Academy Award®
1953 Best Supporting Actress
Donna Reed – 1953 Best Supporting Actress
At the 1953 26th Annual Academy Awards® broadcast 25 March 1954, the nominees for Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role were:
- Grace Kelly as Linda Nordley in Mogambo, MGM
- Geraldine Page as Angie Lowe in Hondo, Warner Brothers
- Marjorie Rambeau as Mrs. Stewart in Torch Song, MGM
- Donna Reed as Lorene/Alma in From Here to Eternity, Columbia Pictures
- Thelma Ritter as Moe in Pickup on South Street, 20th Century-Fox
Walter Brennan made the presentation. According to “Donna Reed: A Bio-Bibliography” by Brenda Scott Royce, when he announced Donna’s name, she sprinted down the aisle, not thinking she would make the long walk to the podium in time.
Frank Sinatra, shown here with Donna, was also honored as Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Private Angelo Maggio in From Here to Eternity. The film garnered eight awards out of 13 nominations:
- Best Picture (Buddy Adler)
- Best Director (Fred Zinnermann)
- Best Writing – Screenplay (Daniel Taradash)
- Best Supporting Actor (Frank Sinatra)
- Best Supporting Actress (Donna Reed)
- Best Cinematography (B&W – Burnett Guffey)
- Best Film Editing (William Lyon)
- Best Sound (Recording – John Livadary)
The additional nominations were – Best Actor (both Montgomery Clift and Burt Lancaster), Best Actress (Deborah Kerr), Best Costume Design (B&W – Jean Louis), and Best Score of a Dramatic or Comedy Picture (George Duning & Morris Stoloff).
In 1986, the award was presented to the residents of Crawford County at the first Donna Reed Festival for the Performing Arts. It is proudly displayed at the historic nationally registered house built by W.A. McHenry. A banker, abstractor, cattleman, and early settler of Crawford County, he erected the three story structure in 1885-86. It is now a museum site maintained by the Crawford County Historical Society.
– Royce, Brenda Scott, “Donna Reed: A Bio-Bibliography,” Greenwood Press, New York, 1990.
