And the Oscar Goes to... (1947) Quiz

Answer: Jack Benny

Jack Benny (1894-1974), born Benjamin Kubelsky, only hosted the Academy Awards on two occasions, with 1947 being his second (and last) appearance in the role.

Benny started out as a violinist at a very young age and was considered a prodigy; by his late teens, he was performing on the vaudeville circuit. While serving during WWI, Benny continued to play the violin to entertain his fellow troops, and soon was adding comedy bits to his performances. After the war, he returned to vaudeville and established himself as Jack Benny (as there was another performer with a similar name to his). His star rose, and in 1932 "The Jack Benny Program" hit the airwaves (from 1932 to 1955 on radio, and from 1950 to 1965 on television).

The other actors on the list also used stage names:
George Burns was born Nathan Birnbaum.
Danny Kaye was born David Daniel Kaminsky.
Dean Martin was born Dino Paul Crocetti.

Answer: Fredric March

As noted in the question, Fredric March (1897-1975) won his second Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), in which he portrayed Al Stephenson, a returning World War II veteran struggling to reintegrate into civilian life, having to balance his role as a husband, father, and banker while wrestling with the emotional toll of war. His performance was praised for its quiet dignity and emotional depth, capturing the internal conflict of a man caught between duty and disillusionment.

Born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel in Racine, Wisconsin, March studied at the University of Wisconsin before briefly working in banking. A health scare prompted him to pursue acting, leading to stage work and eventually film. His first credited screen role came in "The Dummy" (1929) and by 1932 he had already won his first Oscar for "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" (1931).

By the time he won his second Oscar in 1947, March had become one of the few actors to achieve the rare feat of winning both an Academy Award and a Tony Award in the same year; his Tony was for the Ruth Gordon autobiographical play "Years Ago" (1946). He would also go on to win a second Tony for Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night" (1956).

Answer: Both hands

Director William Wyler cast Harold Russell (1914-2002) after seeing him featured in a 1945 short film entitled "Diary of a Sergeant", about army veterans rehabilitating from injuries. Russell had lost both hands in a demolitions accident at Camp Mackall in North Carolina in June of 1944.

In "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), Russell played a US Navy sailor (Homer Parrish) that faced the challenges of returning to a regular, civilian life after World War II, having the added difficulty of contending with his amputations. Parrish had been a star high school athlete before the war, and had also been dating his next-door neighbor Wilma, with hopes to marry her upon his return.

Not being a trained or experienced actor, the Academy thought that Russell's chances of winning in the Best Supporting Actor category were minimal, so they presented him with an honorary Oscar earlier in the evening for "bringing aid and comfort to disabled veterans through the medium of motion pictures". And then Russell went on to win the acting award, as well, becoming the first actor to receive two Oscars for the same performance.

Answer: Olivia de Havilland

Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020) was born in Tokyo (as a British citizen), but was raised in California from the age of three, along with her sister Joan and their mother (their father abandoned them there). In high school she began acting in stage productions, and it was not long afterwards that she found her way to the silver screen, with her first film in 1935. Early success came with adventurous roles opposite Errol Flynn, and her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting actress for her role as Melanie Hamilton in 1939's "Gone With the Wind", followed by her first nomination for Best Actress for 1941's "Hold Back the Dawn".

With her third Oscar nomination for "To Each His Own" (1946), de Havilland portrayed a woman who makes a heartbreaking sacrifice during wartime, navigating decades of emotional complexity as she tries to reconnect with her son. This time, her performance earned the Oscar win. She would go on to have two more nominations for Best Actress and one more win in her career.

Off-screen, de Havilland made history by challenging the studio system in court, leading to a legal precedent that gave actors more freedom in their contracts - a decision now known as the De Havilland Law.

Answer: The Razor's Edge

Anne Baxter (1923-1985) began her film career in the early 1940s and quickly gained recognition for her emotional depth and versatility. She came from a creative family (her grandfather was the renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright) and she trained in acting from a young age. By her early twenties, she had already appeared in several major Hollywood productions.

Baxter's breakthrough came with the 1946 film "The Razor's Edge", which earned her the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The film starred Tyrone Power as Larry Darrell, a disillusioned World War I veteran who embarks on a spiritual journey in search of deeper meaning in life. Along the way, he reconnects with people from his past, including Sophie MacDonald, played by Anne Baxter. Once a cheerful and loving woman, Sophie is devastated by the loss of her husband and child and falls into a life of addiction and despair.

After her Oscar win, Baxter continued to take on a wide range of roles, including the ambitious Eve Harrington in "All About Eve" (1950), for which she received another Oscar nomination, and the Egyptian queen Nefretiri in "The Ten Commandments" (1956). She also found success on stage and television later in life, maintaining a steady presence in the entertainment industry until her death in 1985.

