Celebrating the Oscars (Continued) - MASS APPRECIATION POST

This past Oscar weekend, I made some posts in honor of some legendary nominees/winners of color on Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. Below is a continuation on the collection of those posts!

[Part I]

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Part II

From Wikipedia

Takashi Matsuyama (aka So Matsuyama) and H. Motsumoto were the first Asians to be nominated for Best Art Direction (Black and White) when they were nominated for their work on the Akira Kurosawa film, Rashōmon(1950). They were actually nominated for the 25th Academy Awards, held in March of 1953. 

I was unable to find any information on Mr. Motsumoto, but it appears that Rashōmon may have been the only film he worked on. 

Takashi Matsuyama was born on September 22, 1908 in Kobe, Japan. According to IMDb, he worked as production designer on about 42 films and as art director on about 38. He was working as production designer on both RASHŌMON and SEVEN SAMURAI (1954), a film that would garner him his second Oscar nomination for Best Art Direction (Black and White) in 1957.


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From Rotten Tomatoes

The producers of the 1966 film, Hawaii, needed a Polynesian woman for the role of " Queen Malama Kanakoa, the Alii Nui of Hawaii". Therefore, they hired native Tahitian, Jocelyne LaGarde for the role. Ms. LaGarde received rave reviews for her performance and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 1967. She didn't take home the Oscar, but she did win a Golden Globe. This would be Ms. LaGarde's only film role. 

Fun Fact: Jocelyne LaGarde was only fluent in Tahitian and French and learned her (English) lines phonetically.

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From Talk2SV

In a career spanning over five decades, Diahann Carroll has been the recipient of numerous award nominations and wins. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work in Claudine (1974). 

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From Wikipedia

Gabriel Figueroa--one of the most influential and talented cinematographers in Cinema History--received his first (and only) Oscar nomination in 1965 for his work in the 1964 film, The Night of the Iguana.

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Actress, poet, playwright, and author Beah Richards' acting career took off a little later than most, but her first significant role in 1955 (as an 84-year old grandmother in the Off-Broadway show, Take a Giant Step) would lead to numerous unforgettable roles on the stage and screen afterward. 

Beah Richards was the recipient of many awards and nominations. Her only Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress) came in 1968 for her work as "Mary Prentice" in Guess Who's Coming to Dinner? (1967).

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From DVDTalk

Albert Nozaki was an art director who worked a numerous films (most for Paramount Pictures). In 1957, he was nominated (with four others) for Best Art Direction (Color) on the 1956 epic, The Ten Commandments. 

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Rita Moreno's Best Supporting Actress win in 1962 for her work in West Side Story (1961) made her the first Latina actress to win an Academy Award.

Ms. Moreno is also one of only eleven (*now twelve) artists to win EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) in competitive categories.


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Watch legendary actor, filmmaker, author, humanitarian, and diplomat, Sidney Poitier receive the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role at the 36th Academy Awards (held in 1964).

Mr. Poitier was the first black performer nominated in the category (for his role in the 1958 film, The Defiant Ones) and of course, was the first to win for Lilies of the Field (1963). Mr. Poitier would also receive an Honorary Oscar in 2001.


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Photo from Wikipedia

Anthony Quinn was the first Mexican actor to win an Academy Award and the first Latin(o/a) performer to win two Oscars in the same category.

His first win (and nomination) was for his work in the 1952 film, Vivia Zapata! His second win (and nomination) came for his work in Lust for Life (1956). Both wins were for Best Supporting Actor. He was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 1958 for Wild is the Wind (1957) and in 1965 for Alexis Zorbas (1964). 


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From Wikipedia

With a career spanning over six decades, Ruby Dee has been the recipient of countless awards and award nominations. She received her first Oscar nomination (Best Supporting Actress) in 2008 for her work in American Gangster (2007). 


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From Wikipedia

Katy Jurado was the first Latina actress nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actress) for her work in Broken Lace (1954).


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From Wikipedia

Akira Kurosawa, one of the most influential filmmakers of all-time, was nominated for countless awards throughout his five decade career. Among his many honors are three Academy Awards (one competitive, the other two Honorary) and three Academy Award nominations (Best Foreign Language Film in 1971 and 1975 and Best Director in 1985).


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The late, great Ravi Shankar was nominated for his only Oscar--Best Music, Original Score--with George Fenton for their music heard in the 1982 biographical film, Gandhi. Above is the movie's theme song, titled "Discovery of India".


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From Eureka Video

Costumer designer Tadaoto Kainosho received the 1956 Best Costume Design (Black and White) Academy Award nomination for his work in Ugetsu monogatari (1953). Along with being a costume designer, Mr. Kainosho was also and actor and a historical researcher/consultant. 


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LA Times Obituary for Hugh A. Robertson 


Late director and editor, Hugh A. Robertson (d. 1988) was the first (and to this day, only) black person to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Film Editing (1969 - Midnight Cowboy).


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Merle Oberon

In Part One of "Celebrating the Oscars", I shared an episode of What's My Line? that featured Oscar-nominated actress, Merle Oberon (I'd also shared it on Facebook). On Twitter, I posted an episode of the E! series, Mysteries and Scandals that featured the late actress. Here is the link below:


Mysteries and Scandals: Merle Oberon (Youtube)



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Congratulations to all of the Academy Awards winners for the year of 2014--including all of the cast, crew, and creators of 12 Years a Slave (special congrats to Steve McQueen, John Ridley, and Lupita Nyong'o), Alfonso Cuarón (Best Director), and new EGOT recipient, Robert Lopez, (Best Original Song).