Jeanne
Eagels,
best known for creating the role of Sadie Thompson in
Somerset Maugham's Rain, died of a Heroin overdose on October
3, 1929;
months before she received a 1928/29 Best Actress nomination for
her performance
in The Letter.
James
Dean has the distinction of receiving two posthumous acting
nominations. He
fatally crashed his Porsche on September 30, 1955, and was later
nominated for
Best Actor for 1955 (for East of Eden) and 1956 (for Giant).
Spencer
Tracy died on June 10, 1967, two weeks after completing Guess Who's Coming to Dinner. He received his ninth Best
Actor nomination for
the film, still the record for that category.
Peter
Finch died of a heart attack on January 14, 1977 that was thought
to
brought on by his exhaustive campaign to win the Oscar for Network.
He
won the award, prompting costar and fellow nominee William Holden
(who had
previously won the 1953 Oscar for Stalag 17) to say "If
the son of a bitch
hadn't died, I could have won my second Oscar."
Ralph
Richardson died on October 10, 1983, five months before his
Oscar nominated turn as Lord Greystoke in Greystoke: The Legend
of Tarzan,
Lord of the Apes was released. The legendary Shakespearean actor
also
has the distinction of being the first thespian to win the New York
Film Critics
Best Actor Award without also receiving an Oscar nomination
(for Breaking The Sound Barrier, 1952).
Massimo
Troisi was diagnosed as needing a heart transplant just before
he began
shooting his screenplay of Il Postino/The Postman, and died
on June 4, 1994 (the day after
completing it). Sentiment over Troisi's inspiring story was largely
responsible
for his nominations for Best Actor and Best Screenplay Based on
Material Previously
Produced or Published.
Heath
Ledger died of a drug overdose on January 22, 2008, and was
announced
as a nominee for Best Supporting Actor for his intense performance
as
The Joker in The Dark Knight on the first anniversary of
his death. He ultimately won
the Oscar, which was touchingly accepted by his parents and sister.
Chadwick Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2016 and worked through his star-making role in Black Panther as well as award-winning performances in Da 5 Bloods and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom before succumbing to the disease on August 28, 2020. He received his first and only Best Actor nomination for Ma Rainey the following year. |