Jewish nominees for the Academy Awards, though relatively few compared to previous years, ran true to form and walked off with their Oscars Wednesday night.
Dustin Hoffman earned a standing ovation from the 6,500 spectators in the Shrine Auditorium as he accepted the best actor award for his portrayal of an autistic savant in “Rain Man.”
Sporting a three-day growth of beard, Hoffman accepted his Oscar in a halting, almost tearful, voice, as if still in character.
Director Barry Levinson, as expected, received his Oscar for “Rain Man, ” and the picture itself was named best film of the year.
Actor Jeff Goldblum, though not nominated at least basked in the glory of his wife, as Geena Davis won the best supporting actress award for her offbeat role in “The Accidental Tourist.”
A highly popular award, judging by audience applause, went to “Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie,” a shattering documentary on Nazi war crimes and French collaboration.
Marcel Ophuls, the producer and director, thanked his two home countries, France and the United States, in their respective languages.
An unplanned moment of drama came when Willem Dafoe walked on stage as an award presenter, looking ?unt and with his head closely shaved.
The actor, who had sported long flowing hair as Jesus in “The Last Temptation of Christ” and a businesslike haircut as an FBI agent in “Mississippi Burning,” explained his appearance by noting that he had just come from Auschwitz.
The former Nazi death camp in Poland is the Current locale for the upcoming film “Triumph of the Spirit,” in which Dafoe plays a Greek-Jewish boxer who survives the Holocaust through his pugilistic skills.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
