Steve Martin, Angela Lansbury accept honorary Oscars

Nov. 17 (UPI) -- Steve Martin fought back tears Saturday night as he accepted an honorary Oscar at the fifth annual Academy's Governors Awards ceremony.

Also receiving career-honoring Oscars Saturday night were "Murder She Wrote's" Angela Lansbury and costume designer Piero Tosi. Accepting the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award was actress and director Angelina Jolie.

In an uncharacteristically emotional moment for Martin, the comedian thanked his wife, Ann Stringfield, while fighting back tears.

"I knew I wasn't going to make it through this speech. I read it to my dog this morning and wept," he said.

While she'd previously been nominated for two Oscars -- for "Gaslight" and "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" -- Saturday night's award was Lansbury's first from the Academy.

"I feel really undeserving of this gorgeous chap," she said, adding that her television work on "Murder She Wrote" has overshadowed her long career in film and on the stage. The TV show “has given me more worldwide attention than anything I’ve ever done in movies or onstage," she said.

Meanwhile, Jolie also fought back tears while addressing her son, Maddox, who was hand at the ceremony with dad Brad Pitt.

"Mad, I'm not going to cry I promise. I'm not going to embarrass you. You and your brothers and sisters are my happiness. There is no greater honor than being your mother," Jolie told her son.

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