The
44th Academy Awards were presented April 10, 1972 at the
Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. The ceremonies were presided over by
Helen Hayes,
Alan King,
Sammy Davis, Jr., and
Jack Lemmon. One of the highlights of the evening was the appearance of
Betty Grable, battling cancer at the time, who made one of her last public appearances. She appeared along with one of her leading men from the 1940s, singer
Dick Haymes, to present the musical scoring awards. Grable died the following year. This was the first time in the history of the Awards in which the nominees were shown on superimposed pictures while being announced.