Ryan Murphy's high camp FX anthology Feud dedicated its first season to the rivalry between Bette Davis and Joan Crawford as it played out on the set of their only film together, What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? Although the actresses had long been embroiled in a bitter feud over everything from men to roles to industry recognition, they put their differences aside in an attempt to revive both of their film careers in middle age — an insurmountable feat in the early 1960s. So who won an Oscar for What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? For all their grueling (and oftentimes humiliating) work, neither Davis nor Crawford won. But one of them did end up on stage accepting an award on Oscar night.
Davis, widely recognized as the more classically skilled actress of the two while Crawford was considered the beauty, was nominated for Best Actress in 1963 for her work on Baby Jane. Crawford didn't get nominated at all, even though she was the one responsible for pushing the film through to production, and her outrage over this led to an ingenious plot to get on stage at the award ceremony anyway. Davis had already won two Oscars at this point in her career while Crawford only had one. So when Crawford got snubbed for Baby Jane, she called up every single actress in her co-star's category under the guise of "congratulating" her on her nomination. She also offered up her services to any of them who couldn't attend the ceremony, letting them know that she would be honored to accept the award on their behalf if they won.
Anne Bancroft, nominated that year for her role in The Miracle Worker, took Crawford up on her offer, since she was going to be in New York during the Oscars working on a Broadway show. Bancroft wound up winning the Best Actress Oscar that night, and Crawford got to go up on stage and accept the award on her behalf — right in front of her nominated rival and co-star's face — even though Crawford hadn't even been recognized by the Academy that year.
Victor Buono was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his work on the film, but the only category in which the film won was Best Costume Design, Black and White, awarded to designer Norma Koch. The film also earned noms for Best Sound Mixing and Best Cinematography, Black and White. Neither Crawford nor Davis would ever go on to be nominated for an Oscar again.
