Political protest: In March 1973, the legendary Marlon Brando won the best actor prize for his work in mob epic ‘The Godfather’, besting a remarkable field of contenders — Michael Caine, Peter O’Toole, Laurence Olivier and Paul Winfield. But Brando did not attend, and Apache actress and activist Sacheen Littlefeather took the stage in his place. When actor Roger Moore offered her the golden statuette, she held up her hand in refusal, and he and co-presenter Liv Ullmann stepped back as she began to speak. Before a stunned audience, Littlefeather said Brando “very regretfully cannot accept this very generous award” as he wanted to protest the movie industry’s treatment of Native Americans. Her statement was met with applause, cheers and a few boos.
AP