The 1987 Best Actress Race, Part 3

Sally Kirkland's tireless efforts to score a nomination, and then to see it through to a potential win, was not only admirable, but legendary. Kirkland spent months, turning down roles and spending a lot of her own money to put Anna on the map, bringing more attention and box office to the film, than the film's producers could have ever dreamed. While she managed to score a nomination for her work, Kirkland would was not successful in taking it to the next level. The Academy was touched by her push to get her little film noticed, but working against her was a bigger campaign, that had been brewing for seven years!

After fifteen years of tabloid stardom, chart topping music, a hit television show, and one of the glitziest careers in the history of show business, Cher decided, in 1980, that she wanted to shift gears, and become a serious actress.
Cher landed a role in an independent film called Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean. The movie won her moderate acclaim by the critics, but most of all, showed promise of a career to come. In 1983, she starred opposite Meryl Streep in Silkwood, playing a lesbian nuclear power plant worker. She received her first nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, for her work, and suddenly, her dream of being a thespian, was no longer a laughing matter.

In 1985, Cher appeared in Mask, a film about a mother raising a son with a severe facial deformity. The producers pushed Cher for a Best Actress nod that year, but the campaign failed. The film was good, but hardly worthy of an Oscar, but try telling Cher that. In defiance of not being nominated, Cher appeared at the ceremony that year providing a moment that would become legendary. Dressed in a 'spider woman' outfit, that hid very little, Cher quipped, 'As you can see, I received the Academy handbook on how to dress like a serious actress.'

It was clear that Cher was serious about winning the Oscar.  In subsequent interviews, she made it even clearer. "It's not enough to be nominated," she said. "You have to win!"  However, she also took a contrary stance, recalling some advice that her good friend, and Silkwood co-star, Meryl Streep had given her. "You don't do work for awards," she said. "Afterwards it's nice to get them, but you don't think about them while you're working."

In 1987, Moonstruck was Norman Jewison's quaint little film about an Brooklyn bookkeeper who finds love. The film was beautifully shot, and the performances, including Cher's, were first rate.

Whether Cher's performance was stronger than her competition, is arguable. Meryl Streep delivered yet another excellent performance as a pan handler in the 1930's, in Ironweed. Glenn Close went against type, playing a woman who was both sexy and terrifying in Fatal Attraction. Holly Hunter was cute and sassy in Broadcast News. And, of course, Sally Kirkland acted her little heart out in Anna.

Nonetheless, Cher was the odds-on favorite that year, and while she worked on toning down her own public behavior, the studio pushed hard to get her the gold, and the voters seemed eager to give it to her. It almost seemed like a lifetime achievement award, after seven years of proving that she could play something other than a wise cracking, variety show vamp.

When Paul Newman called out her name, fellow nominee and friend, Meryl Streep could be seen leading a standing ovation. A nervous Sally Kirkland, smiled politely, with decided disappointment.

Cher took to the podium, and during her speech was sure to thank her make up artist, her hairdresser, and her friend, Meryl. She created a slight controversy when she forgot to thank her co-stars, and most of all, her director, Norman Jewison.