Oscar duo sets stage for minorities in industry

By Anthony Breznican
Associated Press

Oscar winners Halle Berry and Denzel Washington became the first black duo to take the top acting honors. Berry was the first African American to win best actress. Associated Press Black actors who have won Oscars and the years of their winning films 1939: Hattie McDaniel, best supporting actress, "Gone With the Wind" 1963: Sidney Poitier, best actor, "Lilies of the Field" 1982: Louis Gossett Jr., best supporting actor, "An Officer and a Gentleman" 1989: Denzel Washington, best supporting actor, "Glory" 1990: Whoopi Goldberg, best supporting actress, "Ghost" 1996: Cuba Gooding Jr., best supporting actor, "Jerry Maguire" 2001: Denzel Washington, best actor, "Training Day"; Halle Berry, best actress, "Monster's Ball."

"What's historic about equality? Historic, for me, will be when all people of color are represented and are capable of garnering these awards," said Sonny Skyhawk, president of the advocacy group American Indians in Film.

Skyhawk, an actor who's appeared in "Young Guns II" and "Geronimo: An American Legend," joined other show-business minority leaders Monday in saying the Oscars and entertainment industry are overdue for broader racial representation.

"This is the new dynamic," said Felix Sanchez, president of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts. "I think we are going to see more and more success stories for minorities "I hope this means (studios) are going to tap more writers with diverse stories and cast more actors that represent the true face of American diversity."

Some minority Oscar winners include Japan-born Miyoshi Umeki, for her supporting role in 1957's "Sayonara" and Cambodian native Haing S. Ngor in 1984's "The Killing Fields." American Indian actor Graham Greene was nominated for his supporting role in 1990's "Dances With Wolves."

Chris Wang, an agent with Toronto-based Asian Action Talents management company, said he wants more producers to keep an open mind about casting Asians in roles they might otherwise give to whites.

"It's going to take a long time for Asian actors to get those roles. It's not going to change overnight," he said. "But we've seen a lot of changes, and it's getting a lot better for good performers in general."

The Academy Awards have honored Hispanics several times, with Mexico-born Anthony Quinn winning two supporting actor prizes in the 1950s for "Viva Zapata!" and "Lust for Life."

Last year, Puerto Rican Benicio Del Toro took home the supporting actor trophy for "Traffic."

This year, however, the Hispanic community lost a chance for an Oscar when Jennifer Connelly claimed the supporting actress award for playing Alicia Nash, the wife of delusional mathematician John Nash in best-picture winner "A Beautiful Mind."

The real woman she portrayed was born in El Salvador, while Connelly was not.

"It's unfortunate they portray a real person and the ethnicity is not included," said Manny Alfaro, a New York stage performer and executive director of the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. "It hurts us who are working, coming up the pipeline."

Some organizations say minorities will have power in front of the camera only when there is more minority representation behind the scenes as directors, writers and producers.

Washington, who received a supporting award for 1989's "Glory," won this year's Oscar for playing the flamboyantly corrupt cop in "Training Day," becoming the first black to be named best actor since Sidney Poitier for 1963's "Lilies of the Field."

Now that a trail has been blazed for blacks, he suggested, other minority actors now must struggle for more significant roles.

Washington and Berry became the first black duo to take the top-acting honors, and Berry's win for "Monster's Ball" made her the first black woman to claim the best actress award.