For Your Inconsideration: The Story of the 1989 Oscar's Infamous Opening Number
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- Опубликовано: 6 фев 2020
- With the Oscars right around the corner, let's hear a horary for Hollywood...well, a horary for the snobby powers that be, a secretive group of old white dudes who bribe and manipulate others in an effort to win a gold statue.
Love it or hate it, the Academy Awards is the biggest night of the year for the North American Film Industry. A night for elegance, sophistication, and pageantry...except, when there is to much pageantry.
This video discusses the infamous 1989 Oscars, specifically the first fifteen opening minutes of the show. This opening has been universally panned by many, and is often considered one the worst if not the worst moment in Oscar history.
It ended the amazing career of Allan Carr, a staple and power player in Hollywood for years, but it also stopped a career dead in it's tracks before it could get started. Eileen Bowman was hired to play Snow White, unfortunately after all the dust settled, and all the smoke had cleared, Eileen was made out to be a sacrificial lamb of the Academy.
Was the performance really that bad? I had a chance to talk directly with Eileen who gives a very candid insight about what it was like to be in the trenches on that infamous night! 
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Eileen Bowmans story sums up why the Will Smith slap makes me so angry. She was treated like so badly. She did everything right, and Hollywood tried to chew her up and spit her out. I'm glad she was able to overcome it and have a career after. But Will Smith can assault a presenter, act like a petulant child in front of millions of people, try to gaslight everyone with his acceptance speech, get a standing ovation, and dance the night away afterwards. No. Hollywood has tried to clean up it's act within the last few years, but clearly they have alot of work to do. Continue staying strong Eileen, your awesome!
I’m with you, but also there’s almost an entirely new set of people that makeup Hollywood and the Oscar committee now, and we as a culture have become much more diligent in understanding situations and fortified the ability to forgive.
To echo what I said, Bowman is most likely right when she said at 16:15 that if this had happened today she’d have a Netflix deal the next day.
well said.
Her speaking voice is literally that of a Disney princess, I’m not surprised they hired her!
I felt sad for Ms. Bowman for somehow getting the blame for that production. Indeed, she just did her job.
Agreed!
But besides her children in the industry were veteran TV producers/directors Chuck and Rob Bowman who covered this one for her when she's there with her family. So count on it.
I'm glad that Ms. Bowman was able to find peace and build a life and a happy family despite all that happened in the aftermath of that year's Academy Award show. She is correct that if things had been received differently, she would probably not be where she is currently at or with the people she is currently with, so there is a silver lining to the hardship she endured as one of the (undeserving) scapegoats. And on top of that, given what we know about the seedier side of Hollywood, she probably dodged a bullet (re: the predatory creeps that run Hollywood). Personally, I totally got what the show opening was about, but I also am a born-and-raised local of San Francisco, the homeland of Beach Blanket Babylon, and to be honest, I think there have been worse Oscar opening numbers since.
Good take I agree on all points! ;]
There's a place in heaven for this guy finally giving her a voice - soo cute when she thanked him for that chance and then ended the interview, she must have been exhausted but she is one serious example of *Shit Happens (to tend to roll downhill) ;]*
Sounds like she didn't dodge the creepy predatory nature of show biz on attractive naïvely trusting young women. She all but said it with saying she was mistreated in Vegas and tended to fall in line when it came to taking orders from probably seemingly rich older, more experienced probably white men what s sad is she that the industry basically grooms actresses be desperate to trust, look up to these people they view as their superiors/boss and it seems like essentially a classic mentor relationship but that's not possible when someone with their own agenda is in an open and accepted position of power. Bad recipe.
again Kudos to the channel for getting us her side of the tragic story of one of the biggest power trips guiltgame in Hollyweird history - and that's saying something. ;]
. . suggest to name one..😱 😲 actually ..probably all are on an equal par with this . but this one wins for being the champion of rubbish🚮😂😂 .
What really didn't help was that Rob Lowe was not generally well-liked or respected or considered a good actor at the time. All that Hollywood royalty on stage and Rob Lowe felt like a great imbalance.
When a boss starts scolding you for not being a team player, it’s very often a red flag on the whole project. ;)
She is such a sweet lady, maybe this was a good omen for her to stay away from the Hollywood life.
