Best Picture: The Sting
The Sting also won Academy Awards for Art Direction-Set Decoration (Henry Bumstead and James Payne), Costume Design (Edith Head), Directing (George Roy Hill), Film Editing (William Reynolds), Music – Scoring, Original Song Score and/or Adaptation (Marvin Hamlisch), and Writing – Story and Screenplay based on factual material or material not previously published or produced (David S. Ward).
Katharine Hepburn attended the Academy Awards ceremony for the first time, to present the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award to her friend, producer Lawrence Weingarten.
Marvin Hamlisch set a new Oscar record when he won all three of the year's music awards: Song (The Way We Were, with Alan and Marilyn Bergman), Original Dramatic Score (The Way We Were), and Scoring (The Sting).
John Huston, Diana Ross, Burt Reynolds, and David Niven shared the hosting duties.
Moments before David Niven announced Elizabeth Taylor as the presenter of Best Picture, a streaker charged across the stage.
David Niven remarked, Isn't it fascinating to think that probably the only laugh that man will ever get in his life is by stripping off and showing his shortcomings.
Ten-year-old Tatum O'Neal became the youngest winner ever in a competitive Academy Awards category when she won Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Paper Moon.
In January 1973, CBS sold the New York Yankees to George Steinbrenner and club president Michael Burke for $10 million.
On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court handed down its landmark decision in the case of Roe v. Wade.
In March 1973, Pink Floyd released its album The Dark Side of the Moon.
In March 1973, the last remaining U.S. combat troops withdrew from Vietnam.
On April 4, 1973, the World Trade Center officially opened in New York City.
In May 1973, the Sears Tower in Chicago was completed, making it the tallest building in the world, a record that it held for over 20 years. It remains the tallest building in the U.S.
On June 9, 1973, Secretariat won the Belmont Stakes, becoming the first horse since Citation in 1948 to win the Triple Crown. Secretariat won by an astonishing 31 lengths and established a new world record time that still stands.
On September 20, 1973, Billie Jean King won the Battle of the Sexes tennis match against Bobby Riggs in three straight sets at the Houston Astrodome.
On December 16, 1973, Buffalo Bills player Orenthal James OJ Simpson became the first player in the NFL to rush for more than 2,000 yards in a single season.
Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
To Lew Wasserman.
Honorary Award
To Henri Langlois for his devotion to the art of film, his massive contributions in preserving its past and his unswerving faith in its future.
Honorary Award
To Groucho Marx in recognition of his brilliant creativity and for the unequalled achievements of the Marx Brothers in the art of motion picture comedy.
Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award
To Lawrence Weingarten.