In the history of theOscars, the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw set an impressive record that stood for more than seven decades. The Oscars, also known as the Academy Awards, are recognized as the most prestigious award that can be won in the movie industry. Since its establishment nearly a century ago,many winners have set different records in Oscars history, includingJohn Ford, who set a directing record that has lasted 72 years, andLa La Land, which broke an 86-year-long Oscar record in 2017.
The Irish playwright, George Bernard Shaw, is often regarded as one of the greatest playwrights in history. Across his life,he wrote more than 60 plays that focused on history, education and class privilege, with some of his best works includingArms and the Man(1894),Caesar and Cleopatra(1898), andSaint Joan(1923). In 1938, he set an impressive record at the Oscars that wasn’t achieved again for 77 years.
George Bernard Shaw Won An Oscar And Nobel Prize
He Won The Oscar For Best Adapted Screenplay In 1938 For Pygmalion
In 1925, Shaw was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, withthe Nobel Prize Committeerecognizing him “for his work which is marked by both idealism and humanity, its stimulating satire often being infused with a singular poetic beauty”. Shaw accepted the award but donated the prize money to fund translations (viaNational Gallery of Ireland).
Shaw’s most recognized work is his 1912 playPygmalion, which depicts the story of a flower-seller, Eliza Doolittle, who accepts elocution lessons from Professor Henry Higgins;the play was adapted into a movie in 1938, starring Leslie Howard and Wendy Hiller. The movie adaptation ofPygmalionwas highly praised, receiving four Academy Award nominations, and Shaw won for Best Adapted Screenplay (viaOscars).
George Bernard Shaw became the only person to win an Oscar and a Nobel Prize until 2016, when singer, Bob Dylan, who won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2001, received a Nobel Prize for Literature.
Shaw was controversially upset about the recognition and, according toThe Week, stated “It’s perfect nonsense!To offer me an award of this sort is an insult, as if they had never heard of me before — and it’s very likely they never had.” Despite his statements, his Oscar was later placed in the Shaw’s Corner Museum in England. George Bernard Shaw became the only person to win an Oscar and a Nobel Prize until 2016, when singer, Bob Dylan, who won the Oscar for Best Original Song in 2001, received a Nobel Prize for Literature.
Pygmalion Was Later Adapted Into My Fair Lady
My Fair Lady Won 8 Academy Awards In 1965
Pygmalionproved to be the most popular of George Bernard Shaw’s works, as it was adapted into a successful Broadway musical in 1956 namedMy Fair Lady,which starred a young Julie Andrews as Eliza Doolittle.The musical remains faithful to Shaw’s original play and contains popular songs, including “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “Get Me To The Church On Time.” The musical won 6 Tony Awards in 1957, including Best Musical.A film adaption ofMy Fair Ladywas released in 1964,starring Rex Harrison and Audrey Hepburn as Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle respectively.
Gene Allen and Cecil Beaton (Art Direction)
Best Scoring of Music – Adaptation or Treatment
George R. Groves
Won
The film adaptation ofMy Fair Ladywas released to critical acclaim, receiving praise for its faithfulness to the play, and has since been regarded asone of the best Broadway movie adaptations.My Fair Ladyreceived an impressive 12 Oscar nominations in 1965 and won eight, including for Best Picture.My Fair Ladyproved popular as both a musical and a movie, but it would not have been possible had it not been for the success of George Bernard Shaw’sPygmalionplay, which allowed him to make history at theOscarsin the 1930s.
Sources:Nobel Prize,National Gallery of Ireland,Oscars,The Week
Oscars
The Oscars, also known as The Academy Awards, is an annual awards show celebrating workers in the film industry for their artistic and technical abilities. The Oscars are often considered the most prestigious awards show in the industry and date back to 1929. The 96th Academy Awards will be held on August 18, 2025, and be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on ABC.
