The 63rd Annual Oscars were awarded in March of 1991 for the 1990 films. Kevin Costner's epic Western Dances With Wolves was the big favorite going in, with 12 nominations.
The show was very memorable for a lot of reasons. Billy Crystal was hosting for his second time, and he opened the show coming out as Kevin Costner on the horse from Dances With Wolves.
The Best Supporting Acting Oscars were presented early on as usual, and Joe Pesci gave perhaps the shortest Oscar acceptance speech in history, when he simply said "It's my privilege, thank you" for winning for Goodfellas.
Before that, though, a joyous applause greeted the Best Supporting Actress winner, Whoopi Goldberg for her performance in Ghost. Whoopi was genuinely overwhelmed and excited about winning the Oscar, saying that when she was growing up, "you were who I watched," and she enthused how genuinely happy she was to be an actor.
Out of all the performances of the nominated songs that year, the one worth noting was Reba McEntire, who agreed to perform the nominated song from Postcards from the Edge called "I'm Checking Out," only a day after her band had died in a plane crash, and her performance was vintage Reba, and Billy Crystal made special mention of thanking her for making it to the telecast in the midst of such tragedy.
And of course much ado was made of Madonna's appearance to perform the nominated song from Dick Tracy, which ultimately won. She appeared visibly nervous and almost fell out of her dress.
One of the most memorable moments of the telecast was a surprise appearance by a true legend, Bob Hope. Bob Hope, besides being a legendary personality, is still known for being one of the icons of the Oscars, hosting the telecast more times than anyone else.
Just as Billy Crystal has become the favorite Oscar host of the '90s, and as Johnny Carson was the favorite in the '70s, Bob Hope was associated with Oscar for a long time during Hollywood's Golden Age. At the 63rd Oscars ceremony, Bob Hope slowly walked onto the stage to a long-lasting applause. It would be the last time he would grace the Oscar stage in such good health.