My recollection is that it was controversial because the character "Snow White" was a DIsney property, and could not legally be used without its consent. Mouse not happy.
That was a big part of it for sure!
According to Bruce Vilanch Snow White was actually public domain. Oscar lawyers and Disney lawyers alike green lit the project. Disney made it look like it was copyright infringement in public as a way to get back at the Oscars for not allowing them to buy ad time to promote their new MGM studio. Disney got around the Oscars by partnering up with Chevrolet. Right after that terrible opening number came this commercial of Snow White being driven to the opening of Disney MGM in a Chevrolet. Thus making Disney look worse so the made a public stink to save face. Really interesting story all around. 😋
@@nadiamuransky
theipcenter.com/2019/03/copyright-cartoon-images/ Yes, an interesting question. Apparently, cartoon characters are difficult to copyright, but I recall from the early 80s that Disney had passed laws protected Mickey Mouse far into the future, possibly because he's their trademark/ logo.
Beach Blanket Babylon is a form of satire so Disney had no recourse
@@crimony3054 Snow White is an old German fairy tale. Public domain, obviously. However, the specific look rendered for the Disney version can be copyrighted. But as another commenter pointed out, there is the satirical fair use loophole that may have been exploited.
As someone who's spent a lot of time on stage, I can't imagine rehearsing under such secrecy, even from co stars, etc. This poor woman!💗
I remember this very well. Back then, I used to tape the Oscars every year. I still have this broadcast on VHS. I made sure to hold on to it because it was Lucille Ball’s last public appearance. She died suddenly a month or so after. One of my coworkers, who was in college, came to me and asked “I know this is a long shot John, but did you tape the Oscars?”. I said, “you know I did”, and he begged me to loan him the tape for a presentation he made for one of his classes. She is right though, if you had seen “Beach Blanket Babylon” you would get it. It’s too bad her Bob Mackie costume couldn’t be in the Academy Awards museum that opened recently, I’m sure they’d love to have it now.
Thanks for sharing this!!!
I love her! What a great attitude- there’s no way to get where she is without experiencing the past and evolving as a human being from it. My opinion is she actually did “make it” and has what is important in life partially because of that experience. It also highlights how bad that industry was to actors and specifically women. I was happy to hear that most of the “big” actors were at least kind in the moment. Those that weren’t have gained some wisdom too since then (or have since died) and probably wouldn’t put together/sign a petition today. That was the 1989 version of the cancel culture.
Terrible she was the sacrificial lamb. The production appears hackneyed, corny, and overlong but HER performance was professional and well done. Great voice, dancing, acting. She should have been well credited and hired based on her performance here NOT ostracized due to Carr's misjudgment. And Carr miscalculated; there was no need to ostracize him either. Celebrity culture in our society is completely out of control. The arrogance and self obsession is overwhelming. Only we the consumers can change this. Stop worshipping these people and look at the little they really add to society.
I don't get what the problem was. Was it "too gay"?
These awards mean nothing. Originally started to promote the early movie industry, first ceremony took all of five minutes, there is no reason for it anymore. Just because someone wins an AA does not promote a movie. So many ways to see a movie, even people that don't want to go out will see a movie now whether it is an award winner or not. Plus the number of people that won an award and went nowhere equals the number of people who consistently gave good performances and never received the award.
You're absolutely right, man!
Eileen in her headshot looks exactly like a grown-up version of Princess Penelope in Wreck It Ralph
Hollywood took itself way too seriously…..still does….
I have met her, she is one of the most talented, sweetest, thoughtful person I have met.
I've seen worse!! Why the fuss given the infamous excesses of Hollywood!!
None of it was her fault!
"...and is considered by many to be the worst moment in Oscar history". 2022: "Hold my beer".
hahahahaha
This was very interesting and I would not have known about how Hollywood treated the newbies in1989 if I had not watched this! I may be naive but I thought that kind of mistreatment did not exist to the same level as it had in Hollywood 1940, 50s, 60s. Thanks for educating me!!!!!
unfortunately, mistreatment in entertainment is still quite common whether you are an actor or not
I'm old, my ears are old and I'm hearing this just fine! The lady is a sweetie pie. Glad she came out on top! The Oscar number seemed disjointed to me but not horrible!
What a trouper Eileen is! She had a lot to put up with, so it seems. So pleased she’s in a good place now. Thanks for the upload! 👍
Thanks for watching!!!
Hahaha love the video description 👍
Thanks!
This is so fascinating and bizarre. I actually remember watching this. I would have been about 5 years old so I think it was my introduction to The Oscars. I remember thinking it was neat the Snow White was in the show so kids could enjoy. Even then I remember it feeling very sanitized. The show didn't necessarily make sense but all things considered I thought it was fine. The talent was amazing, the dancers were flawless. The problem was the actors in the audience who managed to have absurd egos. Ms Bowman is lovely and has an amazing attitude.
I can’t imagine sitting there for 15 minutes and watching a awkward show in fast forward. There was a lot of secrecy for a reason. The show did not make any sense and all the celebrities that were part of it seemed like they were not quite sure what was happening and went along anyway. It could have been a great show if it wasn’t so fast and if it would have made sense. What did Snow White have to do with the rest of the show? I know it was modeled after the long going show in S F but it was too much. It was gaudy.
BBB was bawdy and gaudy!! lol
There was definitely a sacrifice this night.. Eileen 🥺💝
Carr's decision to make the opening number an homage to theater, and to a specific, (and kind of obscure?) play, instead of the cinema was a mistake maybe? I wonder if he'd made the play into a movie instead of doing the Oscars that year, if he'd be remembered quite differently today.
Glad this classy woman persevered!
She's great!!! And as wonderful as she comes across!!!
I thought Eileen's performance was pretty good. This show did not deserve to be shot down the way it was!
What a wonderful woman! She had a raw deal and as she said, she did her job and ended up a scapegoat. But ultimately she took from the experience some wisdom. AND she put it behind her and moved on with her life. Emotional maturity is hard to come by and I’m sure she out in some therapy time recovering from her assault. Bravo! 💕🐝💕
The way she always says literally like rob Lowe is awesome, good video
I just watched the number and it’s a lot of fun. I enjoyed it completely and it was a energetic take off on Hollywood Musicals with great dancing. What’s the controversy? It’s supposed to be over the top, Busbee Berkeley style.
Couldn't agree more!!!
Most stars complained that they had the really old stars on stage and they didn’t look like what they used to anymore. I think it’s a huge honor, but that was another time.
It did look awkward. Felt like a Mel Brooks film. I was waiting for Dom Deloise to show up and start singing
@@frankgonzalezofficial3010 I loved seeing them all, that part actually almost brought me to tears, especially since Vincent Price passed away four years later.
Forgot to tape the Oscars that night, had to work. Kind of glad I didn't have to sit thru it, could only imagine how embarrassing it was. Chanced seeing it here on RUclips a few years ago, could finally see this horrendous thing. And now...I have no idea what people were so upset about. Lively, talented singers and dancers, Snow White nailed it, Rob Lowe could sing decently. Maybe it seemed odd before the campiness of Hairspray and the dancing tableware of Beauty and the Beast became hits. But I remember the outrage, almost complete anger so many had, and I wonder, what was wrong with those people?
The nerve to show her face in public again!
Too bad captioning is not enabled for this video. I would have enjoyed the interview.
Sad story, if Hollywood knew more about the San Francisco show, Beach Blanket would have understood the opening better
Because no one told Allan Carr, *"NO".*
The thing is EB did a great job. Her singing and dancing was great. She had so much to learn. And she was thrown under the bus. I admire you Eileen. I'm so happy you've had a happy life. The debacle had nothing to do with you.
Ahh Eileen. Love you. So much!!
It wasn't even that bad. I think it's cute.
They need to turn this whole story into a miniseries!!!
She should have just had a small cameo, instead of basically carrying the entire number. Carr must have been drug-crazed to put her in that position.
Eileen is great.
What a doll! Love that she mentioned Scott Michaels.
I miss Beach Blanket! It was one of my favorite shows that I would see every year until it closed. I've seen Eileen as Snow White and she was amazing. She was definitely a star in SF.
This kicked the Star Wars Holiday Special's butt.
Can’t understand a word she’s saying the audio quality is so bad.. 😡
Hearing this woman's story makes me both mad and sad. The hypocrisy in Hollywood is a big reason some people hate it. Poor girl
Watching this was my first experience watching an Oscars at 7.
