80th Golden Globes

At the 1966 Golden Globes ceremony, held at the Ambassador Hotel on January 31, English filmmaker David Lean won the Best Director Golden Globe for his classic love story Doctor Zhivago. It was the third time in under ten years that the legendary director won this award in the same year his movie was feted as Best Picture – Drama, following previous double-wins in 1963 for Lawrence of Arabia and 1958 for The Bridge on the River Kwai.

“Music is healing.  Music holds things together.

Julie Andrews had her sweet revenge and last laugh. Clutching her Golden Globe statuette in one hand, the British singer-actress stood on the stage of the fancy L.

In the early years of the Golden Globes, in addition to the Best Foreign Film category that started in 1955, there was a special award called the Samuel Goldwyn International Film Award, which was presented from 1959 to 1964. At the Golden Globes ceremony held on March 10, 1964, at the Cocoanut Grove, the winner of that prize was Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow, directed by Vittorio De Sica and starring Sophia Loren and Marcello Mastroianni.

While Lawrence of Arabia has become an enduring classic almost 60 years after winning six Golden Globes, the film could have looked very different if director David Lean had gotten one of his first choices for the starring role.

In 1963 Omar Sharif won Best Supporting Actor for his role in Lawrence of Arabia - which also won the Golden Globe for Best Film – Drama. In so doing, he became the first Egyptian - and African - to win a Golden Globe.

The 19th Golden Globes may be called the year of trailblazing women: Judy Garland was the first woman to receive a Cecil B. deMille award that night, while Rita Moreno became the first Latina actress to win a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress for West Side Story, and Claudia McNeil was the first Black performer to get a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Drama for A Raisin in the Sun.

“It’s an honor just to be Asian. ”     --Sandra Oh For her outstanding performance in The World of Suzie Wong, Nancy Kwan received not only the Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female but also became the first Asian actress nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama.

Marilyn Monroe and Rock Hudson - Marilyn clutching a globe, Rock Hudson clutching Marilyn - the moment filled with unspoken things.  Flipping through the '60s Golden Globe Fashion, we see the beginning of trends that break with all that went before.

There could not have been a more fitting analogy for the social realities of the 1950s. Often separated from each other, men of different races act full of hate and distrust “the other.