Answer: The Seventh Veil

Muriel Box (1905-91) began her career in the British film industry in the late 1920s, initially working as a typist and continuity clerk for British Instructional Films. Her early exposure to film production led to a growing interest in screenwriting and directing. In 1935, she married journalist Sydney Box, and together they formed a prolific writing partnership, producing over 100 one-act plays, many with all-female casts, for amateur theatre groups. During WWII, the couple founded Verity Films, which produced short propaganda films, including Muriel's directorial debut, "The English Inn" (1941). Muriel went on to become Britain's most prolific female film director, helming 12 feature films and one featurette between 1949 and 1964.

Sydney Box (1907-63) was a journalist turned screenwriter and producer. His collaboration with Muriel proved highly successful, culminating in their co-written screenplay for "The Seventh Veil" (1945), a psychological melodrama that became the highest-grossing British film of its year, and, of course, earned them the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Following this success, Sydney was appointed head of Gainsborough Pictures by the Rank Organisation, where Muriel oversaw the scenario department and continued writing and directing.

Answer: The Best Years of Our Lives

Robert E. Sherwood (1896-1955) began his literary career as a film critic for "Life" and "Vanity Fair", transitioning into playwriting in the late 1920s. His wartime service in WWI and later work as a speechwriter for President Franklin D. Roosevelt shaped his worldview and writing, infusing his work with moral urgency and social awareness.

Sherwood was brought in by producer Samuel Goldwyn to adapt MacKinlay Kantor's "Glory For Me" (1945), a novel-in-verse about three WWII veterans returning home. Kantor's original manuscript was sprawling and unconventional, and Goldwyn initially wanted to shelve the project. But director William Wyler, himself a decorated veteran, saw potential in the story and insisted on moving forward. Sherwood streamlined the narrative, transforming it into a powerful screenplay that captured the emotional and societal challenges faced by returning servicemen.

Answer: False

Despite the fact that "The Jolson Story" (1946) included a number of things that never happened in Al Jolson's life, it was still extremely well-received, being nominated for six Oscars, including Best Actor (Larry Parks), and Best Supporting Actor (William Demarest).

The two Academy Awards that were claimed by "The Jolson Story" were both in musical categories. Morris Stoloff (1898-1980) claimed the Oscar for Best Music (Original Score), and John Livadary accepted the award for Best Sound Recording.

The Oscar for Best Music (Song) did NOT go to "The Jolson Story" (it was not even nominated in this category), but was instead claimed by the film "The Harvey Girls" (1946) with the song, "On the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe" by Harry Warren with lyrics by Johnny Mercer.

Answer: William Wyler

William Wyler (1902-1981) was a German-born American film director whose career spanned from the silent era into the 1970s. He began his journey in cinema after emigrating to the United States in 1921, where he found work with Universal Pictures, thanks to a family connection with studio founder Carl Laemmle. By 1925, Wyler had become the youngest director at Universal, and quickly gained a reputation for craftsmanship and perfectionism, often requiring dozens of takes to achieve the emotional depth he sought.

Wyler's career flourished in the 1930s and 1940s, directing prestige films such as "Wuthering Heights" (1939) and "Mrs. Miniver" (1942), the latter earning him his first Academy Award for Best Director (as noted in the question). In 1946, Wyler directed the post-World War II drama "The Best Years of Our Lives", which became one of his most celebrated achievements. The film follows three veterans as they return home and struggle to reintegrate into civilian life.

Wyler continued directing into the 1960s, with major successes like "Ben-Hur" (1959), which won 11 Oscars, and "Funny Girl" (1968). He retired in 1970, leaving behind a legacy as one of Hollywood's most respected and influential directors.

Answer: The Best Years of Our Lives

Producer Samuel Goldwyn (1879-1974) accepted the Oscar for RKO Radio Pictures for "The Best Years of Our Lives" (1946), the postwar drama that became one of the most powerful and enduring films of its time. Set in the fictional town of Boone City, the story follows three World War II veterans - an Army sergeant, a Navy petty officer, and an Air Force bombardier - as they return home and face the emotional and social challenges of reintegrating into civilian life.

Fredric March portrayed Al Stephenson, a middle-aged banker struggling to reconnect with his family and find meaning in a changed world. Dana Andrews was Fred Derry, a decorated pilot who returns to unemployment and a troubled marriage. And Harold Russell, the aforementioned real-life veteran and double amputee, delivered a groundbreaking performance as Homer Parrish, a sailor learning to live with prosthetic hooks in place of hands.

Goldwyn, inspired by a 1944 "Time Magazine" article, commissioned the story as a way to help Americans process the emotional aftermath of the war. Directed by William Wyler, the film won seven Academy Awards, including four of the Big Five (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Screenplay), as well as Best Supporting Actor, Best Film Editing, and Best Music (Scoring of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture).