Originally Posted by
jim aka jtigre99
1972 was a particularly strong year for Best Actress performances. Of course, I was behind Diana Ross 1000% because she was amazing in her film debut. I have seen a lot on You Tube that was in retrospect and not what I remember at the time. Yes, apparently, it was a big deal that 2 African American actresses were up for Best Actress. I remember at the time that Liza and Diana were touted as the frontrunners with Cicely Tyson a very strong third. Liza and Cicely were both in films up for Best Picture, which is always an extra boost. I saw a You Tube that Cicely really had a supporting role [[which I don't agree with) and that had she been nominated a Supporting Actress she would have won. Diana certainly had the showiest performance with alot of meat to sink her teeth into and she did an amazing job. Liza had some great production numbers and her singing and dancing were top notch and she had a number of moments that were also nuanced with emotion. I had read Gordy cost Diana the award because he went for it in the trade papers with far too many ads for that time[[1972), I even remember reading that at the time. Plus Lady did receive undue criticism for how Billie Holiday's life was presented, although I am sure Barbra Streisand didn't have that problem with Funny Girl. So, add that Liza was in a better received film, that it had more acclaim over all along with voters who felt guilty about never giving Judy Garland an Oscar for A Star is Born, Liza had the advantage. In retrospect, Cabaret was up for Best Picture and that also helped. Diana's performance was amazing and did deserve an Oscar, had it been released in 1971 or 1973, I think the Academy would have given it to her easily. Unless of course, Gordy ran ads like he did in 1972.
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