Further Reading
Greene, Robert W.The Sting Man Inside. New York:
E. P. Dutton, 1981. Looks at Melvin Weinberg, a
convicted con artist whom the FBI used to set up
the scam.
Tolchin, Susan J., and Martin Tolchin.Glass Houses:
Congressional Ethics and the Politics of Venom. Boul-
der, Colo.: Westview Press, 2004. Examines the
politicization of the ethics process in Congress,
including discussion of the Abscam scandal and
its aftermath.
Williams, Robert.Political Scandals in the USA. Edin-
burgh: Keele University Press, 1998. Study of ma-
jor American political scandals, comparing Ab-
scam to the other such events that rocked the
federal government.
William V. Moore
See also Congress, U.S.; Congressional page sex
scandal of 1983; Iran-Contra affair; Organized crime;
Scandals.
Academy Awards
The Event Annual presentation of awards by the
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy Awards of the 1980’s often went to relatively
safe, uncontroversial films made in—or in the style of—
Hollywood’s remaining studios. Several African Ameri-
cans received nominations, however, and the success of Oli-
ver Stone’sPlatoonproved that the Academy was not
completely averse to controversy.
Beginning in the early 1960’s, the Academy Awards
(or Oscars) gradually shed their Hollywood pro-
vincialism, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts
and Sciences increasingly acknowledged the inter-
national scope of cinema in its nominations and
awards. As had occurred in the past, however, the
nominations and awards of the 1980’s often went to
a relatively small number of films and film personali-
ties. For example, in 1983 Richard Attenborough’s
epicGandhi(1982) swept the major awards, as did
Sidney Pollock’sOut of Africa(1985) at the awards
ceremony of 1986. In other years, the awards were of-
ten split between two favorite films; on rare occa-
sions, though, a more democratic spirit seemed to
prevail.
Early Years The awards ceremony for films re-
leased in 1980 (which took place in 1981) was domi-
nated by two films.Ordinar y Peoplewon Best Picture,
as well as Best Director (first-time director Robert
Redford), Best Supporting Actor (Timothy Hut-
ton), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Alvin Sargent).
Raging Bullwas nominated in several categories, and
it won the awards for Best Actor (Robert De Niro)
and Best Film Editing (Thelma Schoonmaker).
Henry Fonda was awarded an honorary Oscar.
The awards for 1981’s best films were distributed
more evenly. The Best Picture award went toChariots
of Fire, but Best Director went to Warren Beatty for
Reds. Henry Fonda and Katharine Hepburn won
Best Actor and Best Actress forOn Golden Pond. Ste-
ven Spielberg received his second nomination for
Best Director (forRaiders of the Lost Ark), Meryl
Streep received her third nomination for an act-
ing award and her first as a leading actress (forThe
French Lieutenant’s Woman), and Barbara Stanwyck
received an honorary Oscar.
Attenborough’sGandhiabsolutely dominated the
1982 awards, garnering Best Picture, Best Director,
Best Actor, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinema-
tography, Best Film Editing, Best Art Direction-Set
Decoration, and Best Costume Design and proving
once again that the Academy loved big pictures.
Spielberg received two nominations forE.T.: The
Extra-Terrestrial, including his first nomination as a
producer for Best Picture. Meryl Streep won Best Ac-
tress (forSophie’s Choice), and Glenn Close received
the first of her five nominations of the decade. With
his performance inAn Officer and a Gentleman, Louis
Gossett, Jr., became the first African American actor
to win a supporting acting award and only the sec-
ond African American to win since 1963.
The highlight of 1983, aside from James L.
Brooks’s tear-jerkerTerms of Endearment, which won
Best Picture, Best Director, and a couple of acting
awards, was the recognition accorded Ingmar Berg-
man’s last film,Fanny och Alexander(1982;Fanny and
Alexander). Bergman’s film won Best Foreign Film,
Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction-Set Deco-
ration, and Best Costume Design, but not Best Direc-
tor. Robert Duvall won Best Actor for his role in
Bruce Beresford’s fine filmTender Mercies, and Hal
Roach won an honorary Oscar.Middle Years Amadeus, a film version of Peter Schaf-
fer’s play about Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, collectedThe Eighties in America Academy Awards 7