Advertisement

'Driving Miss Daisy' and 'Born On The Fourth Of...

By VERNON SCOTT Stone, 'Driving Miss Daisy' winners of Golden Globes

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. -- 'Driving Miss Daisy' and 'Born On The Fourth Of July' swept the 47th annual Golden Globe Awards Saturday, capturing best picture honors in their categories.

'Born On The Fourth of July,' Oliver Stone's anti-war film based on the wartime experiences of Vietnam veteran Ron Kovic, took top honors in four categories, including best drama, best screenplay for Stone and Kovic and best director.

Advertisement

Tom Cruise, who underwent a dramatic physical change to play the balding, wheelchair-bound Kovic, was named best dramatic actor.

Cruise was greeted with the biggest cheers of the night outside the Hilton as he arrived late without his estranged wife Mimi Rogers. In his acceptance speech, Cruise thanked Rogers for her support during the making of the film.

Cruise, who was just a baby when Kovic was first shipped to Vietnam, told reporters he was glad to be associated with the film and Kovic, whom he said had become very 'dear and important' to him.

Advertisement

'It's an important picture because it tells the story of the 2 million men and women who were involved in Vietnam. Each has a story to tell,' he said.

Stage veteran Jessica Tandy, 80, once again proved she can act just as well on the big-screen, winning best actress honors for her performance in the title role of 'Driving Miss Daisy.' Her co-star, Morgan Freeman, won a standing ovation and top acting honors in a musical or comedy for his role as Tandy's understanding chauffeur. The film was named best comedy or musical.

Michelle Pfeiffer won best dramatic actress for her performance as sultry and sassy nightclub singer Suzy Diamon in 'The Fabulous Baker Boys.'

Best Suppporting actor in a drama went to Denzel Washington for his role as an embittered soldier in 'Glory.'

Julia Roberts was named best dramatic supporting actress for her performance as a doomed southern belle in 'Steel Magnolias.'

'The Little Mermaid,' Disney's animinated film of a classic story, won both music awards for original song and original score by Alan Menken.

Italy's 'Cinema Paradiso' was named best foreign language film for its tale of how a small-town movie theater changes the life of its inhabitants.

Advertisement

The Golden Globe Awards, often considered a bellweather for the Academy Awards, which will take place in March, handed out 24 statuettes for excellence in television and motion pictures at the Beverly Hilton Hotel's International Ballroom.

Some 2,000 Hollywood television and motion picture celebrities attended the glittering ceremonies, one of the few honoring the best of both television and film.

'China Beach' and the newsroom spoof 'Murphy Brown' took top honors for dramatic and comedy series, respectively.

Jamie Lee Curtis of 'Anything But Love' and Ted Danson of 'Cheers' took best acting honors in a television comedy series. In a dramatic series, 'Wiseguy' Ken Wahl and Angela Lansbury of 'Murder, She Wrote' fame won top honors.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of the night was for a film that didn't win.

'Do The Right Thing,' a film by Spike Lee that tops many critic's best film of the year lists, was shut out despite nominations for Lee as best director and best film.

The proceedings were interrupted by playfully disgruntled Billy Crystal and Steve Martin, both nominees for the best film comedy actor. They demanded to know who was runner-up to Morgan Freeman.

Gregory Peck presented the annual Cecil B. DeMille Award to Audrey Hepburn. Peck joined Richard Crenna and George Peppard in praising the actress, whose career has spanned 40 years. Hepburn, who won hearts for her portrayal of Eliza Doolittle in the screen version of 'My Fair Lady,' plays an angel in the film, 'Always,' currently in release.

Advertisement

Latest Headlines