Jonathan Demmewho won an Academy Award for cThe Silence of the Lambs.c

Anthony Quinn's Greatest Roles

Anthony Quinn made over 100 films during his career and was the first Mexican-American to win an Oscar. On Cinco de Mayo, we look back on some of his greatest roles.

Remembering Patty Duke (video)

A video tribute to the actress and mental health advocate.

Wait, WHO Never Won an Oscar?

Movie fans often measure actors' greatness by the number of Academy Awards they have won. But some of the greatest film actors of all time — Richard Burton, Natalie Wood, Albert Finney, Gene Wilder, Marlene Dietrich — were never honored with an Oscar. Here are 14 brilliant performers who you'd think surely should have won — but never did.

Frank Capra and the American Dream

Classic holiday film "It's a Wonderful Life" is 70 years old. To celebrate, we're looking back at its director, Frank Capra.