Another year, another blahOscarsprogram, complete with all the trappings, clichés, and safe musical numbers. Most of which you’ll be ignoring as you scroll on your phone. About the only thing that has made the show watchable in the last three decades is backstage blunders and that one time a WWE fight broke out. We didn’t know how good we had it. Back in the late ’80s, the Oscar producers were aware of precisely this problem. In what was a lavish, high-concept gamble, they sought to inject new ideas into a stale format.
But they were wise to play it safe all those decades prior. At the 61st Academy Awards ceremony, the Oscar planners found out that lesson the hard way. For those wondering why the Oscars are excruciatingly dull, one watershed moment in 1989 is to blame. 36 years later, the taint remains, the event compared to a “gay bar mitzvah” byThe Hollywood Reporter. Never again would we see truly daring, weird musical numbers, nor would we see a single person with unlimited control to enact their fever dream visions in front of the world at the expense of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' credibility.
Bringing Broadway Flamboyance to a Cynical LA
From the first (non-televised) industry shindig at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel to the million-dollar extravaganza we have today, theOscars have gone through countless modifications. One thing remains the same. This is the American film industry’s stodgy showcase night, projecting their best face to the world, celebrating themselves with class.
Pushing those boundaries, 1989 marked one of the most memorable telecasts ever, masterminded by eccentric Tony winner and high-society favorite, Allan Carr, the subject of the 2017 docThe Fabulous Allan Carr. Carr made his bones staging musical specials for TV, later working behind the scenes producing musicals.
Seeking to pay homage to the old-school stars of days of yore, Carr opted for a radical, garish reinvention. He had Rob Lowe belting out “Proud Mary” with an actress playing Snow White, while young actors pranced and spouted lines dressed up as deceased actors and actresses.Conducting the band was Marvin Hamlisch. Snow White’s dress was stitched up by fashion icon Bob Mackie, and Bob Hope and Lucille Ball (in her last public appearance) introduced the festivities. On paper, the stars were aligning.
The Oscars Finally Confirm the Only Musical Performance Anyone Cares About
Doja Cat, Blackpink’s Lisa, Raye and Queen Latifah will also sing during this year’s telecast on ABC.
“No one was high when they came up with this”
The reaction ranged from confusion to horror, with those in the front rows donning thousand-yard stares or holding back laughter. Carr miscalculated the vibe. Brat Packer Lowe accepted the part of singing the corny duet primarily to get in the good graces of the greater film industry after a recent scandal involving a sex tape. He was paying his restitution, the whole world witnessing his new lowest point. The lead-up was a bunch of young up-and-comers (yup, that’s Patrick Dempsey and Christian Slater) hamming it up like kids in a grade-school play. “No one was high when they came up with this,” Lowe said onThe Jess Cagle Show, owning up to it. “You live by the sword, you die by the sword.” A joke it was not:
The Academy Awards folks have buried footage of the Snow White songs, butit’s currently on YouTubeuploaded from VHS. For the young singer recruited to play Snow White, Eileen Bowman, the spectacular was a horrid lesson in the pitfalls of show business, allegedly only making $350 per week, leading up to the infamous March 29 show that defined her whole career.
The controversialflesh-and-blood Snow White didn’t sit wellwith critics or viewers, confused aboutwhether the high-pitched cartoon character was supposed to be campy, sexy, or family-friendly, considering Lowe’s still-fresh sex scandal. Cybill Shepherd giggled nervously, Gregory Hines passive-aggressively clapped, while Robert Downey Jr. visibly questioned the wisdom of sobriety as the ordeal continued. Lowe’s redemption arc was spoiled.Carr never worked in Hollywood again, a lifetime of labor blown apart before the first commercial break.
Shannen Doherty Candidly Tells Kevin Smith That Mallrats Killed Her Movie Career
Mallrats bombed at the box office in 1995, and star Shannen Doherty believes it greatly hindered her potential movie career.
The Aftermath of Carr’s Snow-White Saga
Disney didn’t approve either, suing over copyright violations days later,per the LA Times.Lost in the media storm, were the winners. Few can recall that this marked Jodie Foster’s first Oscar, Kevin Kline’s only nomination and win, and Geena Davis' only competitive award. Comedian Steven Wright won one too, if you may believe it. The award haul ofRain Man(leaving the Shrine Auditorium that night schlepping around the Best Picture, Actor, Director, and Original Screenplay hardware) set into effect what has become a trend in Hollywood films of thespians playing disabled individuals.1989 was a deeply intriguing year in Oscar lore. No one remembers any of that, too fixated on Bowman and Lowe torturing the captive audience.
Bowman still has nightmares about thelive Oscar night performance, the routine the butt of jokes the next year by host Billy Crystal, just to rub it in. It has gone down in trade magazines and online discourse as the most humiliating night in Hollywood history, though few have actually seen it. Lowe bounced back and Bowman can laugh it off now, appreciating her unique place in pop culture history, back when award show planners had soul but no clue. Some unknown collector bought her wardrobe for $23,000 to be buried in, though we can’t confirm that rumor.That would explain the non-disclosure agreement Bowman stated she was forced to sign the next morning.Bowman may have never become a star, but for one night she was the headliner in the most surreal awards spectacle ever.