Gracias a estos números musicales, la fiesta de los Oscars era diferente y destacaba... Cuando quitaron los números musicales, se volvió una ceremonia del montón. Hay momentos en que se involucra la música y es inolvidable, como la presentación de Eminem o los números Hugh Jackman; sin olvidar el discurso de Stanley Donen cuando recibió su Premio Honorario. Este número de Blanca Nieves, es largo, pero en lo personal SÍ me gusta.
Wow the sound on this is terrible.
Wow 'snobby' is too kind that is straight-up abuse
I happened to be off work that night in 1989 and saw the show with friends. I haven't seen it since that night and watching it before watching this video reminded me of how much cocain we did that night! 😂❤😢
Really? It was more fun than those last boring years of the Academy Awards!
I'm a simple girl. I see Rob Lowe in the thumbnail, I click.
How did rob Lowe survive that horrific opening ??
Rob Lowe seems to be made of Teflon
That face...:)
I remember Rob becoming the subject of a David Letterman Top Ten item after that. The punchline was something like, "Porque Rob Lowe Canto en El Oscars?"
He had that sex tape scandal a few months earlier. Guess this was suppose to help rebound his career.
@@HueyRocks23 That happened six weeks after this ceremony.
Except for a few awkward parts, the performance that night was totally inspired by Beach Blanket Babylon. Pity those of you who never saw the real thing - extraordinary. This award opening was over-produced imho - needlessly including older stars on stage, including Mike Douglas. I bet Eileen was paid very little pay for all this work, too. 😢 ML Eileen
Great video - ty!
I think you mean Merv Griffin .. not Mike Douglas ..☺️
Eileen Bowman walked so Ariana DeBose could fly.
Snow white and Rob didn't deserve the hate ♥️
This is a amazing story. 12 year gag order?
It's the same level of awkward as the Hugh Jackman opening
There's a rumor that a certain someone had bought that Snow White dress for $23,000. He bought it and was allegedly buried in it. I was always curious as to who that individual was and if the rumor was actually true. I wish the interviewer would've touched on that a little bit. I believe this woman mentioned it on another interview, but declined to give his name.
You’re making it sound like you know who that certain someone was. Why not just say it?
Please tell me that she doesn't live in a run down trailer! Where is she doing this interview from?
ive seen beach blanket babylon and i knew immediately that they were doing a take on that review.....but sorry, it was done poorly
I don’t understand what the big fuss is about I thought the number was so cute and fun
Let's face it. For obvious reasons, the 2022 Oscars make the "Rob Lowe singing 'Proud Mary' with Snow White" seems trite and very tame. That whole opening number may have been silly, but now in our age of people complaining about "the elite" with their overtly political speeches "ruining" the Oscars, virtually unknown movies winning Best Picture, stars behaving badly and so on. I bet this week if the Academy Bigwigs were given a choice of their show going off the rails via "Snow White" or "The Slap", they would have gone with Eileen Bowman and Rob Lowe!
I have now shown the opening to various groups of artists and absolutely not one has said it was bad. Maybe it was done in the wrong decade.
The background music is AWFUL.... I'll never understand why people add music to an INTERVIEW.... I want to hear what she says, not an instrumental of the longest song in history 🙄
Unfortunately I can't hear them. Sucks
I got it! I thought it was wonderfully kitch. It was a great reflection of the times.
its for broadway show not for oscar.................. wrong show...................
Looks like Alan Carr wasn’t the only one to have a career ended at the Oscars after Sunday.
Lol
To my mind, he wrote and produce the box office hit, 1978's Grease and executive produce the Tony Award winning musical,
La Cage Aux Folles from 1983 thru 1997 for 14 years. Sadly, he died of cancer in 2000 and had both homes in the US and Mexico.
He survived by his family, his children, his godchildren, grandchildren, nephews, cousins, siblings, adopted ones and twins.
He's one of the most celebrated producers with the mega-hit, Grease with John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John for Paramount and
nominated for an Oscar in 1979 for best original song, "Hopelessly Devoted to You." Thanks for everything, you're one cool guy.
RIP, Allan
The Academy...yes, it's elitist. Thankfully, it's starting to change. For a lot of us who grew up with nothing but three channels is a small town, that's all we had. But that opening, sans Rob Lowe, was great if you knew The Golden Age of Hollywood. And a lesbian hosted that year! Happy Pride Month!
