A Look Back at the 53rd Annual Academy Awards

This gem was just posted by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday. It shows the opening of the 53rd Annual Academy Awards and the red carpet looks downright quaint. The ceremony was delayed by a day due to the assassination attempt the day before on President Ronald Reagan, so the stars showed up the next day on March 31, 1981. (I wish the show was still in late March, that red carpet would be a lot warmer for ladies in evening gowns.)

Robert De Niro, Best Actor, Raging Bull

Watch the eight-minute video because it really showcases an era of entertainment and red carpet that we will never see again. With an announcer describing celebrities like Mary Tyler Moore as "popular" and a healthy and vibrant-looking Michael Jackson escorting Diana Ross to the show, you might get a bit wistful.

Take a look back at 1981 Academy Awards.

Robert Redford, Best Director, Ordinary People

Bet you didn't know Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters were an item back in the day.

Johnny Carson hosted the show in his tux and tails, elegant, reverent and classy. I doubt we will ever see the ceremony helmed the way Carson and Bob Hope did the show, but then again, I actually was entertained by Seth MacFarlane's "We Saw Your Boobs" this year. 

If you've missed my other posts on the Oscars, take a look back at 1989, 2011, 2012 and 2013.

Timothy Hutton, Best Supporting Actor, Ordinary People