Alternate Oscars: Best Supporting Actor of 1975 (Re-Do)

The first time around, Erik Beck and Mister Muleboy — who I like to think of as the loyal opposition — took me to task over my selections for 1975's best supporting actor. Muleboy plumped for Robert Shaw's turn in Jaws and the math supports him; but Erik's argument for Jack Warden in Shampoo fell, by my count, on twenty-eight deaf ears, including two of my own.

The rest of the year stands as is. Jaws took the top prize with less than twenty percent of the vote. Other top contenders were Nashville, Barry Lyndon, Dog Day Afternoon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and Monty Python and the Holy Grail, all of which finished within five votes of the winner. If ever a situation called for ranked choice voting, this would be it (that is, as long as the New York City Board of Elections doesn't do the actual counting).

By a slightly more comfortable margin, Steven Spielberg (Jaws) claimed the award for directing.

Top honors for acting went to Jack Nicholson (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest) and Isabelle Adjani (The Story of Adele H.). Lily Tomlin (Nashville) romped to the award for best supporting actress.

Okay, let's get best supporting actor squared away.

My choices are noted with a ★. A tie is indicated with a ✪. Historical Oscar winners are noted with a ✔. Best foreign-language picture winners are noted with an ƒ. A historical winner who won in a different category is noted with a ✱.