Winning a major entertainment award is usually treated as the final scene in a familiar story. The envelope opens, the audience applauds, and the winner heads home with a trophy that will probably spend the next few decades on a shelf. Yet fame has never made every performer comfortable with prizes. For certain stars, the problem was competition itself. A few objected to the organization handing out the honor, while another group felt accepting would betray colleagues, personal beliefs, or the point they were trying to make. There have even been trophies returned years after the champagne was gone and the acceptance speech had become an old television clip. Those decisions are especially interesting because the people involved rarely needed more publicity. They were already celebrated actors, musicians, and television personalities. What they rejected was the ritual that usually comes with being told you are the best.
#1: Marlon Brando Refused His Best Actor Oscar
Liv Ullmann opened the envelope, Roger Moore stood ready with the statuette, and the name everyone expected to see walking toward the stage never appeared. Instead, Sacheen Littlefeather approached the microphone. The Academy had selected Marlon Brando as Best Actor for The Godfather (1972), his second victory in the category, but he had decided the Oscar would remain unaccepted. Littlefeather explained that his refusal concerned Hollywood’s treatment and portrayal of Native Americans, along with the confrontation then taking place at Wounded Knee.
