On February 29, 1940, Gone with the Wind is honored with eight
Oscars by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences. An epic Southern romance set during the hard times
of the Civil War, the movie swept the prestigious Best Picture,
Director, Screenplay, Cinematography, Art Direction, Film Editing,
and Actress categories.

However, the most momentous award that night undoubtedly
went to Hattie McDaniel for her portrayal of “Mammy,” the
housemaid and former enslaved woman.

McDaniel, who won the Best Supporting Actress Academy Award,
was the first African American actress or actor ever to be honored
with an Oscar.

Born in Wichita, Kansas, in 1895, McDaniel demonstrated her
talents as a singer and actress while growing up in Denver,
Colorado.

On February 19, 1992, 24-year-old recent film school graduate
John Singleton became the youngest and first Black film
director nominated for an Academy Award for his movie,
Boyz n the Hood.

Schindler’s List, starring Liam Neeson in the true story of a
German businessman who saves the lives of more than a
thousand Polish Jews during the Holocaust, opens in
theaters.

The film was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and took
home seven Oscars, including Best Picture and Best
Director.

It was the first Best Director win for Spielberg, who had been
nominated in the category for three of his earlier films: 1977’s
Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1981’s Raiders of the
Lost Ark and 1982’s E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial.

Oskar Schindler (1908 – 1974)

Liam Neeson (72)

Ben Kingsley and Liam Neeson

Steven Allan Spielberg

Kirk Douglas (born Issur Danielovitch)
(December 9, 1916 – February 5, 2020)

As an actor and philanthropist, Kirk Douglas received
an Academy Honorary Award for Lifetime Achievement
and the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

He lived with his second wife, producer Anne Buydens,
until his death in 2020. A centenarian, Douglas was one
of the last surviving stars of the film industry’s Golden
Age. 

1960

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, a film about a group of
patients at a mental institution, opened in theaters. Directed
by Milos Forman and based on a 1962 novel of the same
name by Ken Kesey, the film starred Jack Nicholson and
was co-produced by the actor Michael Douglas.

Louise Fletcher (1934 – 2022) & Jack Nicholson (87).