Awful Sound quality.
I can barely hear her, and my volume is at Max.
Funny how they guarded this costumed unknown actor, AS IF IT WOULD SPOIL THE SHOW. When instead they could’ve put her hourly wages to good use, and assigned her to hand out the xerox folded-paper programs at the entrance. That way, those who might even have cared to notice might simply have said “hey look, some random extra is dressed up like Snow White, but now I’m distracted by…. is that Glenn Close?”
Shows how clueless the audience was about old hollywood, there should have been shouts of wowww from the audience just at the announcement of the name Cyd Charisse
This was her final appearance before her death in 2009.
Why didn’t merv griffin get roasted????
It was great! I loved it.
Thanks for watching!!! Please feel free to subscribe if you want to see more interviews like it!
yikes
It was silly and campy but not offensive. I never saw what the big deal was. I'm glad to see Eileen Bowman got through it, has a sense of humor about it even enjoying it, and is living a good life. She seems so sweet and is actually very talented, even then she was amazing. Neither she, no Rob Lowe, nor Allan Carr deserved the treatment that they got.
I NEVER watch the Oscars. Drags o, too long and too b-o-r-i-n-g!!
It wasn't really fair to ruin that young woman's career -- she did her job and she actually did a great job technically. She didn't write, direct, or produce it, and the parts she did were actually done very well. And Rob Lowe was just doing what he was asked as well. I guess it's just Hollywood narcissism that would take something seriously enough to make scapegoats of people who were just doing what they were asked to do.
I'm not sure what all the hoopla was about this thing but before this I watched the actual opening and really didn't see a whole lot wrong with it. It was kind of a flashback to the 40's and all the musicals and you've got Dorothy L'Amour, Cyd Charisse still dancing like the star she always was. Her husband Tony Martin had a great musical career all through the 50' s. I didn't quite get Vincent Price or R oy Roger's and Dale Evans, but so what? I was absolutely amazed at how well Rob Lowe sang. I just don't get it. All the people on that stage had 15 minutes to do a lot of stuff and they did it and did it well. And as crazy as the 80's were, who would have thought anybody couldn't accept a little camp.
Agreed, it's really not that bad!
During the final years of their lives, only former actors Vincent Price, Coral Browne, Cyd Charisse, Tony Martin,
James Stewart, Don Ameche, Roy Rogers, Dale Evans, Charles B. Rogers, Dorothy Lamour and Lucille Ball were
all appeared in the Emmy nominated Oscars show from 1989. This was the final appearance for all of them.
I couldn't agree with you more!
It's awkward, but I like it. It certainly beats the sociopolitical wokeness that Hollywood has been pushing recently. I'm tired of being told that I should be part of a feminist, minority movement because I'm an Asian girl. I'd rather discover new, wacky things like the BBB production everyone is talking about here.
It wasn’t so bad
Getting bored.
I can't believe how rude some audience celebrities were when she tried to interact with them. Many of them refused to extend their hand to her when she reached out. What's up with that?
terrible, unlistenable audio. Sounds like I'm listening to my grandmother who has the cheapest phone imaginable! During the pandemic I realized how needed sound people are because so many vids, podcasts etc. are terrible from an audio standpoint. If nothing else, get the levels right!!
Omg, she’s a hot mess.
How absolutely pathetic it is by this Bowman woman to even dare to blame 99% of a world wide audience for not "getting" how perfect her performance was? She is so unbelievably in self aware that actually believes in what she is saying. It's very obvious that Ms Bowman is a very sad and bitter person who is still completely unaware of how genuinely terrible her own, Rob Lowe's etc performances were! SHE SAID " THE BEST OF THE BEST DANCERS?" WTF?
'This bombed so badly that the show's producer, Allan Carr (who made the movie GREASE) found himself shunned by Hollywood, and spent the next decade in relative seclusion until his death from liver cancer in 1999.
Great article in Los Angeles Magazine: www.lamag.com/longform/snow-job/
Carr's story is also told in the new documentary film The Fabulous Allan Carr, which is based on the excellent book Party Animals by Robert Hofler. Used paperback copies can be found at amazon for under ten bucks.'