Susan Hayward's Oscar Dress

We're departing from the traditional route today: we're not focusing on what Susan Hayward wore when she won the Oscar in 1959, instead, we're focusing on the fabulous gown she wore for her last Oscars appearance in 1974.

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The 1974 Academy Awards were a swan song for Susan Hayward. After decades in Hollywood as one of the most respected and talented actresses in the business, she was making her final public appearance before her untimely death. 

At the time, Susan was battling an aggressively terminal cancer diagnosis that saw tumours in her lungs and brain that led to debilitating seizures. The jury's out on what caused her cancer, but she was a cast member of the ill-fated The Conqueror film from the '50s that saw numerous cast and crew (including Dick Powell, John Wayne and Agnes Moorehead) succumb to the illness. 

In the midst of her cancer treatment, she was invited to appear at the Oscars and she needed a gown. She reportedly called up Nolan Miller, a young designer, one afternoon and said, "'They asked me to be on the Academy Awards. What should I wear? How do you think I should look?''

Nolan got to work immediately, according to an article from the Chicago Tribune. He told her, "First, let`s get you the damnedest Susan Hayward wig they ever made, lots of red hair. I`ll do sketches for the dress.''

Susan's request for the gown was simple: "'This will be the last time the public ever sees me; so I want to look beautiful.''

via Julien's Auctions

The gown... Oh, it's divine. It's a shimmering, shining concoction and she never looked lovelier. 

And you can see her fragility on display if you watch the clip of her and Charlton Heston presenting Best Actress: she's clinging to his arm or needs to use the podium to hold herself upright. The wig, in her trademark shade of red, is a wig. 

You might notice that she's never in a close-up shot either, and this was intentional: there was a very real fear that Susan might have a seizure on live television, and to combat this, she was framed in long shots. Katharine Hepburn, who made her only Oscars appearance that year, was backstage helping Susan along and whispered words of encouragement to her as she stepped out for her final curtain. 

Susan sadly passed away on March 14, 1975 and was buried in the Nolan Miller gown as per her final request. 

A watercolour rendition of Miller's design was sold at auction by Julien's Auctions in 2020 for $1,152.