The 59th Academy Awards ceremony, organized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 30, 1987, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles beginning at 6:00 p.m. PST / 9:00 p.m. EST. During the ceremony, AMPAS presented Academy Awards (commonly referred to as Oscars) in 23 categories honoring films released in 1986. The ceremony, televised in the United States by ABC, was produced by Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and directed by Marty Pasetta. Actors Chevy Chase, Paul Hogan, and Goldie Hawn co-hosted the show. Hawn hosted the gala for the second time, having previously been a co-host of the 48th ceremony held in 1976. Meanwhile, this was Chase and Hogan's first Oscar-hosting stint. Eight days earlier, in a ceremony held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on March 22, the Academy Awards for Technical Achievement were presented by host Catherine Hicks.
Platoon won four awards, including Best Picture. Other winners included Hannah and Her Sisters and A Room with a View with three awards, Aliens with two, and Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got, The Assault, Children of a Lesser God, The Color of Money, Down and Out in America, The Fly, A Greek Tragedy, The Mission, Precious Images, Round Midnight, Top Gun, and Women – for America, for the World with one.
Winners and nominees
The nominees for the 59th Academy Awards were announced on February 11, 1987, at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California, by Robert Wise, president of the Academy, actor Don Ameche, and actress Anjelica Huston. Platoon and A Room with a View led all nominees with eight each.
The winners were announced during the awards ceremony on March 30, 1987. Marlee Matlin was the first deaf performer to win an Oscar and the youngest winner in the Best Actress category. Best Actor winner Paul Newman was the fourth actor to have been nominated for portraying the same character in two different films, having previously earned a nomination for his role as "Fast Eddie" Felson in 1961's The Hustler. By virtue of his victory in the Best Actor category, Newman and wife Joanne Woodward, who won Best Actress for her performance in 1957's The Three Faces of Eve, became the second married couple to win acting Oscars. Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got and Down and Out in Americas joint win in the Best Documentary Feature category marked the fourth occurrence of a tie in Oscar history.
Awards
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface and indicated with a double dagger ().
Platoon – Arnold Kopelson, producer Children of a Lesser God – Burt Sugarman and Patrick J. Palmer, producers Hannah and Her Sisters – Robert Greenhut, producer The Mission – Fernando Ghia and David Puttnam, producers A Room with a View – Ismail Merchant, producer | valign="top" |
Oliver Stone – Platoon David Lynch – Blue Velvet Woody Allen – Hannah and Her Sisters Roland Joffé – The Mission James Ivory – A Room with a View Paul Newman – The Color of Money as "Fast Eddie" Felson Dexter Gordon – Round Midnight as Dale Turner Bob Hoskins – Mona Lisa as George William Hurt – Children of a Lesser God as James Leeds James Woods – Salvador as Richard Boyle Marlee Matlin – Children of a Lesser God as Sarah Norman Jane Fonda – The Morning After as Alex Sternbergen Sissy Spacek – Crimes of the Heart as Babe Magrath Kathleen Turner – Peggy Sue Got Married as Peggy Sue Bodell Sigourney Weaver – Aliens as Ellen Ripley Michael Caine – Hannah and Her Sisters as Elliot Tom Berenger – Platoon as Sgt. Bob Barnes Willem Dafoe – Platoon as Sgt. Elias Grodin Denholm Elliott – A Room with a View as Mr. Emerson Dennis Hopper – Hoosiers as Wilbur "Shooter" Flatch Dianne Wiest – Hannah and Her Sisters as Holly Tess Harper – Crimes of the Heart as Chick Boyle Piper Laurie – Children of a Lesser God as Mrs. Norman Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio – The Color of Money as Carmen Maggie Smith – A Room with a View as Charlotte Bartlett Hannah and Her Sisters – Woody Allen Crocodile Dundee – Screenplay by Paul Hogan, Ken Shadie, and John Cornell; Story by Paul Hogan My Beautiful Laundrette – Hanif Kureishi Platoon – Oliver Stone Salvador – Oliver Stone and Richard Boyle A Room with a View – Ruth Prawer Jhabvala based on the novel by E. M. Forster Children of a Lesser God – Hesper Anderson and Mark Medoff based on the play by Mark Medoff The Color of Money – Richard Price based on the novel by Walter Tevis Crimes of the Heart – Beth Henley based on her play Stand by Me – Raynold Gideon and Bruce A. Evans based on the novella The Body by Stephen King The Assault (The Netherlands) in Dutch and German – Fons Rademakers 38 (Austria) in German – Wolfgang Glück Betty Blue (France) in French – Jean-Jacques Beineix The Decline of the American Empire (Canada) in French – Denys Arcand My Sweet Little Village (Czechoslovakia) in Czech – Jiří Menzel Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got – Brigitte Berman Down and Out in America – Joseph Feury and Milton Justice Chile: Hasta Cuando? – David Bradbury Isaac in America: A Journey with Isaac Bashevis Singer – Kirk Simon and Amram Nowak Witness to Apartheid – Sharon I. Sopher Women – for America, for the World – Vivienne Verdon-Roe Debonair Dancers – Alison Nigh-Strelich The Masters of Disaster – Sonya Friedman Red Grooms: Sunflower in a Hothouse – Thomas L. Neff and Madeline Bell Sam – Aaron D. Weisblatt Precious Images – Chuck Workman Exit – Stefano Reali and Pino Quartullo Love Struck – Fredda Weiss Greek Tragedy – Linda Van Tulden and Willem Thijssen The Frog, the Dog and the Devil – Bob Stenhouse Luxo Jr. – John Lasseter and William Reeves Round Midnight – Herbie Hancock Aliens – James Horner Hoosiers – Jerry Goldsmith The Mission – Ennio Morricone Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Leonard Rosenman "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun – Music and Lyrics by Giorgio Moroder and Tom Whitlock "Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid Part II – Music by Peter Cetera and David Foster; Lyrics by Peter Cetera and Diane Nini "Life in a Looking Glass" from That's Life! – Music by Henry Mancini; Lyrics by Leslie Bricusse "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" from Little Shop of Horrors – Music by Alan Menken; Lyrics by Howard Ashman "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail – Music by James Horner and Barry Mann; Lyrics by Cynthia Weil Platoon – John K. Wilkinson, Richard Rogers, Charles "Bud" Grenzbach, and Simon Kaye Aliens – Graham V. Hartstone, Nicolas Le Messurier, Michael A. Carter, and Roy Charman Heartbreak Ridge – Les Fresholtz, Dick Alexander, Vern Poore, and William Nelson Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Terry Porter, Dave Hudson, Mel Metcalfe, and Gene S. Cantamessa Top Gun – Donald O. Mitchell, Kevin O'Connell, Rick Kline, and William B. Kaplan Aliens – Don Sharpe Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Mark Mangini Top Gun – Cecelia Hall and George Watters II A Room with a View – Art Direction: Gianni Quaranta and Brian Ackland-Snow; Set Decoration: Brian Savegar and Elio Altramura Aliens – Art Direction: Peter Lamont; Set Decoration: Crispian Sallis The Color of Money – Art Direction: Boris Leven (posthumous nomination); Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara Hannah and Her Sisters – Art Direction: Stuart Wurtzel; Set Decoration: Carol Joffe The Mission – Art Direction: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Jack Stephens The Mission – Chris Menges Peggy Sue Got Married – Jordan Cronenweth Platoon – Robert Richardson A Room with a View – Tony Pierce-Roberts Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home – Donald Peterman The Fly – Chris Walas and Stephan Dupuis The Clan of the Cave Bear – Michael Westmore and Michèle Burke Legend – Rob Bottin and Peter Robb-King A Room with a View – Jenny Beavan and John Bright The Mission – Enrico Sabbatini Otello – Anna Anni and Maurizio Millenotti Peggy Sue Got Married – Theadora Van Runkle Pirates – Anthony Powell Platoon – Claire Simpson Aliens – Ray Lovejoy Hannah and Her Sisters – Susan E. Morse The Mission – Jim Clark Top Gun – Billy Weber and Chris Lebenzon Aliens – Robert Skotak, Stan Winston, John Richardson, and Suzanne M. Benson Little Shop of Horrors – Lyle Conway, Bran Ferren, and Martin Gutteridge Poltergeist II: The Other Side – Richard Edlund, John Bruno, Garry Waller, and William Neil
Honorary Award To Ralph Bellamy for his unique artistry and his distinguished service to the profession of acting.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award Steven Spielberg
Multiple nominations and awards
The following 15 films had multiple nominations: Nominations Film 8 Platoon A Room with a View 7 Aliens Hannah and Her Sisters The Mission 5 Children of a Lesser God 4 The Color of Money Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Top Gun 3 Crimes of the Heart Peggy Sue Got Married 2 Hoosiers Little Shop of Horrors Round Midnight Salvador
The following four films received multiple awards. Awards Film 4 Platoon 3 Hannah and Her Sisters A Room with a View 2 Aliens
Presenters and performers The following individuals presented awards or performed musical numbers.
Presenters Name(s) Role Announcer for the 59th annual Academy Awards (AMPAS president) Gave opening remarks welcoming guests to the awards ceremony Presenter of the awards for Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Screenplay Presenter of the award for Best Sound Anjelica Huston Presenters of the award for Best Supporting Actress Presenter of the award for Best Sound Effects Editing Presenter of the award for Best Costume Design Isabella Rossellini Presenters of the award for Best Art Direction Presenter of the award for Best Cinematography Matthew Broderick Presenters of the award for Best Documentary Short Subject Presenter of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to Steven Spielberg William Shatner Presenters of the award for Best Visual Effects Presenter of the award for Best Documentary Feature Sigourney Weaver Presenters of the award for Best Supporting Actor Presenter of the award for Best Original Song Presenter of the award for Best Original Score Tom Hanks Presentations of the award for Best Animated Short Film Presenter of the award for Best Makeup Michael Douglas Presenters of the award for Best Live Action Short Film Presenter of the award for Best Actress Presenter of the award for Best Film Editing Presenter of the award for Best Foreign Language Film Presenter of the Honorary Academy Award to Ralph Bellamy Presenter of the award for Best Director Presenter of the award for Best Actor Presenter of the award for Best Picture
Performers Name(s)RolePerformed Musical arranger and Conductor Orchestral Dom DeLuisePat MoritaTelly Savalas Performers "Fugue for Tinhorns" from Guys and Dolls Performer Sang brief introductions to each nominee for Best Original Song James Ingram Performers "Somewhere Out There" from An American Tail Performer "Glory of Love" from The Karate Kid, Part II Lou Rawls Performers "Take My Breath Away" from Top Gun Performer "Life in a Looking Glass" from That's Life! Performer "Mean Green Mother from Outer Space" from Little Shop of HorrorsLisa SturzPerformerAudrey II puppet from Little Shop of Horrors Performers "Fugue for Tinhorns" during the closing credits
Ceremony information
Determined to revive interest surrounding the awards and reverse declining ratings, the Academy hired Samuel Goldwyn Jr. in November 1986 to produce the telecast for the first time. The following March, Goldwyn announced that comedian Chevy Chase, actress and Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn, and actor and Best Original Screenplay nominee Paul Hogan would share co-hosting duties for the 1987 ceremony. Actor Robin Williams was initially named a co-host, but he was forced to withdraw from emceeing duties due to his commitment toward his role in the upcoming film Good Morning, Vietnam.