Match the Best Actor Oscar Winners - 1970s Quiz

Answer: George C. Scott

With his first nomination in the category, Geoge C. Scott won the Best Actor Oscar for his portrayal of General George S. Patton in "Patton". Scott had previously been nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for "Anatomy of a Murder" and "The Hustler".

The film "Patton" covered General George S. Patton's years during World War II. Even though Scott was favored to win, his win was a bit controversial in that he had stated in advance that he would refuse the award because he didn't believe that actors should compete against each other.

When presenter Goldie Hawn opened the envelope at the ceremony, she let out a little gasp: "Oh my God. The winner is George C. Scott". The producer of "Patton" accepted the award and thanked the Academy for "honoring so generously a fine performance by a great actor".

The other nominees for Best Actor were Melvyn Douglas ("I Never Sang for My Father"), James Earl Jones ("The Great White Hope"), Jack Nicholson ("Five Easy Pieces"), and Ryan O'Neal ("Love Story").

Answer: Gene Hackman

Another first-time nominee in the Best Actor category, Gene Hackman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as Detective "Popeye" Doyle in "The French Connection". He had two previous nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category for "Bonnie and Clyde" and "I Never Sang for My Father".

In the film, Doyle and his partner (Roy Scheider) were undercover cops who stumbled on the bust of a lifetime involving a major heroin shipment from France. The other contenders for the Best Actor Oscar were Peter Finch ("Sunday Bloody Sunday"), Walter Matthau ("Kotch"), George C. Scott ("The Hospital"), and Topol ("Fiddler on the Roof").

Answer: Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando won his second Best Actor Oscar for his role as crime boss Vito Corleone in "The Godfather". He had five prior nominations in the category for "A Streetcar Named Desire", "Viva Zapata!", "Julius Caesar", "On the Waterfront", and "Sayonara", and he won his first Oscar for "On the Waterfront".

In "The Godfather", Corleone was the head of a New York mafia family that was in a battle with other crime families. Although Brando had accepted his first Oscar in person, he declined to do so for "The Godfather"; he instead sent half-Native American actress Sacheen Littlefeather, dressed in Native American attire, to deliver a speech declining the award due to the treatment of Native Americans by Hollywood.

The stunt didn't go over very well, with Clint Eastwood later quipping when he presented the Best Picture Oscar that he was doing it "on behalf of all the cowboys shot in John Ford westerns over the years" and ceremony co-host Michael Caine stating that Brando should have read the statement himself rather than "letting some poor little Indian girl take the boos".

The other nominees in the category were Michael Caine ("Sleuth"), Laurence Olivier ("Sleuth"), Peter O'Toole ("The Ruling Class"), and Paul Winfield ("Sounder").

Answer: Jack Lemmon

Jack Lemmon won his second Oscar and his first in the Best Actor category for his role as disillusioned businessman Harry Stoner in "Save the Tiger". He won his first Oscar in the Best Supporting Actor category for "Mister Roberts", and he had three prior nominations in the Best Actor category ("Some Like it Hot", "The Apartment", and "Days of Wine and Roses") before his win for "Save the Tiger". With his win, Lemmon became the first actor to snag both the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor Oscars (Helen Hayes had already managed the feat in the actress categories). "Save the Tiger" took place over a day and a half in Stoner's life, as he struggled with his failing clothing company and his longing for the simpler times of his youth.

The other Best Actor nominees were Marlon Brando ("Last Tango in Paris"), Jack Nicholson ("The Last Detail"), Al Pacino ("Serpico"), and Robert Redford ("The Sting").

Answer: Art Carney

In what was considered a surprise win against heavy competition, Art Carney received his only Oscar nomination and Best Actor win for his role as elderly road-tripper Harry Coombes in "Harry and Tonto". The other contenders for the award were Albert Finney ("Murder on the Orient Express"), Dustin Hoffman ("Lenny"), Jack Nicholson ("Chinatown"), and Al Pacino ("The Godfather: Part II").

