Maybe more than any other major award ceremony, the Academy Awards are all about prestige. Every year, a huge assemblage of talented actors and filmmakers gather to acknowledge the year’s achievements in film and try to be as dignified as possible in doing so. Of course, that only makes it all the funnier when the production doesn’t go quite according to plan — a frequent occurrence in live television that has accounted for many of the most memorable, uncomfortable and often hilarious moments in the Academy’s nearly-century long history.  

1938: A Random Guy Steals an Award Meant for Alice Brady

It’s a shame this Oscar moment happened a few years too early to be televised.

Actress Alice Brady won the award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the film Old Chicago. Since she wasn’t present, an unknown man came onstage and accepted the award on her behalf, while the rest of the Academy assumed this was planned. That clever man and his stolen award were never heard from again, and the Academy later issued Brady a replacement.