Along with opulent red carpet dresses, meme-worthy crowd shots and forced smiles from the nominees who don’t win, nothing says “Hollywood’s biggest night” quite like seeing an honoree get played off stage during a victory speech.
Yes, the Academy Awards are famous for striking up the orchestra if a speech starts to go a tad long. So how much time do winners get on stage before the band begins to play?
There’s actually a very strict limit: 45 seconds.
That’s been the time allotted for victory speeches ever since Greer Garson gave an infamous six-minute address after winning Best Actress in 1942 for Mrs. Miniver.
And it’s a speech that long that really makes you grateful for the likes of Patty Duke, who won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in 1962, went on stage to the collect the trophy and gave a quick “thank you” into the microphone before returning to her seat.
A true Academy Awards hero.
