1. BLESSING: Samuel L Jackson
It's been nearly 20 years since Samuel L Jackson landed the breakthrough role of bible quoting hit man Jules Winfield in Quentin Tarantino's landmark 'Pulp Fiction'. Since then he has seen his star rise to leading man, action hero, quotable movie ranter and all around Hollywood legend. Does it surprise you to know that his Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actor for 'Pulp Fiction' in 1995 is his only nomination? Not a bad career boost for a guy who has played a Jedi Knight ('Star Wars' prequels), a Marvel superhero ('The Avengers') and an FBI agent doing battle with some pesky 'Snakes On a Plane'. In between, Jackson has cemented his place in Hollywood films as one of the most versatile and bankable stars of his day. Although Martin Landau walked away with the Oscar in 1995 instead of Samuel L Jackson, I'm sure he would trade that little gold man in for Sam's "Bad Mother Fucker" wallet in a heartbeat.
1. CURSE: Gig Young
Gig Young is the person predominantly associated with the Oscar "Curse". In 1970, he was a hard working and hard partying character actor in Hollywood for years, previously nominated twice before ('Come Fill The Cup, 'Teacher's Pet') when he finally picked up the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a smarmy dance marathon host in 'They Shoot Horses, Don't They?' Although he had been working in Hollywood for over 30 years he still hadn't become a leading man, something that he always longed for in his career. The Oscar win did not help boost his star and he subsisted working as a secondary player in films and TV through the years. Alcoholism plagued most of Gig Young's career as well. Upon being cast in the lead role in Mel Brooks' 'Blazing Saddles', Young was so intoxicated on the first day of shooting he was sent to the hospital and fired from the film (later replaced by Gene Wilder). In what was no doubt was an unbalanced state of mind and possibly fueled by alcohol and a declining career, Gig Young shot his new wife Kim dead with a handgun and then unloaded the barrel of the gun into his mouth in a murder-suicide in 1978. A famous and soon to be chilling quote that Gig Young said after losing his first nomination in 1952 was "so many people who have been nominated for an Oscar have had bad luck afterwards". Words that haunted him to his final day.