Great Actors Who Never Won an Oscar Quiz

Answer: Peter O'Toole

Peter O'Toole's unlucky streak at the Oscars began in 1963 when he was nominated for his brilliant leading performance in "Lawrence of Arabia". He lost to Gregory Peck's Atticus Finch in "To Kill a Mockingbird".

O'Toole played Henry II in both "Becket" and "The Lion in Winter".

Peter O'Toole's nominations (all for Best Actor):
"Venus" (2003)
"My Favorite Year" (1982)
"The Stunt Man" (1980)
"The Ruling Class" (1973)
"Goodbye, Mr. Chips" (1969)
"The Lion in Winter" (1968)
"Becket" (1964)
"Lawrence of Arabia" (1962)

Answer: Judy Garland

Judy Garland did receive a non-competitive Oscar in 1940 "for her outstanding performance as a screen juvenile during the past year". This, of course, was for her beloved performance as Dorothy in "The Wizard of Oz". Had she been nominated for Best Actress in the same year, she would have faced pretty stiff competition - Vivien Leigh in "Gone With the Wind", Greta Garbo in "Ninotchka", Bette Davis in "Dark Victory". Yikes!

Judy was nominated again for a bravura turn in "A Star is Born" but lost to Grace Kelly's performance in "The Country Girl". Judy's legion of fans have been crying foul ever since.

Judy Garland's nominations:
"A Star is Born" (1954) - for Best Actress
"Judgment at Nuremburg" (1961) - for Best Supporting Actress

Answer: Montgomery Clift

Who knows what Montgomery Clift might have achieved had he lived a longer, healthier life? It's one of the great "what ifs" of film history. Sadly, his self destructive tendencies, exacerbated by a near fatal automobile accident in 1956, would ultimately catch up with him and he died at the age of 45 in 1966.

Montgomery Clift's nominations:
"Judgment at Nuremberg" (1961), for Best Supporting Actor
For Best Actor:
"From Here to Eternity" (1953)
"A Place in the Sun" (1951)
"The Search" (1948)

Answer: Barbara Stanwyck

She is often described as the greatest actress who never won an Oscar. Barbara Stanwyck's villainous performance as Phyllis Dietrichson in 1944's "Double Indemnity" was ranked #8 on AFI's "100 Greatest Screen Heroes and Villains" list. She was versatile enough to play characters filled with depth and compassion as well - such as her sympathetic turn as a working class mother in "Stella Dallas".

Her honoroary Oscar in 1982 was for "superlative creativity and unique contribution to the art of screen acting". Well said.

Barbara Stanwyck's nominations (all for Best Actress):
"Sorry, Wrong Number" (1948)
"Double Indemnity" (1944)
"Ball of Fire" (1941)
"Stella Dallas" (1937)

Answer: Cary Grant

Cary Grant's great talent was in comedy and the Academy has never quite known what to do with comedy. His greatest comic performances - "His Girl Friday", "The Awful Truth", "Bringing Up Baby" - were ignored by the Academy. Then again, even his brilliant dramatic turns for Alfred Hitchcock in "Notorious" and "North by Northwest" were passed over. Perhaps he was too good! He made it all seem so relaxed and effortless, as if he wasn't really acting. Whatever the issue, Grant was virtually ignored by the Academy. Fortunately, it does not tarnish his extraordinary legacy.

Cary Grant's nominations (both for Best Actor):
"None But the Lonely Heart" (1944)
"Penny Serenade" (1941)

Answer: Agnes Moorehead

Agnes Moorehead's career spanned film, live theatre, radio, and television. While best known for playing Endora in the hit sitcom "Bewitched", Moorehead had a rich and varied career. In the 30s, she joined Orson Welles' "Mercury Theatre on the Air", his legendary radio program that would ultimately be responsible for the notorious "War of the Worlds" broadcast in 1938. Moorehead was part of that program and when Welles came to Hollywood a few years later, she would follow.

While Agnes Moorehead's name may not be as well known as some, she nonetheless deserves a place in film history for her remarkable, heartfelt performances.

Agnes Moorehead's nominations (all for Best Supporting Actress):
"Hush... Hush, Sweet Charlotte" (1964)
"Johnny Belinda" (1948)
"Mrs. Parkington" (1944)
"The Magnificent Ambersons" (1942)

Answer: Richard Burton

In 1966, Richard Burton starred with his wife Elizabeth Taylor in the film adaptation of Edward Albee's play, "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". With a cast of only four, it's one of only a handful of films for which the entire cast received Oscar nominations. Burton lost to Paul Scofield for "A Man for All Seasons" but Taylor won her second Oscar.

Richard Burton's nominations:
For Best Actor:
"Equus" (1977)
"Anne of the Thousand Days" (1969)
"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966)
"The Spy Who Came In from the Cold" (1965)
"Becket" (1964)
"The Robe" (1953)
For Best Supporting Actor:
"My Cousin Rachel" (1952)

Answer: Rosalind Russell

As Rosemary, the lonely schoolteacher in "Picnic", Russell gave a wrenching, heartfelt performance. Producers wanted to put her up for a Best Supporting Actress but she refused, insisting that she be placed in the Best Actress category. Many in Hollywood believed that if she had cooperated, she would not only have been nominated but would have won.

Perhaps Russell's most beloved performance was in 1941's "His Girl Friday" with Cary Grant.

Rosalind Russell's nominations (all for Best Actress):
"Auntie Mame" (1958)
"Mourning Becomes Electra" (1947)
"Sister Kenny" (1946)
"My Sister Eileen" (1942)

Answer: Edward G. Robinson

"Mother of mercy! Is this the end of Rico?" These, of course, are Caesar Enrico Bandello's dying words in that great gangster epic, "Little Caesar". The film made a star of Edward G. Robinson. It was uphill from there. Robinson left behind a host of memorable performances.

Some highlights, none of them Oscar-nominated:
Keyes in "Double Indemnity"
Johnny Rocco in "Key Largo"
Dathan in "The Ten Commandments"

Answer: Deborah Kerr

Deborah Kerr (pronounced 'Car' not 'Cur') was born in Scotland and began her acting career on the stage, performing for a time with the Oxford Repertory Company in England. Her most famous Oscar-nominated role was probably Karen Holmes, the lonely army wife who begins a torrid affair with Burt Lancaster's virile Sergeant Warden, in "From Here to Eternity". Their love scene on a Hawaiian beach, kissing passionately as the waves tumble all around them, is an iconic moment.

Deborah Kerr's nominations (all for Best Actress):
"The Sundowners" (1960)
"Separate Tables" (1958)
"Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison" (1957)
"The King and I" (1956)
"From Here to Eternity" (1953)
"Edward, My Son" (1949)