This is not meant to be a trivia thread - but rather asking for help as I try to get the answer to a question.
Who among living Oscar winners, other than for acting or honorary acting awards, won his or her Oscar the longest time ago?
Shirley Temple won her honorary award (not sure it was an honorary Oscar) for 1934; Luise Rainer won her first one for 1936.
But not sure among living non-actor who came first.
Among directors, it is Mike Nichols (1967). Just beginning to research for others, but since most winners are in their 40s or older, and someone winning in 1955 would like be in his 90s today, we are likely talking 1950 or later, maybe even 1960.
So any guesses, suggestions or specific knowledge would be appreciated, and I will keep checking.
Women in all categories have tended to win earlier then men (and live longer on average), and specialize in certain categories - but the earlier costume designer winner I found was Julie Harris/1965 for Dr. Zhivago.
The earliest Oscar winner that I can confirm to still be alive is Jack Cardiff (b. 1914), who won his Oscar for Best Color Cinematography ("Black Narcissus") on March 20, 1948. Thus, he has had his Oscar for 60 years.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: tonorlo,
A Roland Fields won an Oscar for B&W Art Direction-Interior Decoration for "Blood on the Sun" (1945) imdb doesn't list a date of death but it doesn't list a birthdate or any bio information. still, his earliest credit was in 1934. he could have been a very young set dresser.
I found an easy way to do this on the AMPAS database. The names of winners are hyperlinked to their Oscar history and it will always give a date of death...if the person has died.
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Gorelick,
IMDb is not totally reliable for deaths of lesser known people. I have been collecting a list of directors 80 or over - and have two approaching 100, one of whom is still making movies (the Portuguese master Manoel de Oliveira) and a Mexican director of Santanos/superhero movies whose death they easily could have missed.
The Academy records - assuming they are always informed of a death (it amazes me how often there is a week or two gap between the death of a better known name and when an obituary reaches the LA Times or Variety - some people just disappear from sight) - are a great find.
(I remember in my childhood when a cab driver in Chicago turned out to be a former governor of West Virginia, who was a recovering alcoholic and left his state - he was found by accident, had hoped no one would ever learn what happened to him - totally off topic, but here's a link to his story, which I hadn't remembered for many years)
Whether what Shirley Temple received was an Oscar (or whether it has been replaced over the years) I'm not sure, but she is the oldest winner of an Award by the Academy still living (1934).
