--- title: Rare Photos From Behind the Scenes at the 1972 Academy Awards description: In March 1972, LIFE sent photographer Bill Eppridge to chronicle the run-up to that year's Oscars. canonical: https://time.com/3670730/1972-oscars-behind-the-scenes/ author: Ben Cosgrove article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2012-02-13T22:42:06.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:06:10.802Z og:title: Behind the Scenes at the 1972 Oscars og:description: In March 1972, LIFE sent photographer Bill Eppridge to chronicle the run-up to that year's Oscars. og:url: https://time.com/3670730/1972-oscars-behind-the-scenes/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad253a81f996b6b5/69877a4c3c16390a77451388/150115-1972-oscars-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1500 og:image:height: 844 og:image:alt: The Oscars, 1972 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Behind the Scenes at the 1972 Oscars twitter:description: In March 1972, LIFE sent photographer Bill Eppridge to chronicle the run-up to that year's Oscars. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltad253a81f996b6b5/69877a4c3c16390a77451388/150115-1972-oscars-01.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Behind the Scenes at the 1972 Oscars > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription. by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 13, 2012 10:42 PM UTC  Caption from LIFE. At 2 AM Price Waterhouse delivers 10,000 copies of the nominations lists to the Academy Award Theater. Caption from LIFE. At 2 AM Price Waterhouse delivers 10,000 copies of the nominations lists to the Academy Award Theater. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images by [Ben Cosgrove](https://time.com/author/ben-cosgrove/) ## Ben Cosgrove Feb 13, 2012 10:42 PM UTC Like much of the early Seventies, 1971 was a very good year for film aficionados who prized variety in the movies as highly as they valued quality. _A Clockwork Orange_, _The Last Picture Show_, _The French Connection_, _Sunday Bloody Sunday_, _Klute_, _McCabe & Mrs. Miller_ — the titles released in that single 12-month span are among the most revered and influential of the entire decade. Of course, for even the most artistically minded filmmakers, all the accolades in the world can quickly pale beside an Oscar nomination or, the summit of happiness, an Oscar win. That thrilling, glitz-fueled night in Los Angeles, meanwhile, when much of the world seems to hold its breath waiting for the words, “And the Oscar goes to …” (or, as it was put in 1972: “The winner is …”) has become a cultural touchstone in its own right, with the show’s production values, jokes, performances and, of course, clothes as closely analyzed as the films the Academy honors each year. In March 1972, LIFE magazine sent photographer Bill Eppridge to Los Angeles to photograph behind the scenes during the run-up to that year’s Oscar night, capturing images of everything from the dead-of-night delivery (by station wagon!) of the nomination lists to the destruction of the Price Waterhouse typewriter ribbons on which ballots were tallied. Here, LIFE.com presents a gallery of both published and unpublished photographs from Eppridge’s fascinating, revealing assignment, an insidery piece titled, a bit acidly, “The Oscar Game.” As for the April 10, 1972, ceremony itself, which took place weeks after Eppridge’s shoot — and was hosted by the powerhouse lineup of Sammy Davis, Jr., Jack Lemmon, Helen Hayes and Alan King — the big winners were _The French Connection_ (five Oscars, including Best Picture, William Friedkin for Best Director and Gene Hackman for Best Actor); _Fiddler on the Roof_ (three statuettes); Jane Fonda (Best Actress for _Klute_); and Peter Bogdanovich’s beautiful, profoundly heartfelt _Last Picture Show_, which scored a rare win when Ben Johnson and Cloris Leachman won Best Supporting Actor and Actress awards for their roles in the film.  Caption from LIFE. At 2 AM Price Waterhouse delivers 10,000 copies of the nominations lists to the Academy Award Theater. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. While nominations are being tallied, studios inundate the Academy with photographs and biographies of actors, directors and films they hope will be nominated.... Material on those not nominated is stacked away and later returned. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Members of the Academy enter an auditorium for a screening of an Oscar nominated film, 1972. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  From a "caption guidance" memo sent to New York from L.A., meant to provide editors with a quick take on specific frames from the rolls and rolls of shot film: "Photographers shooting the honorary announcers who were there to read nominees for benefit of TV." Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. As the list of nominees is read, TV cameras and dozens of reporters jam the morning press conference. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ![Each night during the ballot counting at P.W. \[Price Waterhouse\], even the used portions of typewriter ribbons are sealed in a lockbox.](https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt717d485613da9b2e/69877a4e428a9eeb3fcc69e4/150115-1972-oscars-06.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp) Caption from LIFE. Each night during the ballot counting at P.W. \[Price Waterhouse\], even the used portions of typewriter ribbons are sealed in a lockbox. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. Peering forlornly at near-full screening schedule, a studio rep tries to find a time to show a nominated film. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. The $200 'beefed-up' metal cabinet holding ballots and worksheets is locked in a specially secured room. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Rehearsing for a production number prior to the 1972 Academy Awards. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Rehearsing for a production number prior to the 1972 Academy Awards. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images  Caption from LIFE. This year the Price Waterhouse envelopes will be stylishly lined in metallic scarlet paper and sealed with a matching, beribboned red seal. Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3670730/1972-oscars-behind-the-scenes/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3670730/1972-oscars-behind-the-scenes/"},"headline":"Behind the Scenes at the 1972 Oscars","datePublished":"2012-02-13T22:42:06.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:06:10.802Z","description":"In March 1972, LIFE sent photographer Bill Eppridge to chronicle the run-up to that year's Oscars. 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