Special Category Awards

Special Category Awards

Oscar ceremony is held with the motive of honoring the talented people of Hollywood. Special Categories of Oscar Awards are meant for certain special achievements in the Motion Picture Industry. The criteria of selecting the winner for this segment are a bit different from the other segments of Academy Awards. These awards are voted on by special committees, rather than by the Academy members, as a whole, which is the routine affair.

Gordon E Sawyer Award Oscar award has different segments of award categories. Gordon E. Sawyer Award is presented under the segment of ’Special Category Awards'. It is given to "an individual in the motion picture industry whose technological contributions have brought credit to the industry." This award is voted upon and given by the 'Scientific and Technical Awards Committee' of the Academy. The award has been named in honor of Gordon E. Sawyer - the former Head of the Sound Department, at Samuel Goldwyn Studio. He holds the record of winning the Academy Award three times. Here is a list of the individuals who have received the 'Gordon E. Sawyer Academy Award'. Gordon E. Sawyer Award
Year	Winner
2008	David Grafton
2007	Ray Feeney
2006	Gary Demos
2005	Takuo Miyagishima
2004	Peter D. Parks
2003	N/A
2002	Edmund M. Di Giulio
2001	Irwin W. Young
2000	Dr. Roderick T. Ryan
1999	N/A
1998	Don Iwerks
1997	N/A
1996	N/A
1995	N/A
1994	N/A
1993	Erich Kastner
1992	Ray Harryhausen
1991	Stefan Kudelski

Honorary Oscar

Academy Honorary Award (previously called the Special Award) was given for the first time in 1948, during the 21^st Academy Awards. It is not restricted to a single field of achievement, rather covers various aspects of the industry. The 'Honorary Award' may or may not be an Oscar statuette when it is presented as a part of the Academy Awards ceremony. One of the most popular categories of 'Special Oscar Awards' segment, it might be given to a filmmaker, animator, an organization or to a company, provided they have been associated with the task of filmmaking. 'Honorary Oscar Award' is given at the discretion of the Board of Governors of the Academy, with the aim of celebrating those achievements of film industry that have been left uncovered by existing Academy Awards. This award is not necessarily given every year and might be left out for a year or two, if no suitable candidate is found.

 

Irving G Thalberg Memorial Award

'Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award' is given to "creative producers, whose bodies of work reflect a consistently high quality of motion picture production." This Academy Award is given, as a part of the 'Special Categories' segment. This award is named after one of the prominent personalities of the Motion Picture Industry - Irving G. Thalberg. He was the legendary head of the Production Division of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer as well as the person responsible for company’s development, in matters of standing for classy films. For the winners in this category, the award is in the form of a bust of Thalberg, somewhat different from the familiar "Oscar" statuette, which is generally awarded to the Academy Award winners. In the following list, we have provided a list of the people who have been awarded the 'Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award'.

Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award

Year	Winner
2001	Dino De Laurentiis
2000	Warren Beatty
1999	Norman Jewison
1997	Saul Zaentz
1995	Clint Eastwood
1992	George Lucas
1991	David Brown and Richard D. Zanuck
1988	Billy Wilder
1986	Steven Spielberg
1982	Albert R. Broccoli
1980	Ray Stark
1978	Walter Mirisch
1977	Pandro S. Berman
1976	Mervyn LeRoy
1974	Lawrence Weingarten
1971	Ingmar Bergman
1968	Alfred Hitchcock
1967	Robert Wise
1966	William Wyler
1964	Sam Spiegel
1962	Stanley Kramer
1959	Jack L. Warner
1957	Buddy Adler
1949	Jerry Wald
1951	Darryl F. Zanuck
1952	Arthur Freed
1953	Cecil B. DeMille
1954	George Stevens
1947	Samuel Goldwyn
1945	Darryl F. Zanuck
1944	Hal B. Wallis
1943	Sidney Franklin
1942	Walt Disney
1940	David O. Selznick
1939	Hal B. Wallis
1938	Darryl F. Zanuck

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award is one of the special categories of Academy Awards, given for outstanding contribution to humanitarian causes. The award is named after Jean Hersholt - the Danish actor and translator who co-founded the Motion Picture Relief Fund. He also served as the Academy President during a crucial phase in the organization’s history. He died of cancer on June 2, 1956, and almost immediately, the Academy established the 'Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award'. It was Academy’s own way of paying an enduring tribute to the humanitarian, whose efforts undeniably brought massive recognition to the industry. Given below is a list of individuals who have received the 'Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award'.

Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award

Year	Winner
2008	Jerry Lewis
2007	Sherry Lansing
2005	Roger Mayer
2001	Arthur Hiller
1994	Quincy Jones
1993	Paul Newman
1992	Audrey Hepburn (posthumously), Elizabeth Taylor
1989	Howard W. Koch
1985	Charles 'Buddy' Rogers
1984	David L. Wolper
1983	M.J. Frankovich
1982	Walter Mirisch
1981	Danny Kaye
1979	Robert Benjamin (posthumously)
1978	Leo Jaffe
1977	Charlton Heston
1975	Jules C. Stein
1974	Arthur B. Krim
1973	Lew Wasserman
1972	Rosalind Russell
1970	Frank Sinatra
1969	George Jessel
1968	Martha Raye
1967	Gregory Peck
1966	George Bagnall
1965	Edmond L. DePatie
1962	Steve Broidy
1961	George Seaton
1960	Sol Lesser
1959	Bob Hope
1957	Samuel Goldwyn
1956	Y. Frank Freeman

Scientific and Technical Award

Academy Scientific and Technical Award is given for scientific and technological achievements in filmmaking.

For a long time, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) has been engaged in the task of acknowledging the efforts of people associated with filmmaking. When it comes to filmmaking, many aspects work together to make a movie super hit. There must be a proper combination of technical and non-technical aspects. This fact was realized some time after the first Oscar ceremony and the Academy started honoring scientific and technical achievements since the very early years of the establishment of the organization. It was in the year 1931 that the first 'Academy Scientific and Technical Award' was given, for scientific or technological milestones.

Academy Scientific and Technical Award is presented in three separate categories, with the winners being voted on by the Board of Governors of the Academy. In the first category - 'Award of Merit', winners are decided on the basis of their basic achievements that have influenced the advancement of the industry, as a whole. In the second category - 'Scientific and Engineering Award', the award is given for high level of engineering or scientific merit. The third category - 'Technical Achievement Award' is awarded for technical accomplishments that have served as valuable contributions to the progress of the industry. The awards are presented at "a dinner ceremony, separate from the annual telecast". Presently, the Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony usually takes place two weeks prior to the main Academy Awards ceremony.

Special Achievement Award

Academy Special Achievement Award was first given in 1972. Among the numerous categories of award that are presented during the award ceremony is 'Academy Special Achievement Award'. This award is given by the Academy for an achievement, which makes an outstanding contribution to the motion picture industry, meeting the sole purpose of forming it. However, it is not mandatory to give this award every year. 'Special Achievement Oscar Award' is conferred only for achievements in productions, which also qualify as an eligible release for distinguished achievements and meet the Academy's eligibility year and deadlines requirements. Here is a list of the winners in this category.

Academy Special Achievement Award

Year	Film	Winner
1995	Toy Story	John Lasseter (First feature-length computer-animated film)
1990	Total Recall	Eric Brevig, Rob Bottin, Tim McGovern, Alex Funke (Visual Effects)
1988	Who Framed Roger Rabbit	Richard Williams (Animation Direction)
1987	RoboCop	Stephen Flick, John Pospisil (Sound Effects Editing)
1984	The River	Kay Rose (Sound Effects Editing)
1983	Return of the Jedi	Richard Edlund, ASC, Dennis Muren, ASC, Ken Ralston, Phil Tippett (Visual Effects)
1981	Raiders of the Lost Ark	Ben Burtt, Richard L. Anderson (Sound Effects Editing)
1980	The Empire Strikes Back	Brian Johnson, Richard Edlund, ASC, Dennis Muren, ASC, Bruce Nicholson (Visual Effects)
1979	The Black Stallion	Alan Splet (Sound Editing)
1978	Superman	Les Bowie, Colin Chilvers, Denys Coop, BSC, Roy Field, Derek Meddings, Zoran Perisic (Visual Effects)
1977	1.Close Encounters of the Third Kind 2.Star Wars	1.Frank E. Warner (Sound Effects Editing) 2.Ben Burtt (Creation of the alien, creature and robot voices)
1976 -	1.King Kong 2.Logan's Run	1.Carlo Rambaldi, Glen Robinson, Frank Van der Veer, ASC (Visual Effects) 2.L. B. Abbott, ASC, Glen Robinson, Matthew Yuricich (Visual Effects)
1975	The Hindenburg	Peter Berkos (Sound Effects) Albert Whitlock, Glen Robinson (Visual Effects)
1974	Earthquake	Frank Brendel, Glen Robinson, Albert Whitlock (Visual Effects)
1972	The Poseidon Adventure	L. B. Abbott, ASC, A. D. Flowers (Visual Effects)