Performers Who Should Have Won An Oscar But Didn't

Chaplin was nominated for Best Actor for "The Circus" (although the nomination was later removed from the official record because the Academy gave him a Special Award that took him out of the final voting) and "The Great Dictator". He won the composing Oscar for "Limelight" twenty years after it was made because it had never been shown in Los Angeles prior to that, but never for his performances. He wasn't nominated for his masterpieces "City Lights" and "Modern Times".

Garbo was considered by many as the greatest actress of her generation and won two New York Film Critics Awards, but never the Oscar. She was considered the favorite for her 1937 version of "Camille" but lost in a surprise vote to Luise Rainer, who won her second consecutive Oscar.

O'Toole holds the record for most Best Actor nominations without winning. He has won four Golden Globes.

Barrymore is arguably the most distinguished actor to never receive a nomination, with his stage performances of Hamlet and Richard III winning him a reputation as the greatest actor of his generation. When he was passed over for a nomination for "Twentieth Century" he was quoted as saying "They think I'll show up drunk if I win - and I just might."

Burton was nominated for seven Oscars but never won. He was considered a heavy favorite for his first nomination (and only one for Best Supporting Actor) for "My Cousin Rachel" but lost in a surprise selection to Anthony Quinn. He was considered a sentimental favorite for his final nomination for "Equus" (winning the Golden Globe) but lost to Richard Dreyfuss in "The Goodbye Girl".

Grant was considered the finest light comedian in Hollywood but was only nominated for dramatic performances in "Penny Serenade" and "None But the Lonely Heart". When he starred in "The Awful Truth" in 1937, he was put in the disagreeable position of seeing the film nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor and Leo McCarey winning for Best Director, but his own performance was snubbed.

Gish has strong claims to being considered the greatest actress in film history, but had the bad timing to do her greatest work in the pre-Oscar era. She gave a magnificent performance in 1928's "The Wind" but the film's poor showing at the box office killed her Oscar chances. She received her only nomination for "Duel in the Sun" in 1946.

Robinson was a Hollywood icon whose omission for his signature performance in "Little Caesar" seem inexplicable today. He was never nominated for an Oscar.

While Fields had a reputation for always playing the same character in his films, he likely would have been nominated for "Alice in Wonderland", "Mrs. Wiggs of the Cabbage Patch" or "David Copperfield" if the supporting acting awards had been introduced prior to 1936. He was never nominated for the award.

Close has been frequently honored for her stage and television work but always came just short in the Oscar race, receiving five nominations but never the Oscar itself.

Karloff's work was inevitably looked down on by the film industry because of the genre in which he was best known for, but he won acclaim for his stage roles in "Arsenic and Old Lace," "Peter Pan," and "The Lark" (which won him a Tony nomination). He deserved Oscar recognition for his unforgettable horror roles in "Frankenstein," "Bride of Frankenstein," and "The Body Snatcher" and also gave a memorable turn in a "straight" part in John Ford's "The Lost Patrol."

DiCaprio is one of those members of the Hollywood elite who seems destined to win an Oscar, although the award has eluded him to date. His three nominations are for "What's Eating Gilbert Grape," "The Aviator" and "Blood Diamond," although he was snubbed for the box office bonanza "Titanic."

Arthur was one of the most overlooked actresses in Oscar history, turning in unforgettable work in "Mr. Deeds Goes to Town," Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and "Shane" among others, but winning only one nomination for "The More, The Merrier."

Douglas was a Hollywood icon was was nominated for "Champion," "The Bad and the Beautiful" and "Lust for Life" but might have been honored for countless other roles. He was considered the favorite on Oscar Night for "Lust for Life" (for which he won the New York Film Critics Award), but lost to Yul Brynner for "The King and I."

Lombard was a brilliant comic actress whose life and career were cut tragically short when she was killed in a plane crash in 1942. She only received one nomination for "My Man Godfrey" (a performance for which posterity would doubtless give her the Oscar), but was overlooked for the classics "Twentieth Century" and "To Be or Not to Be."

Depp won the Screen Actors Guild for "Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" and Oscar nominations for that film, "Neverland" and "Sweeney Todd." Like Leonardo DiCaprio, it seems almost inevitable that he'll eventually have an Oscar on his mantle.

Russell's press agents had the industry convinced she had a lock on the award for her heavy-handed performance in "Mourning Becomes Electra" so it was considered a shock when Loretta Young won instead for "The Country Girl." Russell's best work was in lighter fare and she won nominations for "Auntie Mame," "Sister Kenny" and "My Sister Eileen," but not for her brilliant work in the superb gender-swapping adaptation of "The Front Page," "His Girl Friday."

Webb would have been a lock for the Oscar for his performance in "Laura" if he didn't have the bad timing of going against Barry Fitzgerald's crowd-pleasing work in "Going My Way." Webb was nominated again for "The Razor's Edge" and his unforgettable turn as Mr. Belvedere in "Sitting Pretty," but not for his marvelous work as an overworked father in "Cheaper By the Dozen."

Rains holds the record for the most nominations for Best Supporting Actor without winning the award, and posterity would have been pleased if he had been honored for his signature role in "Casablanca."

Loy was never nominated for the Oscar despite being named "The Queen of Hollywood" in an audience poll that anointed Clark Gable "The King." She should have been honored for her work in "The Thin Man" and "The Best Years of Our Lives."

The wisecracking Ritter was nominated for six Best Supporting Actress awards and might have been further honored for her non-nominated work in "Rear Window" or "The Misfits."

Monroe never received a nomination, probably for her reputation as a prima donna on the set. She was a miraculous performer who should have won the Oscar for "Some Like It Hot."

Mason was nominated for "A Star is Born," "Georgy Girl" and "The Verdict" but for not "Odd Man Out," "The Desert Rats," "Julius Caesar" or "The Shooting Party."

McKellen became a movie star late in life after devoting his career to the Shakespearean stage. He won the Screen Actors Guild Award for his performance in "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings" but lost the Oscar, and seemed robbed of the honor for his magnificent nominated performance as James Whale in "Gods and Monsters."

Barbara Stanwyck was nominated four times and never won, despite arguably deserving the prize for "Ball of Fire" or "Double Indemnity."