In a rare occurrence during the period with five Best Picture nominees, only two were nominated for Best Director this year: Fred Zinnemann for A Man for All Seasons (the winner) and Mike Nichols for Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.

This had previously occurred in 1941, when sisters Joan Fontaine and Olivia de Havilland were each nominated for Best Actress.

Elizabeth Taylor was informed of her having won the Best Actress award in London, but was so frustrated by Richard Burton's loss of the Best Actor award that she refused to hold a press conference for two weeks.

[1] Six films won multiple Oscars this year—A Man for All Seasons, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Grand Prix, Fantastic Voyage, A Man and a Woman, and Born Free—a record that was later tied in 2010, 2012, and 2017, and surpassed in 2020/21, when seven films won at least two Oscars.

The following individuals, listed in order of appearance, presented awards or performed musical numbers.