Robert Downey Jr. became the first Best Actor nominee nominated for playing a former Best Actor nominee, as Charles Chaplin in Chaplin (1992).
Audrey Hepburn had been selected in December to receive the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for her work with UNICEF. Sadly, she passed away on January 20th and the award was accepted by her son Sean.
The show's theme was "Oscar Salutes Women and the Movies"; in recognition of this "Year of the Woman", several winners and presenters made comments regarding women in film and women who had influenced them.
Theme: Women in Film.
The board of governors of the Academy had decided this year to eliminate the Live Action and Animated short films category because of its limited appeal, citing it as just a series of student films that nobody ever sees. The idea was shot down by a resounding protest, and oddly enough one of this year's nominees was Kenneth Branagh.