Article: Oscar = death? The heroes of Boys Don't Cry, Philadelphia, and Kiss of the Spider Woman won Oscars for their actors but were doomed by the final reel. Why is it that when it comes to queer characters ...(Hollywood Issue)

Oscar smiles on those who suffer. The Academy's 76 years of doling out nominations and gold statuettes is littered with examples of voters going gaga whenever actors harness an arsenal of tics, stammers, and other agonies to play the mentally challenged, physically challenged, addicted, up-against-it types, or combinations thereof. In the 1940s classic The Lost Weekend, Ray Milland copped the Best Actor trophy for battling booze and such alcohol-fueled hallucinations as a rubber bat on strings. More recently, My Left Foot was invigorated by Daniel Day-Lewis's heart-wrenching triumph over cerebral palsy through writing, painting, and seducing women.

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