Last night the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences handed out their lifetime achievement and honorary Oscars at the special Governor's Awards, where Angelina Jolie, Steve Martin and Angela Lansbury were honored by their peers. Jolie was tributed by George Lucas and Gena Rowlands, Martin was roasted by pals Martin Short and Tom Hanks, and the legendary Angela Lansbury finally received an Oscar after eight decades in Hollywood, and was toasted by Emma Thompson, Geoffrey Rush and Robert Osborne. Italian costume designer Piero Tosi was also honored, but not in attendance.
The speeches were teary, as you can see with Angelina Jolie up first, receiving the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award:
Then it was Steve Martin, who paid tribute to his many friends and colleagues for his own long comedy career:
Finally, the 88-year-old Angela Lansbury, the most deserving of these winners (in my opinion), gets her long awaited Oscar as the list of names she thanks include Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman:
It's kind of annoying how the lifetime achievement awards are no longer given out during the actual Oscar ceremony, as when you look back over the years, some of the best moments were when people like Charlie Chaplin, Fred Astaire, Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were all given moving ovations and kudos during past telecasts. They've been removed because of their length, but they really ought to still be included. I don't think it would hurt to take out a dance number or two instead, do you?