The audience at the awards clearly thought the race was between Nicholson and Pacino, based on the level of applause they received when their names were announced, but Carney had earlier picked up the Golden Globe for his performance so his win wasn't a complete shock.

In "Harry and Tonto", the 55-year-old Carney portrayed a widower in his mid-70s who went on a cross-country journey with his cat after being kicked out of his apartment.

In his short acceptance speech, Carney said that he took the role because his agent told him: "Do it. You ARE old".

Answer: Jack Nicholson

If Jack Nicholson was disappointed for not winning the Best Actor Oscar for "Chinatown", his disappointment was short-lived because he picked up the award in the following year for his role as sane mental patient Randle McMurphy in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest".

It was his first Oscar win following three nominations in the category ("Five Easy Pieces", "The Last Detail", and "Chinatown") and one nomination for Best Supporting Actor ("Easy Rider"). In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", McMurphy was a prisoner who pretended to be mentally ill, thinking that it would be easier to serve his sentence in a mental institution.

The other contenders for the award were Walter Matthau ("The Sunshine Boys"), Al Pacino ("Dog Day Afternoon"), Maximilian Schell ("The Man in the Glass Booth"), and James Whitmore ("Give 'em Hell, Harry!").

Answer: Peter Finch

Peter Finch had the dubious distinction of being the first posthumous winner of the Best Acting Oscar when he picked up the award for his role as "mad-as-hell" anchorman Howard Beale in "Network". It was his second Academy Award nomination, having previously been nominated in the same category for "Sunday Bloody Sunday".

In "Network", after long-time news anchor Beale found out that he was being fired, he re-branded himself as a type of "shock jock" to increase ratings. It was while he was on a promotional tour for "Network" that Finch suffered a heart attack and died at the age of sixty, a month before the Academy Award nominations were announced.

The other nominees in the category were Robert De Niro ("Taxi Driver"), Giancarlo Giannini ("Seven Beauties"), William Holden ("Network"), and Sylvester Stallone ("Rocky").

Answer: Richard Dreyfuss

Richard Dreyfuss picked up the Academy Award for Best Actor on his first nomination for his role as struggling actor Elliott Garfield in "The Goodbye Girl". At the time, he was the youngest recipient of the award at thirty years of age. In the Neil Simon comedy-drama, Garfield embarked on a relationship with a neurotic dancer (Marsha Mason) after her previous boyfriend left her and sublet their apartment to Garfield without telling her.

The other nominees for Best Actor were Woody Allen ("Annie Hall"), Richard Burton ("Equus"), Marcello Mastroianni ("A Special Day"), and John Travolta ("Saturday Night Fever").

Answer: Jon Voight

With his second nomination in the category, Jon Voight won the Best Actor Oscar for his role as paraplegic Vietnam veteran Luke Martin in "Coming Home". He had previously been nominated for "Midnight Cowboy". In "Coming Home", Martin became involved with a military wife (Best Actress winner Jane Fonda) who was volunteering at a veterans' hospital while her husband (Bruce Dern) was deployed in Vietnam.

The other nominees for the award were Warren Beatty ("Heaven Can Wait"), Gary Busey ("The Buddy Holly Story"), Robert De Niro ("The Deer Hunter"), and Laurence Olivier ("The Boys from Brazil").

Answer: Dustin Hoffman

Dustin Hoffman won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his role as single parent Ted Kramer in "Kramer vs. Kramer". He had three previous nominations, all in the Best Actor category, for "The Graduate", "Midnight Cowboy", and "Lenny". In "Kramer vs. Kramer", workaholic Ted's life and career unraveled when his wife (Best Supporting Actress winner Meryl Streep) walked out, leaving him to raise their young son alone.

Then when he seemed to have everything under control, his wife returned and fought him for custody of their son.

The other nominees in the category were Jack Lemmon ("The China Syndrome"), Al Pacino ("...And Justice for All"), Roy Scheider ("All That Jazz"), and Peter Sellers ("Being There").