20 Stunning Photos of Classic Golden Globe-Winning Actors
20 Stunning Photos of Classic Golden Globe-Winning Actors
2 minute read
Marlon Brando, who won two Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, first in 1955 for On the Waterfront, and again in 1973 for The Godfather. Pictured here in On the Waterfront, 1954.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
This year’s award season kicks off in earnest on Sunday, Jan. 11 with the Golden Globes, the annual pageant used by Oscar prognosticators to predict who will win the award that really matters. But a Globe is, undoubtedly, nothing to scoff at, as the line of past winners serves to demonstrate.
As the Cumberbabes duke it out with the Redmayniacs for the most deserving actor of the year, a look back at those crowned during the awards’ first decades reaffirms that a win cements one’s place in Hollywood history. Jack Lemmon still boasts the greatest number of nominations for an actor, with 22. Laurence Olivier’s Hamlet is still, nearly 70 years later, the Hamlet of Hamlets. And no one’s managed to pull off a top hat and cane better than Fred Astaire — it’s quite possible no one never will.
As with the race for best actress, any racial diversity in the field was nearly absent for decades — Sidney Poitier was the first black actor to win (in 1964), and it was more than 25 years before another black actor won for a leading role (Morgan Freeman for Driving Miss Daisy in 1990). And as with opportunities for many who have traditionally been underrepresented in Hollywood, things are slowly getting better.
This collection of photographs represents the tip of the iceberg that is LIFE Magazine’s Hollywood coverage. Taken by storied photographers like Alfred Eisenstaedt, Allan Grant and Gordon Parks, these images capture the entertainment industry’s leading men, forever iconic.
Liz Ronk, who edited this gallery, is the Photo Editor for LIFE.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LizabethRonk.
Gregory Peck, who won two Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, first in 1947 for The Yearling, and again in 1963 for To Kill a Mockingbird. Pictured here in The Yearling, 1946.Walter Sanders—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesLaurence Olivier, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1949 for Hamlet. Pictured here as Hamlet, 1947.Nat Farbman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFred Astaire, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical in 1951 for Three Little Words. Pictured here in 1945.Bob Landry—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGary Cooper, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1953 for High Noon. Pictured here with Ingrid Bergman on the set of Saratoga Trunk, 1943.John Florea—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSpencer Tracy, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1954 for The Actress. Pictured here in 1955.J.R. Eyerman—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMarlon Brando, who won two Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama, first in 1955 for On the Waterfront, and again in 1973 for The Godfather. Pictured here in On the Waterfront, 1954.Alfred Eisenstaedt—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesKirk Douglas, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1957 for Lust for Life. Pictured here in Lust for Life, 1955.Frank Scherschel—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAlec Guinness, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1958 for The Bridge on the River Kwai. Pictured here in 1953.Peter Stackpole—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesFrank Sinatra, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical in 1958 for Pal Joey. Pictured here with Vivian Blaine in Guys and Dolls, 1955.Gjon Mili—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesJack Lemmon, who won three Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical, first in 1960 for Some Like It Hot, again in 1961 for The Apartment and again in 1973 for Avanti!. Pictured here in The Apartment, 1960.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesGlenn Ford, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical in 1962 for Pocketful of Miracles. Pictured here in Cimarron, 1960.Grey Villet—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesBob Newhart, who won Best TV Star in 1962 for The Bob Newhart Show. Pictured here in 1961.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesSidney Poitier, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1964 for Lilies of the Field. Pictured here in the stage production of A Raisin in the Sun in 1959.Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesMickey Rooney, who won Best Actor in a Television Series — Drama in 1964 for Mickey. Pictured here in 1960.PIX inc.—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesRex Harrison, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical in 1965 for My Fair Lady. Pictured here in 1960.Gordon Parks—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesPeter O'Toole, who won one two Golden Globes for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama (for Becket in 1965 and The Lion in Winter in 1969) and one Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical (for Goodbye, Mr. Chips in 1969). Pictured here as Hamlet, 1963.Ralph Crane—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAlan Arkin, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical in 1967 for The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming. Pictured here in 1966.Leonard McCombe—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesDean Martin, who won Best Actor in a Television Series — Drama in 1967 for The Dean Martin Show. Pictured here performing at the Sands Hotel in 1958.Allan Grant—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesJohn Wayne, who won Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Drama in 1970 for True Grit. Pictured here in The Undefeated, 1969.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty ImagesAlbert Finney, who won one Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture — Comedy or Musical in 1971 for Scrooge and one Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in 2003 for The Gathering Storm. Pictured here backstage before performing in the play Luther, 1963.John Dominis—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
