10 Shameless Attempts By TV Shows To Boost Their Ratings
3. Charlie Chaplin's Appearance At The 44th Academy Awards
It might be surprising, but awards controversy has been around for decades, long before Kanye West was letting people finish. When it comes to the Academy Awards, what was almost one of the most controversial awards ceremonies became one of the most famous.
In 1972 Academy producers were faced with the tough challenge of finding an A-List actor not offended by Best Picture nominee A Clockwork Orange. Many older stars refused to support the movie by presenting the award. Given how the Best Picture award is typically the Academy Awards finale, this presented something of a problem: ratings were usually boosted by getting a prestigious actor to present the accolade, someone people of all generations would want to watch.
The work around was to add something extra at the end, shifting what constituted as the finale. This came in the form of presenting legendary actor Charlie Chaplin with an honorary award, significant because Chaplin had been living in self-imposed exile in Switzerland for twenty years prior.
Not only did this deflect the controversy over A Clockwork Orange, it attracted viewers in droves, piggybacking on the public's love of Chaplin and his films. The result was one of the most-watched Oscars ceremonies in history.