The actress who gave life to "Aunt May" in the UCM tapes took the golden statuette for "My Cousin Vinny".
With more than 20 films, several series, and theater appearances, Marisa Tomei is one of the most recognized actresses today, not only for her appearance in cult films but also for her memorable role as Aunt May in the trilogy of "Spider-Man" from the MCU, playing a younger version of the character's mother figure.
Outside of her role in Marvel, the celeb from the United States has also been an important figure in well-remembered films such as "The Fighter", "Only You" (where she would meet Robert Downey Jr.) "Indomitable Heart" or "My Cousin Vinny."
It would be precisely the latter that would give her the most important achievement in her artistic career when in 1993 she received the Academy of Arts and Sciences Award or also called the Oscar.
THE OSCAR LEGEND BY MARISA TOMEI
During the 65th edition of the Oscars, the American actress won the "Best Actress Award" for her role as the young hairdresser Mona Lisa Vito. However, this was surrounded by controversy because it was speculated that there was a delivery error.
In that year, Tomei was relatively new to the cinema, so she was not expected to surpass the favorite Judy Davis, who was going for the award thanks to her leading role in "Husbands and Wives", so the theory of error took force.
This speculation involved Jack Palance, the person in charge of delivering the award for the category, and he would have misread the name. Other accusations went further, accusing him of being drunk or drugged, for which, unable to read the envelope, he randomly blurted out Tomei's name.
On that magical night for the actress, Palance took the stage, looked at the paper, and ceremoniously said her name, while emotional applause from her peers and incredulous looks from others covered the "Dorothy Chandler Pavilion" in Los Angeles.
"Thank you so much. It is a great honor for me to receive this award in the year that we recognize, celebrate and honor women. Of course, I thank, thank you very much, the cast and production team of My Cousin Vinny, especially Mr. Joe Pesci for his endless support and his great talent. Thank you very much,” he indicated.
WAS THERE A FRAUD OR MISTAKE?
The following year, "The Hollywood Reporter" uncovered the presence of rumors that pointed to a different result, but that once Palance, who was 74 years old at the time, mentioned the name, he only had to play along to avoid being left behind. bad standing
The veteran Roger Ebert spoke in favor of the Academy, who assured that "If such an error occurred, the Price Water house Coopers accountants would appear on stage to rectify the situation."
If so, it would have been the first time that the organization experienced something similar, because years later, in 2017, "La La Land" was stripped of the statuette that it had received minutes before, as a rectification gave the award to "Moonlight".
“Rumors seemed to assume that if Palance had read the wrong name, the Academy would play along by pretending it was the rightful winner. That is why the error in this edition is a vindication for Tomei: it demonstrated that, in the event of an error, the staff is ready and prepared to correct it, no matter how much embarrassment or humiliation may ensue, ”said The Washington Post when comparing both cases.
